How the heck do I feed my SAE?

[nerdyaquarist]

Hey guys, I got an SAE almost a week ago already and I can’t figure out for the life of me how to get him interested in feedings. For context, he’s currently alone in a 10 gal quarantine tank.
 

First time I tried feeding him, I dropped a small piece of an algae wafer. He ignored it for about a day and then I saw the following 2 days that he was munching on it slowly but surely. There’s not much left of it now, but it’s been quite a while! The day after I dropped the wafer I attempted dropping some pellets near him to see if he goes for it, he didn’t even care. I’ve dropped vibra bites as well, also doesn’t go for it. I noticed though that the vibra bites slowly do disappear over a few days, but he’s not going for them immediately at all. 
 

I worry that if he’s this much of a slow eater/grazer he may not stand a chance in my community tank where everyone is a voracious feeder. Thankfully, there is quite a bit of BBA in the tank where he’s going, but I wonder how he will fare when that’s gone.
 

This is my first time having an SAE, are they just like this or will he slowly start getting interested in eating food right away as time goes on?

Edited February 9, 2023 by nerdyaquarist

[Theplatymaster]

here is my suggestions/experience.

My panda garra had been in a 5gallon QT tank, wouldnt eat anything, repashy, pellets, nothing. After the QT period i moved him into my 20gallon tank, the next day, going crazy on some pellets, now he eats fine. My theory there was the stress of the small tank on him, might be the same here.

Also sick fish are not very energetic eaters, are there are desease symptoms on the fish? Is it being treated with meds/salt?

[nabokovfan87]

On 2/9/2023 at 1:54 PM, nerdyaquarist said:

Hey guys, I got an SAE almost a week ago already and I can’t figure out for the life of me how to get him interested in feedings. For context, he’s currently alone in a 10 gal quarantine tank.

Their mouth is similar to a few species that basically graze. They go up to a surface and rub their lips open and closed. They do this sort of like a "swim-by" and they just do that constantly through the afternoon and night. That's their basic behavior. During the day, light hours you might see them just hiding and resting. Others can be more active.

If you drop food and don't see them eating, don't worry. Offer food every 2-3 days and do small amounts.  If you have a very stubborn one try something like krill flakes, spirulina flakes, or spirulina brine (frozen).

[nerdyaquarist]

On 2/9/2023 at 2:17 PM, Theplatymaster said:

here is my suggestions/experience.

My panda garra had been in a 5gallon QT tank, wouldnt eat anything, repashy, pellets, nothing. After the QT period i moved him into my 20gallon tank, the next day, going crazy on some pellets, now he eats fine. My theory there was the stress of the small tank on him, might be the same here.

Also sick fish are not very energetic eaters, are there are desease symptoms on the fish? Is it being treated with meds/salt?

Thanks for responding! That’s hopeful to head that your fish turned around like that once he was moved to a more interesting environment. My guy has no symptoms of disease. He’s quite active actually and seems energetic. He is currently in a salt treatment though preemptively just in case there’s anything he might have brought from the store. 
 

In your experience, what type of feeders are SAE? Are they slow and over time, or do they feed quickly and in the moment? 

On 2/9/2023 at 2:23 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Their mouth is similar to a few species that basically graze. They go up to a surface and rub their lips open and closed. They do this sort of like a "swim-by" and they just do that constantly through the afternoon and night. That's their basic behavior. During the day, light hours you might see them just hiding and resting. Others can be more active.

If you drop food and don't see them eating, don't worry. Offer food every 2-3 days and do small amounts.  If you have a very stubborn one try something like krill flakes, spirulina flakes, or spirulina brine (frozen).

In this case, could they be easily out-competed by other fish in community tanks or has that not really been an issue for you?

[Theplatymaster]

On 2/9/2023 at 5:23 PM, nerdyaquarist said:

In your experience, what type of feeders are SAE? Are they slow and over time, or do they feed quickly and in the moment? 

ive never had SAE, i was just sharing my experience with a similar fish.

@nabokovfan87has a Red Tailed Black Shark, which is also a similar species.

[nabokovfan87]

On 2/9/2023 at 1:54 PM, nerdyaquarist said:

Thankfully, there is quite a bit of BBA in the tank where he’s going, but I wonder how he will fare when that’s gone.
 

This is my first time having an SAE, are they just like this or will he slowly start getting interested in eating food right away as time goes on?

They will manage. They will usually be food hogs once they get settled. Might not be bullish, but as they grow they get more confident to feed. If you have other fish in the tank, feed them and focus on them, let the SAE do it's thing and it will grow and cope with the changes. Just don't get into the trouble of overfeeding for the sake of the SAE. Often they get nervous feeding in front of you, especially at first.

