Andinoacara pulchra - Aren't They a Bit Young For This???

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notho2000

notho2000

Silver Tier VIP
MFK Member
Aug 16, 2010
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winnipeg, canada
I have had Blue Acaras in the past. And when Spencer Jack at aFISHionados in Winnipeg brought in some wild caught youngsters, I couldn't resist, picking out six. They were just over an inch and appeared very healthy and vigorous. I put them in with ten similarly sized Astatheros altifrons young from a recent spawn. They were housed in a 25G cube tank with a sponge filter and silica sand substrate. I decided not to decorate the tank for ease of maintenance. After about a month or so, the 'pulchra', at 1 1/2 to 2" started to show increased coloration and began to interact with one another. It seems I ended up with four males and two females. Yesterday, I noticed one pair guarding a clutch of eggs which they laid on a heater. I immediately pulled the plug so the eggs wouldn't 'hard boil'. Here are some pictures of the really young (and very attractive) Blue Acara parents, all 2 inches of them, doing a great job protecting their very first spawn.
[video=youtube_share;RirTpQEstcc]http://youtu.be/RirTpQEstcc[/video]
 
The first blue acaras I ever had as a kid spawned at 2". I thought they were babies when I got them from the LFS but they spawned about four days later. I've also had port-type cichlids spawn at small sizes. My last pair the female was only 3" or so.
 
Btw, it's a shame you're in Canada -- I'd love some wild or F1 blue acaras. I haven't seen them here in a long time. I never know if the LFS varieties have been crossed with similar Andinoacara.
 
As I keep saying, one of the most under rated cichlids in the hobby is the poor ol' blue acara. Very sweet that you got some wilds in.

Ryan - Rapps occasionally gets them in. He's admitted in a thread before to being a closet acara guy.
 
^ I PM'd him a while back about the A. latifrons which are very close, but unfortunately he'd just sold all but one lone fish. They were on his list for weeks and I didn't bite when I had the chance. I'm kicking myself now.

As far as cichlids go, acaras are my favorite. You really can't beat the blue acaras -- mild enough for a community, small enough to not require a massive tank, great parents, beautiful shape and colors, easy to care for and spawn -- it's no wonder they've been a staple in the hobby for so long.
 
darth pike said:
As I keep saying, one of the most under rated cichlids in the hobby is the poor ol' blue acara. Very sweet that you got some wilds in.
Click to expand...

ryansmith83 said:
As far as cichlids go, acaras are my favorite. You really can't beat the blue acaras -- mild enough for a community, small enough to not require a massive tank, great parents, beautiful shape and colors, easy to care for and spawn -- it's no wonder they've been a staple in the hobby for so long.
Click to expand...

I'm in full agreement with your comments . . . one highly under rated beauty!!
 
Spawning at under 2 inches! Nice!
 
Jim, they're cuter than heck :-)

@Ryan, I've made the same procrastination mistake with Rapps' stocklist. The reason being, the cost of my safest Next Day shipping to Calif is over $70.00. I need to bite the bullet more often.
 
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