The cleaner fish with two quirks
A siamese algae eater earns its keep grazing algae from leaves, wood and glass, which creates an odd cleaning problem: much of what you would normally scrub off is the fish's food supply. Strip every surface and you have a hungry, restless fish rasping hopefully at bare glass. The second quirk is athleticism — siamese algae eaters are powerful, fast swimmers that startle hard and can jump clean out of an open tank when a hand or net arrives suddenly. A calm clean therefore works predictably, keeps the lid close, and deliberately leaves part of the algae standing.
Predictable movements, lid in reach
Set out your bucket, siphon and temperature-matched, dechlorinated refill water before opening the tank, and keep the lid or a cover net within arm's reach for the whole session; the moment of maximum escape risk is when the top is open and your attention is in the water. Let the fish see slow hands coming rather than a sudden plunge. These fish are confident foragers and usually resume grazing within metres of a slow siphon, so there is no need to move them out — and chasing one with a net, given its speed, stresses the entire tank.
Clean what the fish can't, leave what it eats
Take the algae off the front viewing pane, since that is the glass you look through and the fish reaches it easily anyway, but leave the growth on the back pane, driftwood and rocks standing as the algae eater's pasture. Siphon the substrate in steady sections, lifting the waste and uneaten food the fish ignores, and take care around broad plant leaves — siamese algae eaters rest on them and graze their surfaces, and a leaf stripped or torn removes both. Rinse filter media in removed tank water and refill smoothly against the glass. If green water or heavy algae is what prompted the clean, resist the one-day total scrub: reduce light hours and feeding, and let the fish plus smaller cleans bring it down gradually.
One more balance is worth learning: this species grazes hardest on the soft green algae that coats surfaces first, and largely ignores the tough black beard and spot algae owners most want gone. So a tank can look increasingly untidy in the stubborn patches while the fish is, in fact, well fed on the soft growth. Judge its condition by its activity and body shape rather than by whether the decor looks scrubbed, and tackle beard algae yourself with targeted work on the affected leaf or stone only, away from the fish's main grazing runs.
A fed, settled fish is the goal
After a balanced clean, the algae eater should be back on the wood and back glass within the hour, rasping steadily, with the front pane clear for your viewing. A fish roaming bare surfaces restlessly, sucking at the glass constantly, or losing condition over following weeks is likely being cleaned out of house and home — leave more growth standing next time. Note which surfaces you cleaned and which you left for grazing in KinsLe via Care Teams, so the siamese algae eater's tank stays in that deliberate balance whoever does the cleaning.