On 2/9/2023 at 2:24 PM, Theplatymaster said:

ive never had SAE, i was just sharing my experience with a similar fish.

@nabokovfan87has a Red Tailed Black Shark, which is also a similar species.

I've had 5+ SAEs as well. 🙂 One of my favorites.

[lefty o]

when small, they arent too aggressive as eaters, but once they put on some size, have no fear they will push other fish out of the way.

[nabokovfan87]

 Not a great looking tank, but here's some photos of the trio in the 75G.  I also had 1 in each of my other tanks (ones that were a bit more feisty to these three).  They can be some of the laziest fish in the world just laying on the things and not swimming all day!  But I really do miss them.   At the point of the photos they are basically full grown little whales.

 

This photo is when they were much younger. Tank was much happier! You can see them on the left there a little.


 

[TOtrees]

As soon as you’re reasonably confident there’s no disease transmission issues, get it into its normal tank, and it will do just fine. They are one of those fish that manages to just keep growing and putting on size/weight regardless of what else is in the tank, or what you feed.

[Tanked]

I first would suggest that you get a second SAE.  Mine are social and graze constantly.  Your issue will probably go away when the fish is out of quarantine.

My question has always been how do I stop feeding them?  

[neitherman]

My 6" SAE took down half a cube of frozen bloodworms this morning. Don't worry, yours will be a voracious pig once it gets settled in.

Another fun way to feed them if you (like me) have lots of algae growing on your glass is to slowly scrape the algae off with a razorblade so it becomes a sheet in the current. My SAE scarfs it down like a slimy spaghetti noodle once he notices it. Even my tiger barbs will snack on it!

Edited February 10, 2023 by neitherman
feeding idea

[Anjum]

On 2/9/2023 at 2:59 PM, lefty o said:

when small, they arent too aggressive as eaters, but once they put on some size, have no fear they will push other fish out of the way.

This was basically my experience as well. Mine were already sizable when I got them, about 2.5". By the time I rehomed them, they were approaching 4" & voracious eaters. 

On 2/10/2023 at 7:35 AM, Tanked said:

I first would suggest that you get a second SAE.  Mine are social and graze constantly.  Your issue will probably go away when the fish is out of quarantine.

My question has always been how do I stop feeding them?  

And a caveat to this.. I put 2 in too small of a tank & it was not good. One would chase the other relentlessly & never let it eat. The "bully" got fat & the other got skinny. I separated them into 2 community tanks & they lived out their time with me happily. When the bullied one got comfortable in his new tank, he became a food-hog & put on weight quickly. After observing mine for quite some time, I learned their way of feeding was to watch the other fish in the tank & when they ate, go join them (and occasionally chase them away). They were never aggressive per se to other types of fish, but they were assertive eaters. Again, mine were relatively large when I got them. I've seen them for sale in the store much smaller than I ever had; they may act differently when they're smaller. Mine also never ate much algae, but again, I've heard they tend to eat more algae when they're smaller. 

I've since learned (read on the internet; YMMV), they're the type of fish you want to keep singly or in a larger group. But they can ultimately get to 6", so you'd need a large tank for a group. 

[Tanked]

On 2/10/2023 at 5:09 PM, Anjum said:

This was basically my experience as well. Mine were already sizable when I got them, about 2.5". By the time I rehomed them, they were approaching 4" & voracious eaters. 

And a caveat to this.. I put 2 in too small of a tank & it was not good. One would chase the other relentlessly & never let it eat. The "bully" got fat & the other got skinny. I separated them into 2 community tanks & they lived out their time with me happily. When the bullied one got comfortable in his new tank, he became a food-hog & put on weight quickly. After observing mine for quite some time, I learned their way of feeding was to watch the other fish in the tank & when they ate, go join them (and occasionally chase them away). They were never aggressive per se to other types of fish, but they were assertive eaters. Again, mine were relatively large when I got them. I've seen them for sale in the store much smaller than I ever had; they may act differently when they're smaller. Mine also never ate much algae, but again, I've heard they tend to eat more algae when they're smaller. 

I've since learned (read on the internet; YMMV), they're the type of fish you want to keep singly or in a larger group. But they can ultimately get to 6", so you'd need a large tank for a group. 

Interesting.  I rarely buy one of anything, so I may have avoided those problems by starting with three SAEs.  I never witnessed any aggression, but they occasionally did play with the other fish.  Playing tag with the Danios was normal.  I was concerned that they might get larger, so I added 3 more to the 29 gallon. Being over 2 years old, the original fish might be close to full grown at about 2".  If not, I have a much larger community tank waiting to welcome them.  

