The Siamese algae lives in the waters of the Malay Peninsula and Thailand. From there, this funny fish was brought to Russia back in the 60s of the 20th century. The Siamese algae eater quickly became a favorite of many people. And all because this fish is funny and beautiful, as well as unpretentious in care and able to live in captivity for quite a long time.
Siamese algae eater - who is it?
It is a member of the cyprinid family and is used by some aquarists as a natural means of fighting algae that are highly undesirable in an aquarium. Siamese algae are recognized as one of the most efficient fish in their niche. They are the only fish that feed on red algae and prefer young plants.
A distinctive feature of this type of aquarium fish is the presence of a characteristic black strip running along the entire body of the algae eater: it begins at the tip of the fish's nose and ends at the tail. It is worth noting that the body of this funny fish is long and lumpy. Its length in the wild can reach 16 cm, while in captivity, "striped whales" grow to a smaller size. The fins of the algae eater are practically transparent. If you scare the fish, it loses its natural color, becoming light gray. Females of Siamese algae are usually slightly thicker than males.
Siamese Algae Eater - Aquarium Nurse
This fish has a unique ability to clean aquariums. For this, the Siamese algae eater was nicknamed the aquarium attendant: experts believe that his presence in the aquarium is simply necessary. And all thanks to the unique structure of the algae eater's jaws: they have a pointed shape, so the fish easily scrape off algae from aquariums, from plants and from the decorations in the tank. The most important thing in this is that Siamese algae eaters do not do any harm to underwater plants!
Keeping in captivity
Keeping these fish in an aquarium also presupposes the presence of a huge number of plants in it. Otherwise, the Siamese "minke whales" will eat all the available moss. The aquariums in which these fish will be kept must be quite large: as already noted, Siamese algae eaters grow up to 16 cm in nature, and up to 10-12 cm in captivity. These "minke whales" are funny fish! What is just observation of their rest: unlike other inhabitants of the aquarium, algae eaters do not sleep on their stomachs, but fix their body in an elevated position, while resting on their hind fins and tail.
Keeping Siamese algae eaters in captivity is quite simple: this fish is unpretentious in food and care, it gets along well with other types of fish. It is curious that algae eaters do not harm other fish, they disturb the peace of the aquarium waters only when they chase each other. It is worth noting that these fish need good aeration of aquarium waters: they have naturally weak breathing, therefore, water saturated with oxygen is vital for them. Only in this case the Siamese algae eater will delight its owner with active behavior, funny habits and inexhaustible vitality!
