Before anyone gasps and goes, "NO, return it! They are evil face-eating hellspans!" don't worry - I know CAEs. And I love 'em anyways! :wub:
Anyways, I've been wanting a Chinese Algae Eater for AGES now and haven't had good luck finding an adoption. I really couldn't afford $25 shipping on one fish from a previous home out of state, and no one in state seemed to be offering them. I've spent the last year searching Petfinder and Craigslist, as well as other fish forums, to no avail. And while I wasn't planning on getting one TODAY, I decided that if I could find the captive bred/golden strain I'd consider a purchase.
Wellll I was in WalMart (I know, evil) tonight getting some new caves, plants, etc. for my boys and girls because I have been very ill over the last few days and needed something to cheer me up. While I was there, I was looking at a tank that was freakishly overstocked with little baby CAEs. They looked healthy compared to the other fish in the store, which were pretty diseased and in sorry shape. But this one tiiiiny little golden guy, less than an inch long, was getting picked on by the bigger ones, and was also extremely scrawny. He's essentially piebald (gold and brown) and was just WAY too cute to leave behind to the fates of diseased WalMart fishies, so I decided that it wouldn't do him too much harm at his little size to stay in a very well filtered 10g until the baby goldfish move to their new home and he can have a 30g like a CAE ought to!
I don't have pics because he's small, fast, and nervous, but he's basically got a golden head and tail and a brown body. He's kindof a reverse oreo! And he's just a tiny, skinny, adorable little thing.
:wub: Feels so good to have a chinese algae eater again.

What is chinese algae eater?
Why they called it chinese? Do they speak mandarin? Do they have chinese character? Or do they eat madarin orange? Do they eat Kung Pao Chicken or what? Just don't know why people name them Chinese...... Why not Caucasian algae eater or Indian algae eater. ^_^

You have a point there..
I found this interesting tidbit of info, without even looking very hard..

Be sure to quarantine him first, before you mix him with your other fish. Don't want him to contaminate your other fish and kill 'em all off.

Oh, he'll never be with other fish. I keep CAEs solo because they tend to become large eyeball and slime coat eating turds when they grow up. Plus they have a bad habit of body-slamming fish that get into their "territory" and I know of many people who lost fish this way. He's iso'd in the 10g and will then move into the 30g only when the present inhabitants move out. ^_^

Re: Chinese, it's just the (incorrect) name pet stores and english-speaking hobbyists have for them. It's a big-time misnomer. As allready posted, Indian Algae Eater is much more appropriate, but on most fish sites, saying that name will get you a big blank stare. Funny side note, "Algae Eater" is pretty much incorrect, too; they only eat algae efficiently when young, and grow up to be omnivores that do a downright lousy job of cleaning algae.


edit: Here's a pic of Reebum (RIP) that I used on my article on Friends of Fish. He was my last CAE but had severe neurological and gill function problems from hydrogen sulfide poisoning that occured early in his life, so he only lived three years and got to 5" long. This new little guy seems very healthy, so I'm looking fowards to a normal, healthy, long-lived CAE :wub:

Kewl. I'd never heard of them before. Very interesting.

Geeze. They called that a Chinese algea eater? The person who name that is a real racial! :chair :chair Calling chinese a sucker. :chair :chair :chair :chair

:OO

LMAO, Yeeves, you're a nut.
Don't ever change!

^Ditto!
You always keep us laughing! :lolo:

I know he keeps us all laughing and having fun on here