Loaches Online Forum

I bought a "Sucking Loach" cause someone told me it would clean my tank, but when I went to the pet shop today, another member of staff said it might kill my other fish, is this true? If so, what can I do to get rid of the loach? Please help,

i would firsat off tell us what your other fish are and then you can be advised if this is true or not.

Haven't heard of a "sucking loach". Have a look through the species index and see if you can identify it. Or post a pic if you can.

plaalye wrote:Haven't heard of a "sucking loach".

It's a common name often reserved for Gyrinocheilus aymonieri aka the Chinese Algae Eater

Thanks Bully, I hadn't heard that one.

id say no need for alarm....it wont exactly eat alot of your tank's algae but it will eat algae discs and such it's sorta like a pleco in personality but needs not quite the same

Thanks for the replies, I have a black moore and a calico oranda.

It is probably a "Chinese Algae Eater." Though it is not a loach and it is not from China. They don't cause too many problems when they are young, but can get agressive when older. The problem is they can develop a taste for the slime coat of fish and suction themselves to the sides of the other fish. I have bought fish before that did not get along with my loaches, and I had to make the decision to take them back to the LFS. Most places are pretty good about this. Maybe someone who has kept these fish before will come along and give you some advice. If you have a camera, you could take some pics, but if not (I don't have one either) a description may help us to give a positive ID. In the meantime, I wouldn't worry about it!

Take Care..,
soul-hugger

soul-hugger wrote:It is probably a "Chinese Algae Eater." Though it is not a loach and it is not from China. They don't cause too many problems when they are young, but can get agressive when older. The problem is they can develop a taste for the slime coat of fish and suction themselves to the sides of the other fish. I have bought fish before that did not get along with my loaches, and I had to make the decision to take them back to the LFS. Most places are pretty good about this. Maybe someone who has kept these fish before will come along and give you some advice. If you have a camera, you could take some pics, but if not (I don't have one either) a description may help us to give a positive ID. In the meantime, I wouldn't worry about it!

Take Care..,
soul-hugger

Yes i agree - stay away from these so called Chinese algae eaters - they do a crappy job of eating algae and when they do get older they suck the slime off other fishes' body.