Flying fox and skunk botia

[M0oN]

I picked up a few of these guys for free at the LFS and I'm wondering if their violent tendencies are going to affect some breeding apistogramma panduro

Any information on either species is appreciated, thanks.

Jason

 

[2la]

How many flying foxes did you pick up? They generally do better one to a tank, unless the tank is large. Is there a specific relation to planted tanks that you're curious about?

 

[M0oN]

Not really any relation I'm looking towards, I'm not sure if they're all true flying fox or SAE's, they share somewhat of the same coloration as eachother, but I've read flying fox have a black stripe on the top as well as down the side, that gets wider at the back fin, these guys have one stripe down the side that sort of tapers off and gets thinner through the tail...

I'm just wondering if I'll be having a lot of aggression problems in the tank with these guys and the apisto's.

He gave me 3 of the flying fox and 1 skunk botia.

 

[tjudy]

If I remember correctly.. and that is always an issue... the SAE lateral stripe extends past the caudal peduncle and into the caudal fin, whereas the flying fox lateral stripe stops at the peduncle. I may have that backwards though.

I would worry about the botias being nocturnal egg robbers...

 

[aspen]

nope your memory is working perfectly ted.

rick

 

[M0oN]

From what I've read the SAE and flying fox both have stripes that go all the way to the end of the tail, but the SAE's is thinner and more faint whereas the flying fox's is a little bit more wide and comes to a sharp point at the very end...the false SAE are the guys who don't have it past the tail and into the fin, rather it spaces out into small dots...also the true SAE only has one set of barbels?

Seems like a really hard species to identify between, I'm still at a loss...

 

[aspen]

had to look that one up, according to robyn's algae eater page:

http://www.fishpondinfo.com/sae.htm

Siamese Algae Eater or SAE:
The true SAE has a jagged black horizontal stripe that goes all the way to the tip of the tail. All of the SAE's fins are clear. The black and white and their contrast are more intense than with the other algae eaters below.

False Siamese Algae Eater or false SAE:
The false SAE if usually found in shipments of true SAE (or the other way around). Unlike the SAE, the black stripe ends at the beginning of the tail. Often, if one goes to buy SAE's in a US aquarium store, they may in fact be all or mostly false SAE's. False SAE's may have some red around the mouth and a yellow tint to the fins. My false SAE had some nice gold and red on the dorsal fin. Mine was sold as a flying fox.

Flying Fox:
Just like the true SAE, the flying fox has a black horizontal stripe that goes all the way to the tip of the tail. Unlike the SAE, the edges of the stripe are smooth and not zagged. The flying fox may have some rainbow-like coloring on the fins. It is more pretty than the other fish mentioned on this page. The black horizontal stripe extends to the end of the tail like the SAE but it is much stronger and broader.

Chinese Algae Eater or CAE:
The Chinese algae eater is Gyrinocheilus aymonieri. Unlike the SAE, false SAE, and flying fox, the CAE does not have a distinct black horizontal line. It is more mottled. The fish is more brown than black and white. The tail fin lacks any striping. The CAE also does not have any barbels unlike the other three fish. If you go to the average pet store that carries fish and ask for a fish that eats algae, probably half the time, you would have a Chinese algae eater foisted upon you. While these fish are a delight like the above fish, they have only a low to moderate desire to eat any algae. If fish food is available, it will compromise most of their food intake. Also, as Chinese algae eaters grow older, the may become nasty to other algae eaters or even other fish in the tank. Some may try to latch onto fat-bodied fish. Sometimes, though some individuals get along well with their tankmates. There is a very common albino (or gold) CAE which may be sold even more often then the regular gray CAE. The CAE does not zip around as much as the SAE, false SAE, and flying fox. It tends to do more sucking. CAE's normally stay under 6 inches but have the ability to grow to almost twice that length.

 

[jonah]

My skunk loaches used to raid my krib's eggs. I finally had to seperate them into different tanks.