Breeding Blue Acara in 225g

[Panosian32]

Hi crew, looking for some advice as my blue acara have recently laid eggs in my 225g, planted tank - a first for me. Tank is 6' x 2' x 2.5'.

The tank has minimal stocking right now: a pair of blue acara (3-4") and a juvenile (3") gold severum. My plan was to add a few other SA cichlids I currently have in different grow out tanks over the next 4-6 weeks - I've just been taking my time scaping it and letting the plants grow in.

The blue acara, unexpectedly and for the first time, laid eggs yesterday after being in the tank for a couple of weeks. My question is what to do with the fry (assuming they hatch successfully). Can I leave them in the 225 and expect any success? I'm worried the fry might have trouble finding food and that with the 2.5' height, any brine shrimp I add will get lost and not make it to them. Ideal for me would be to leave them in there as I don't have any back-up tanks available at the moment, but I'd also like to raise some of them up successfully.

Mom and Dad have been great parents so far. One of them is always within a couple inches of the eggs, and they make sure the Severum keeps its distance - although there haven't been any aggression issues.

 

[Panosian32]

Final picture is the pair in their previous tank.

 

[SoDakSam]

I have a pair that laid eggs about 5x in a few months. The first couple tries They did a poor job parenting or got tired of it. The last couple times they did a good job And I had a swarm. I sucked about 20 out with a turkey baster. I still have them in other tanks. Good luck.

 

[xenacanth9]

Idk much about cichlid breeding, but still, cool, good luck

 

[Panosian32]

Had a bunch of wigglers this morning, all appeared to be going well. Just checked the tank and all gone - Severum seems to have a fuller belly than normal.

Maybe next time! I'll keep the thread updated if anything interesting happens.

 

[duanes]

My Panamanian Acaras have spawned a few times each dry season for the last 3 yeas in a similar sized tank.
A few of the fry have made it to about an inch, but then whenever the next spawn happens, the parents see the older fry as a threat (which they are) .
But I also have some tetras that dramatically reduce the free swimming shoal quickly.

above 1" fry hunting its younger siblings

If you want to actually keep fry, the best thing to do would be to remove all other fish from the tank except the parent, and especially not add more cichlids.
Below the tank they spawn in, plenty of places to hide.

 

[Panosian32]

Quick update - I was wrong in my post above, all the eggs are fine (still wigglers at this point). Mom has been moving them around to different hiding spots, and they are difficult to see against the natural color sand I have.

duanes Great looking tank and fish! Thanks for sharing - love to see the pictures. You are right, lots of hiding spots. How long do acara usually wait in between spawns?

My plan is to see how this first round goes in the current set-up. I can keep my other SA cichlids in their grow out tanks for probably another ~4 months before they need more space, so I have some flexibility. I'd still like it to be a community SA tank eventually, but I know that means there's a low likelihood of success with any future fry (in that tank at least), which is ok. Might play a bit of musical chairs with my tanks. TBD. I'd just like to grow up at least 1 round of fry, so that's what I'm hoping to do with this round.

 

[duanes]

Mine spawn every 6 - 8 weeks.
The faster the fry are eaten up between spawns, the faster they seem to spawn again.

 

[SalviniCichlidFan]

Mine spawn every 6 - 8 weeks.
The faster the fry are eaten up between s[awns, the faster they seem to spawn again.

That's kind of like R vs. K selection

 

[Backfromthedead]

Steps for breeding blue acaras:

1. Put male blue acara in any tank.
2. Put female blue acara in the same tank.