Confused about temperature for blue acara

[Cabie]

The Baensch Aquarium Atlas states that the temperature range for blue acaras is 18-23 C and so do some websites, but there are also many websites stating a temperature range of 23-28 C instead. Which one is correct? Just to make clear, I'm talking about the standard blue acara, not the electric blue acara.

 

[duanes]

All the cichlids of the genus Andianacara come from west of the Andes, so this means to me, I would err on the side of cooler rather than warmer.
When you are in the 82'F range you enter the perfect temps for the bacteria that cause duck lips, and most of the rivers that side of the Andes, average in the mid to high 70s depending on the season (wet/dry), and the run-off from the near by mountains.
I was in Colombia last year looking for cichlids on that side of the mountains and found the rivers quite a bit cooler the I expected, even near the coast.

 

[Audaxcity]

If I'm uncertain about a species' temp requirements, my general rule of thumb is 24-25C for anything tropical or even sub-tropical. There are exceptions to the rule (eg German Rams), but those are few and far between.

Blue Acara are distributed quite close to the equator, so I would think this rule applies.

 

[Rocksor]

The Baensch Aquarium Atlas states that the temperature range for blue acaras is 18-23 C and so do some websites, but there are also many websites stating a temperature range of 23-28 C instead. Which one is correct? Just to make clear, I'm talking about the standard blue acara, not the electric blue acara.

find out where blue acaras naturally originate from and go from there. There are many websites that use input from hobbyists, and over the last 20 years the optimal tropical temperature has jumped up from 72-74f to now in the 80f. Many fish websites also pull information from one another. I would say that the Aquarium is more correct, and you can pull the information from Duanes who has had first hand experience being in that area.

 

[ryansmith83]

Blue acara are also one of the most popular and adaptable of all cichlids which would explain why they’ve been a hobby staple forever. So long as you don’t take it to an extreme they aren’t fussy.

 

[Cabie]

Thanks, guys! So I think I'll go with 23 C then.

 

[darth pike]

Blue acara is also the common name for 5+ species so the temp range can vary depending on where they are from.

 

[Cabie]

Blue acara is also the common name for 5+ species so the temp range can vary depending on where they are from.

I didn't know that! Which species are they? The one I was thinking of is the andinoacara pulcher, formerly known as aequidens pulcher.

 

[darth pike]

Well there is pulcher, latrifons, and coeruleopunctatus which is from central america were the original three, but now there are several undescribed ones as well like sp. "Choco" and one from the Inirida river.

The temp for the Central American species will be much lower than the ones from the Orinoco and Inirida rivers, which would be higher than the ones found in the coastal areas and the island of Trinidad.