I've heard they eat the notorius black hairbrush algae, and are great cleaning a breakout, are they compatable ?

i heard they are aggressive when older and dont eat algae as much when theyre older too.

I thought I read that the Siamese algea eaters can be just as bad as the Chinese algea eaters...that they can become carnivorous as they mature. But I'm not experienced with them so I am not sure. Maybe someone else can better help you.

I have a flying fox in my goldfish tank. It looks similar to pictures I have seen of the siamese algea eater. The flying fox does not have the sucker mouth but does take care of the black hairbrush algea as well as other algea. It has never bothered my goldfish and I've had it since October. Now in that span of time I have had to remove the chinese algea eaters I also bought in October. Each one, in their own time, started to take a liking to the slime coat on my gf's.... but my flying fox has held true.

flying foxes are excellent algae eating fish. they look similiar to siamese algae eaters too but they have a distinct stripe. very peaceful too. and cleans a lot of algae off your tank.

hey cool, i have been looking for a new algae eater. does anyone have a picture of a flying fox?

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/...boo_siamese.jpg

The true Siamese Algae eaters are actually the best algae eating freshwater fish known to aquariests, since it feeds on algae it's whole life. Unfortunately there are many imposters such as the more colorful (though less algae eating) flying fox as mentioned above. They are also hard to come by in the United States, being more common in Europe and Asia. Good luck trying to find a true siamese algae eater. If you ever do and it is without a doubt the real thing, I would definetely recommend buying it.

After looking around a bit, it looks like the true SAE can be found at (an ill-reputed place to buy fish, although they do have some satisfied cutomers) www.azgardens.com and a more reputable site (I would trust this one personally) www.aquariumfish.net good luck

so have you ordered fish online? How does this work? I'd be afraid the fish would arrive dead!

Actually I have ordered plants and snails online, all I did was send cashiers checks and then after they recieved payment they would send the merchandise (which you also have to pay for shipping and handling) which should arrive in 2-3 days. Actually most fish can go about a week without food so 2-3 days isn't that bad, they are sent in oxygen bags that allows oxygen in to the fish and sometimes if it is too cold a heating pad can also be included. Although with fragile fish such as plecos and most other algae eaters (including SAE's) shipping may be a little risky. Most buisness sites require you to pay through pay pal which is an online thing, I have no experience with that though, sorry. HTH

I have three siamese algae eaters in a tank with three Goldies. Bought from aquariumfish.net about 6 months ago (they were tiny). Quarantined them for two months and then moved them into my main tank just before Christmas. They are an awesome addition to a golfish tank and are extremely compatable and will eat algae all of their lives. Got to say my experience with aquariumfish.net was superior. Fish were quality and healthy, and I calculated that the actual shipping time from West (where they are) to East Coast (where I am) was a little less than 9 houes total.
Cheers


Robert