The Golden Algae Eater is a yellow/golden coloured fish from the Chinese Algae Eater family (Gyrinocheilos aymonieri). They are a suckermouth catfish that predominantly live off of algae & algae wafers. They are thought to be originally found in Northern India but are more commonly farm raised in Thailand.

Tank Requirements

• Cautious Community
• Temperatures between 21°C and 26°C
• Water between pH 6.8 and pH 7.4
• Lots of hiding spaces
• Live plants & driftwood are preferred to enable varied algae growth
• Minimum of 30 gallons (136 litres) per fish
• They do better in an established tank that has algae growth
• Kept in either a school of 6+ or as a single fish

These fish are semi-aggressive. When kept as a single fish in a community tank they get along with most other fish, they do not like fish that are the same shape as them such as Red Tailed Sharks & Silver Sharks. They should not be kept with fish like Angels or Discus as they will chase them.

Caution should be taken when buying one of these as they can grow up to 10″ – 12″ (31cm). As they become larger they can dislodge plants and rocks within your aquarium. Unlike Pleco’s these fish are less likely to damage plants, they will just eat the algae off of them.

Feeding

• These are primarily herbivores
• Algae that grows on rocks, plants, and glass
• Algae wafers

In my experience, these fish are not averse to chowing down on a variety of foods including bloodworm pellets & frozen foods, however, they predominantly eat the algae that naturally accumulates within an aquarium.

Although they are algae eaters, they are not as good at keeping your tank clean as some of the more commonly found sucker fish such as Plecs.