Here are some quick notes about my experiences with EFAs as a vegan.
Flaxseed oil - personally caused me quite nasty breast pain, and had no other effects. It took me two months to figure this out, and then I had a Google and discovered that while it's a rare side effect, I'm not the only one who's had it. I wouldn't say that you need to avoid flaxseed oil for this reason, just bear it in mind if you notice that you are getting (increased) breast pain. The usual objection to flaxseed oil is that not much of it gets converted to Omega 3s in the body, so that it's easy to think that you're getting a much higher dose than you really are.
Evening primrose oil, borage oil - tried various doses, didn't notice an effect either way.
Echium seed oil - sold as Echiomega, made by Igennus
http://shop.igennus.com/Echiomega.html It contains 162mg ALA and 72mg SDA per capsule. SDA is a precursor to EPA, so again, you get less of the actual Omega 3. There's no DHA. Igennus have something against DHA for some reason, they remove it from their fish oil. The only effect I noticed was that my periods were shorter and lighter, which was welcome as I have a copper IUD. Apparently this is a reasonably common effect with Omega 3 oils. I think I'm getting the same effect on algae oil.
Algae oil - originally tried V-Pure
http://www.nuique.com/omega3/, which contains 200mg DHA and 50mg EPA per capsule, but have now moved onto Opti3
http://opti3omega.com/indexd.html, which contains 200mg DHA, 100mg EPA, and 100iu vegan Vitamin D3 per capsule. The people who make Opti3 also make Vitashine vegan Vitamin D3
http://vitashine-d3.com/.
I've just bumped up the dose of Opti3 to three capsules a day, and I think it's helping my eyes to be less dry. Hard to tell, really. The V-Pure had a fishy smell which I suspect could indicate rancidity, but the Opti3 doesn't smell of anything at all. Also it's a bit cheaper.
I've just quickly looked up some fish oils, and it seems that the ratio of EPA to DHA is markedly different. Fish oils have much more EPA, algae oils have more DHA. Fish oils are a lot cheaper, of course, but may not be acceptable for veggies like me, people with fish allergies, or people who are concerned about heavy metal toxicity (not that I've really bothered to get to the bottom of the heavy metal business, since I've not eaten fish since I was three).
How DHA works in the brain:
Linear Mode
