# Can Siamese algae eater and cherry shrimp co-exist



## Daniil

Hi,
I purchased 15 juvenile cherry shrimps for my 55g planted tank.
Now it's a 3rd day an I don't see any one.
Is that possible that SAE ate them all?


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## davemonkey

Are you suer you have SAE and not Chinese Algae Eaters? 

I'm not sure if SAE would eat the shrimp or not (CAE definitely will), but I know that little cherry shrimp are very good at hiding. I had placed 6 cherries in a tank with Apistos and thought they all got eaten. But when I torn down the tank, I found well over 30 shrimp of various ages/stages. So, I bet you've got a reproducible colony of them still left, even if some became a snack.


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## Izzy

I have never seen my SAE bother the cherry shrimp. Do you have sponge prefilters on your intakes? What other inhabitants are in the tank?


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## Daniil

Izzy said:


> I have never seen my SAE bother the cherry shrimp. Do you have sponge prefilters on your intakes? What other inhabitants are in the tank?


Yes i have sponge prefilter and other inhabitants are: cardinal, neon, rummynose tetras and Otocinclus.


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## riseabovethesun

A lot of creatures would love to make a snack out of a baby shrimp, but I'm about 95% positive that none of those creatures could find them. I actually had a CAE who was awful, but he's gone now. I haven't had an SAE so I'm not sure about those guys, I've heard better reviews though. I did have some Kuhli Loaches who weren't supposed to eat shrimp and they did. So I think it just depends on the fish and if they're in the mood or not, I don't think there will ever be a 100% answer on this.

But I think they hide well, I mean I thought two of my bamboo shrimp died one is about 3-4" the other is 2-3" come to find they were just hiding, and if those can hide baby cherry shrimp that are about an eighth of an inch long surely can to! Just give it some time I'm sure they'll come out and are perfectly fine!


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## ZorroNet

SAE will definitely eat fry cherry shrimp. I dropped 20 in a tank and my 3 SAE went on a feeding frenzy. I noticed the RCS noticed the SAE and quickly made a run for the other side of the tank from them and the buffet began quickly! I netted and removed the SAE to a different shrimp-less tank to save the shrimps as quickly as I could. I saved most of them because I was watching closely when I put them in, but had I walked away for even a minute, I would have nothing but fat SAEs! Algae isn't the only thing these guys eat... if it's small enough to fit in their mouth, they will give it a taste.


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## Iloveshrimp

The SAE's I had were aggressive eaters and I don't doubt for a second they would eat baby shrimp.


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## aluka

Most that are sold as SAE, are not true SAE. True SAE are pretty peaceful community fish, BUT they will eat the shrimps. But if your SAE is agressive to the other fishes, then you probably have a flying fox or false SAE.


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