Re: Red Lined SAE

["Madan Subramanian" <madans at hathway_com>]

I have had the Puntius Denisonii ( Locally known as Red Line Torpedo Fish )
in my tanks for a full year now. I am not sure where or how the SAE
connection originated but from what I have seen they don't get after the
brush algae like the SAE nor do they belong to the same genus.
They do not spare hair algae. They are peaceful and voracious feeders who
will accept any "food". They grow to a length of 6 inches in the wild. Mine
have tapered off at about 4 inches in the aquarium.
Stem plants like Rotola wallichii, Ergeria densa are salad and so is
Christmas Moss.
Juveniles are better off at getting rid of hair algae where as adults can
pull out stem plants right off the roots when they get after the algae.
Foreground plants like E.tellenus, L.brasiliensis if introduced into a tank
where the P.denisonii have settled in will be uprooted the moment they are
planted -  it's more like a game. They don't uproot these plants if they are
already there in the aquarium.
Beautiful, peaceful, schooling fish keep at least 3 in a 3 foot long
aquarium.

They cost about USD 2-3 here in India. All are wild caught, the season being
now October - December. By January larger specimens measuring 3 inches are
available after which they are kinda difficult to source.
They were available in Seattle I think last year at $40 a piece.

One Indian website classifies them as - " Endangered, sufficient quantity
available for commercial exploitation."
What ever that means.

Madan Subramanian
Bangalore, India.