The only issue I have with mine, is that I wish I could get them to leave the flake food alone.

[Anjum]

On 2/11/2023 at 8:21 AM, Tanked said:

Interesting.  I rarely buy one of anything, so I may have avoided those problems by starting with three SAEs.  I never witnessed any aggression, but they occasionally did play with the other fish.  Playing tag with the Danios was normal.  I was concerned that they might get larger, so I added 3 more to the 29 gallon. Being over 2 years old, the original fish might be close to full grown at about 2".  If not, I have a much larger community tank waiting to welcome them.  

The only issue I have with mine, is that I wish I could get them to leave the flake food alone.

See, the thing is, I've read SO MUCH conflicting info & anecdotes about SAE, that I think it's one of those things where they're just highly variable in their temperaments, and a lot has to do with their environment, tank mates, etc. 

They can definitely get up to 6"; I've seen them full grown in large tanks (on yt & stuff). But maybe they don't get that large in a smaller tank??? 

And no, you'll never get them to leave the flake food alone. Or any other food for that matter 😅

[Monkeypoint]

I've had SAE for a few years now. The juveniles will get to work on algae right away. It's a good idea to school them in a group of 5-6. When they get bigger, they start losing interest in algae, or at least, they're not as interested in it. I have one that's a few years old that eats anything I toss in the tank.

[neitherman]

On 2/10/2023 at 3:09 PM, Anjum said:

This was basically my experience as well. Mine were already sizable when I got them, about 2.5". By the time I rehomed them, they were approaching 4" & voracious eaters. 

And a caveat to this.. I put 2 in too small of a tank & it was not good. One would chase the other relentlessly & never let it eat. The "bully" got fat & the other got skinny. I separated them into 2 community tanks & they lived out their time with me happily. When the bullied one got comfortable in his new tank, he became a food-hog & put on weight quickly. After observing mine for quite some time, I learned their way of feeding was to watch the other fish in the tank & when they ate, go join them (and occasionally chase them away). They were never aggressive per se to other types of fish, but they were assertive eaters. Again, mine were relatively large when I got them. I've seen them for sale in the store much smaller than I ever had; they may act differently when they're smaller. Mine also never ate much algae, but again, I've heard they tend to eat more algae when they're smaller. 

I've since learned (read on the internet; YMMV), they're the type of fish you want to keep singly or in a larger group. But they can ultimately get to 6", so you'd need a large tank for a group. 

I had 2 SAEs in my 29 gallon plus a single synodontis catfish and had the same experience. The larger one would relentlessly chase the smaller one around the tank. It seems some of them are just more aggressive than others.

[Tanked]

On 2/11/2023 at 1:46 PM, Anjum said:

See, the thing is, I've read SO MUCH conflicting info & anecdotes about SAE, that I think it's one of those things where they're just highly variable in their temperaments, and a lot has to do with their environment, tank mates, etc. 

Welcome to the internet!😉 I have long said that one of the problems in this hobby is the lack of absolutes.  As they say on TV "your experience may be different".  The amount of food available to the young fish is a contributing factor to is final size.  The internet also says: Cooler water and less food makes for healthier longer lived fish.   Watching the SAEs grazing last night I realized that one of them has pushed past the 2" mark. Given their lifespan, 6" could still happen.  @nerdyaquarist did not mention the size of the tank they would be living in, so two or more could be doable. I usually begin with three to help limit aggression.

[nerdyaquarist]

Thank you all for sharing your experience and perspectives! This makes me feel better about the whole thing. My main tank also has plenty of BBA so I hope that if he’s too shy to feed from me at first that he goes for that instead haha.

On 2/12/2023 at 8:24 AM, Tanked said:

Welcome to the internet!😉 I have long said that one of the problems in this hobby is the lack of absolutes.  As they say on TV "your experience may be different".  The amount of food available to the young fish is a contributing factor to is final size.  The internet also says: Cooler water and less food makes for healthier longer lived fish.   Watching the SAEs grazing last night I realized that one of them has pushed past the 2" mark. Given their lifespan, 6" could still happen.  @nerdyaquarist did not mention the size of the tank they would be living in, so two or more could be doable. I usually begin with three to help limit aggression.

My tank is 29 gal. I only got 1 because I worry about the size possibly being a problem when they get older. I see one of you had 3 in a 29 so maybe I’m worrying over nothing.

[SaveTheRainbowfish]

When I had them, they ate whatever I fed the rest of the fish, which was Fluval color flakes. I've seen them eat every thing from prepared foods to duckweed, so maybe yours has an issue or disease.

Hope this helps!