So, today I had two Otos dumped on me... No seriously, a man just gave me them and left the store. Along with the otos came this guy.... Wow, mass confusion ensues for me.



I posted about this guy on another forum, and was told I should return him (I didn't buy him, so I can't. Nor do I feel like selling him off to a stranger who might just let him die in poor conditions.) The reason behind this is because he looks like a Chinese Algae Eater. First off, he is missing the black line along his sides, and second, his spots are much lighter than others I've seen. Also, his body is really short and fat for all the algae eater's I've seen. He's also definitely not shaped like them, and resembles the Otos a little bit better. (Body shape wise) Even if he is a Chinese Algae Eater, I'm definitely not letting this guy go back to someone who will just dump him.

He's getting along fine with the otos, no nipping, chasing, or aggressive behavior at all. They actually school together and swim around the quarantine tank I have them in. However, I am willing to place him in a separate tank if any behavior erupts.

Any opinions on this guy, what he is, what I should move him into (gallon size wise), and if I should keep him with the Otos?

Thank you all.

Otocinclus vittatus(Oto)


Gyrinocheilus aymonieri(C.A.E.)


Crossocheilus siamensis(S.A.E.)



As I learned long ago, these fish are 3 you must know about when setting up a planted and/or community tank. All 3 are easily confused with each but all are considerably different when it comes to personality. CAEs and SAEs are commonly confused with each other, most people are looking for SAEs but ends up with CAEs. Without a doubt you have a CAE.CAEs can be a bit of a nightmare due to false information handed out by pet stores. They are aggressive, more so than plecos, and they will eat other fish when they get the chance. They love meat in their diet so blood worms or shrimp pellets are a must. Despite their common name, they actually don't care for algae but they will eat some vegetables and plants. Don't worry though, they can be fun to own! They actually learn, a lot faster than plecos, that humans can be entertaining and a food source. Many will happily rasp on fingers and accept food straight from your hand.

If you want to keep him, your best option would be setting up a 15/20 gallon for just him(they average out at about 10 inches but they can get larger).Get him some nice driftwood to rasp on and some caves and rocks to hide in. Right now he is most likely leaving the otos alone because he is new and a little stressed from being in a new environment. Once he is able to establish his territory he will most likely become aggressive very fast!

Thank you so much! I think I'll be separating him from the Otos most definitely then.

Right now I have a ten gallon, so I'll put him in there until I can upgrade to a 15 or 20 gallon tank.

The Otos are probably going to end up with my bettas once I upgrade their tanks.

Thank you so much again.

Hey mate i got exactly the same fish in my tank, he is very shy and mostly comes out at night. He hasn't harmed any of my fish in my tank at all don't know why ppl panic and tell to get rid of him. I also have CAE with him, they are good together they never fight over territories. Just dont put him in with fish who are around and he can attach to and he'll be fine or he could kill them by sucking the slim of the poor fish. They also do wonders for cleaning my tank algae free.

that looks like a chinese algae eater, he can grow to 8 inches and can become agressive so u should rehome him or get a bigger tank, i have a stunted rescue from our school tank, i keep him in a 20 gallon which is ok since i do lots of big waterchanges, have extra filtration and he's slightly stunted from the small tank he came from. My guy was shy at first too but add lots of plants, real of fake and a cave or something for him to hide in and they will come out more even at daytime, make sure everythng in the tank cant fall over because they love to dig! Every time i clean the tank i smooth out the sand but in 2 days it'll all b piled up around his hiding spot lol, b sure to feed them lots of green stuff like algae wafers and veggies