Blue Acara out of control

[GermanDude]

Hello!
I have a pair of Blue Acaras in a 63 g 4 ft long tank.
They got along pretty well for a couple of months.
But the last four or five times they've been spawning he always started to fight her about one day after.
Anything I tried did not improve the situation( tank divider,put the aggressor for two weeks in another tank,introducing other dither fish,rearranging decoration)
I am afraid he might kill her while I'm absent.
So I would like to sell all fish but my big male blue acara.
Can you recommend hardy,colorful cichlids that could match well?
I like heroini cichlids,but most of them get pretty big.
Thanks a lot!

 

[jaws7777]

I ran into a similar problem with a yellow acara. It was always peaceful but once i added a pearsei which was small to the tank it beat on the pearsei all the time. I tried everything as you did but in the end i had to sell the fish and this was in a 6ft 150 gal. Imo once a fish claims the top spot in a tank your playing by his rules. I had the same thing happen with a vieja argentea in a 75 gal.

Your male acara claimed the tank i would think your going to have problems with any cichlid you add. Either the acara would beat on it or bite off more than he could handle and get himself killed. Try non cichlid tankmates or rehome him and start over.

 

[GermanDude]

Hi!
I can hardly imagine to give my favorite fish away.He is so beautiful.I raised him from a one inch baby to a six inch fish within about a year.
It is so sad that he does not like his "wife" anymore.
They were sucessful parents about 15 times and now it is just over....for no reason.
If I try to start over, what kind of american cichlids could work?
The tank has a sand bottom, some smooth stones,driftwood and plants.
I like nicaraguan cichlids and heros,but they get too big don't they?

 

[SumoNinja]

human marriages end up like that so don't feel too bad

hope it works out in the end for you

 

[jaws7777]

If you really want your fish then keep him plenty of non cichlid tank mates that MAY work. Most plecos should be left alone along with say spotted or striped rapheal cats. Maybe look into and active med sized pleco such as green phantoms, gold nuggets, L75 maybe

 

[GermanDude]

Thanks SumoNinja, but I would never ever beat my wife....or women at all

The male Acara really tries to deal heavy damage to the female.
If I hadn't seen it today he would have killed her.
They are peaceful and in harmony untill one day after laying eggs.
Then he is starting to chase her suddenly.
He's even searching her in hideouts and attacks.
It's getting worse every time.
I don't know, maybe it is better to restart.
No more cichlid pairs, but several single specimen.

 

[duanes]

This is very normal cichlid behavior, especially in the confines of a small area.
It seems most cichlids (new world, or old) need at least 4ft X 4ft X 4ft (@250+ gallons) as a buffer zone for a copacetic staging area for spawing.
And since yours have spawned a number of times in the past, it may be that in order to preserve genetic diversity, it is instinctual for the male to need to find a different mate.
I usually only get 3 spawns before either my males, or females tend to kill each other.
Most successful breeders I know give females escape routes behind incomplete dividers to preserve their best females. An example would be a divider with holes only the female can fit through.

 

[ryansmith83]

I have really bad luck keeping acara types as single pairs. There is almost always an aggression issue, either when the pair cannot agree on when to spawn or what to do with the fry. I've seen this from tiny ones (Laetacara) all the way up to the big guys like ports, Krobia, and so on.

Your best bet is a larger tank with a mixed community. My guess is that they will be less aggressive to other species than they are to one another. Even in large tanks, pairs can and do harass each other. I have a pair of Krobia guianensis in my 150 gallon. The male is about 8" and he stalks the female all over the tank and attacks her when she refuses to spawn. Even with lots of tankmates and hiding spots, he seeks her out.

If you do not want to spawn them and you would rather keep the male, rehome the female and try to find some other tankmates for the male. Unfortunately there's not room in your 63 gallon for an acara plus a Heroini fish, IMO.

 

[GermanDude]

Hello,
I have even tried to let him mate with another female.
They were breeding two times and he was biting her one day after laying eggs too, so I had to install a divider.
I let the original pair find each other from a group of young fish growing up together, because I wanted to prevent what happened now anyway.
Maybe it is just bad luck and the male has a "bad character".
I can not start a much bigger tank unfortunately, because of my underfloor heating.
Maybe it is really best to start over.Thanks for let me participate in your oppinions!

 

[Rivers2k]

Nics are to big and not sure what heroini chichlids are but you might want to try something different shaped like Thoricthys types. I had this happen with a fire mouth He was fine with all other fish except for the female he bred with.

As others suggested try non cichlid type fish. He can be your wet pet and you could add a nice school of diamond, lemon or columbian tetras as dithers.