Blue acara additions?

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Ogertron3000

Ogertron3000

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Nov 6, 2017
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I have 2 blue acaras approx 15 months old in a 40G. They are possibly a pair, they go through the motions of breeding every few weeks but I’ve never seen any actual eggs.
If they aren’t doing this then the big one is very dominant over the smaller supposed female.
The big male is more aggressive than I expected, he has killed a keyhole cichlid and a bunch of swordtails and munched a school of red eye tetras.
An LFS has just got lots of small acaras in at a nice price but they are 1/4 of the size of my current male (possibly smaller). I’m thinking about getting 5 of them and seeing if I can get a genuine pair to form then rehoming the rest but I am concerned the male will just kill them all.
Has anyone tried to do something like this? I want to do a rescape so would probably do that and then get the new fish on the same day but I’m worried it wil al go to hell very quickly.
Current set up for reference

EAE4C28F-1C4D-4F3A-90D1-6F28159D8CB3.jpeg
 
You will need to do this in a larger tank. I had six in a 75 and they still nearly killed each other at 3 - 4”. This is just the acara nature. Now the six are in my 150g with some Heros and they still chase and fight constantly all day.
 
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I had a few Blue Acaras and a couple rams in a 50g tank once along with a few other community fish, and the acaras killed each other and the rams (rams went first). I dont have a lot of expertise with acaras otherwise aside from the one I have now --- only one, and he's in a tank with much bigger fish now (an oscar, jack dempsey and a severum), so he's a sweet pea....lol
 
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I’m in 2 minds about the acaras. They aren’t big or mean enough to be really classed as a big mean fish but they are big and mean enough to limit what you can do with them in the tank.
If I had a breeding pair as I originally hoped for then I would find them more interesting. Mine look good and are a nice size but I find myself thinking about switching to something else occasionally which isn’t normally my fishkeeping style. I’ve had them since they were tiny so I am a bit attached to them.
It looks like maybe adding a bunch of juveniles will most likely not end well until n this size tank.
 
I put 12 young (3")wild caught Andinoacara coerleopunctatus in a 180 gal (about the closest cousin to blue acara's you can get)
Within a year the alpha male, killed all other males(3), and a few females, leaving only 3 females and himself.
The size of a cichlid often has little to do with what it perceives as its proper required territorial footprint .
I have watched medium size Rocio in nature defend a territory of about a 250 gallon footprint when spawning.
 
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A while back I had a 4x2x2 tanks with 5 of the neon blue acaras and didnt have any issues with 1 breeding pair in the mix there were geos and tetras in their too, are the natural coloured ones more aggressive or is it just the fact they are in a smaller tank?
 
Yes the "electric Blue" variations are usually more fragile and less aggressive than their normal base fish.
I think you may be better off starting with 2 new acaras and finding a whole new pair, yours is already full-grown and has established that tank as his territory, dropping in a bunch of juveniles would likely end in them being killed, as you said in your first post. I agree you'd be better off in a bigger tank, 40g is tight for a breeding pair. Alternatively, you could get some more non-cichlid tankmakes like some big fast tetras, and keep the male solo. Looks like a nice specimen.
 
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Gourami Swami said:
Yes the "electric Blue" variations are usually more fragile and less aggressive than their normal base fish.
I think you may be better off starting with 2 new acaras and finding a whole new pair, yours is already full-grown and has established that tank as his territory, dropping in a bunch of juveniles would likely end in them being killed, as you said in your first post. I agree you'd be better off in a bigger tank, 40g is tight for a breeding pair. Alternatively, you could get some more non-cichlid tankmakes like some big fast tetras, and keep the male solo. Looks like a nice specimen.
Click to expand...

I am a bit attached to these fish, having them since they were tiny grey looking things and seeing them now has been very satisfying so i dont think i will start with a new pair.
If the male doesnt harass the smaller one too much i will keep them both but rehome the smaller one if it gets out of hand, possibly they are a pair and will eventually breed as they show all the spawning behaviour but never actually lay any eggs.
As for tankmates, besides a red tail shark that the LFS gave me for free that i didnt really want I will probably leave them alone or maybe a hoplo cat or 2 if i ever find any. I might just go nuts on the scape and see if i can have a nice natural suitable tank for them to live in for the rest of their lives.
 
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Heres some pics of them, one of the smaller one by itself and one next to the big male for comparison.
What do you think, is it a female?

acara1.jpg

acara2.jpg
 
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