Helicopter or Sturisoma aureum

[blackghost]

Hi guys,

wondering about this fish, intending to get it as it looks intresting and it said that it feeds on algae..

but, i heard that it will rip apart moss or fissidens on driftwood so that they have space to rest on.

[Quixotic]

I am not sure that it is due to the need for a resting place, but rather due to dietary requirements.

1. As they are algae eaters, they scrape on surfaces for algae, including rocks and driftwood (even aquarium glass). Therefore, if there is moss on the driftwood, they may unintentionally "rip" them apart in the process of scraping on the moss. Mileage may vary.

2. Driftwood is mentioned as a possible dietary requirement. Therefore, they need to scrape some wood to aid digestion. If your wood is covered totally with moss...

Many aquarists have kept the fish in planted tanks without any reported major issues. So I would suggest that what you reportedly "hear" is more of an exception rather than the norm. Providing some open surface for them to scrape will probably be ideal.

Mentioned in this article are suggested catfishes that are suitable for planted tank. Sturisoma sp. is one of them.
http://www.planetcatfish.com/shanesw...article_id=287

[illumnae]

I just purchased a couple juv pieces of sturisomas for my planted tank. they don't seem to be very good at finding food in my 422, does anyone know if they eat algae tablets at all? so far my various attempts at dropping algae tablet pieces around the tank has resulted in rotting and untouched tablets. the fish seem to be looking abit thin, and my green spot algae is still blossoming.

[jhseah]

If they look thin, why not isolate them in a smaller tank, and drop in the algae wafer.
This way, you are sure that they are feeding.

[illumnae]

my 422 tank is like a black hole...once the fish goes in, it's almost impossible to get them back out again putting the net in would startle the discus so much that they'd uproot everything in my tank. i can just hope for the best

[Quixotic]

They should take algae tablets. Tank being that big, it could be a problem of not being able to find them. *shrug*

You can always try feeding other types of food. A small portion of their diet is said to also include various flatworms, crustaceans and small insect larvae. So frozen bloodworm would be welcomed. In aquaria, they are also fed vegetable like zucchini, kale and others.

[illumnae]

i'll be trying blanching lettuce to see if they eat it. frozen bloodworms has already been tried i saw some eating algae from the tank walls today though so i guess it's good