I need some blue in my 180 gal SA Community

[vaypourus]

I'm looking for a fish to add some green/blue color to my stock list. My current stock simply has too much red, black, & silver. The Green Severum was intended to add green/blue to the tank, but he has recently commandeered ‘alpha fish position’ and is now wearing a more drab olive/tan dress.

Details about the tank and current stock are below; feel free to skip-

The tank is standard 6'x2'x2' 180 gallon Perfecto w/ twin overflows and a 50 gallon W/D sump. RO water is reconstituted to mimic northern Amazon river conditions. The tank is fully planted and is running CO2 & an EI fertilizer routine. My experience has shown the CO2 & ferts to have absolutely no effect on the fish, as I had breeding BNs and Krobia Guianensis in this setup and currently have a pair of Aequidens Metae in the tank that bred again today. Even with the high bio-load, water parameters are pretty alright. I am not worried about the plants as they grow back fast enough; herbivore options would be welcome!

My current stock is as follows:


(5) Myleus Schomburgkii
(5) Metynnis Maculatus
(2) Aequidens Metae
(1) Semaprochilodus Taeniurus
(1) Green Severum
(1) Heros sp. Rotkeil
(1) Super Red Severum
(1) Peckoltia Compta L134
(1) Baryancistrus Demantoides L200
(1) Common Bristlenose Pleco
(1) Pseudorinelepis sp. L152

The tank is pretty overstocked at the moment, but the fish are all within 3”-4” in size and get along very well at this point in the game. The Pineapple pleco is moving to another tank this winter, and I’m guessing that 3-5 of the silver dollars and maybe a severum will need to be removed. I'm okay with modifying the stock list as needed (not that I always have a choice )


Suggestions for a blue/green fish? I’d like it to be a SA fish (cichlid or otherwise) that grows no larger than 10” or so, and is a fish that will fit into a community tank. I’m not interested in GTs or JD/EBJDs, and I have not been impressed with any Blue Acara I’ve seen in person. I’m also hesitant to try a Hoplarchus Psittacus due to carnage I’ve seen with my own eyes; they seem to get aggressive as they age.

I’m not even aware of other blue/green fish options – any help, suggestions would be great!


***Uncommon fish suggestions are okay as well - my LFS can get some pretty obscure fish, which is awesome.

 

[PDRed302]

How about an Aequidens Pulcher?

I know you've stated that you havent been impressed with the blue Acara that you've seen but you may have to give it some time, they usually dont really color up untill there around 3 inches or so.

 

[Sarah88]

you could try a carpinte, they will DEFINITELY give you the bright blues, most pics really do not capture their actual colors. they dont get quite as aggressive as cyanos and since your fish are still small i would try to add a couple small juvies and then keep the one that stays the mildest, your severums should be tough enough to hold their own, especially if starting out larger

 

[vaypourus]

I'm hesitant to add additional acara as I want to keep aggression to a minimum. The Yellow Acara are absolutely spectacular, and I fear that there might be some conspecific aggression if I added additional acara to the stock.

The Aequidens Pulcher adults I've seen were more of a silver-gray with electric blue highlights. They were pretty, but I'd like more solid blue rather than more iridescent blue.

 

[bbortko]

What about geos, a lot of them have blue and you shouldn't have aggression issues

 

[cacichlids]

Blue Acara can be gorgeous when breeding... here's my pair

Video: http://s1205.photobucket.com/albums/bb423/1crazyoscar/Blue%20Acaras/?action=view&current=VIDEO0040.mp4

You can also keep a breeding pair in a community since they're not nearly as aggressive as other cichlids... they normally stick to their little corner and only chase intruders away for a short distance.

 

[cichlidfish]

you could try a carpinte, they will DEFINITELY give you the bright blues, most pics really do not capture their actual colors. they dont get quite as aggressive as cyanos and since your fish are still small i would try to add a couple small juvies and then keep the one that stays the mildest, your severums should be tough enough to hold their own, especially if starting out larger

I think a carpinte would still be a little too aggressive for the others IMO.

 

[Aquanero]

I think a carpinte would still be a little too aggressive for the others IMO.

Not SA either.

 

[vaypourus]

I think a carpinte would still be a little too aggressive for the others IMO.

The Carpinte sp. ‘Escondito' is one of my favorite CA cichlids, but not of the correct water parameters for my tank, and a bit aggressive for the silver dollas methinks.

Blue Acara can be gorgeous when breeding... here's my pair

You can also keep a breeding pair in a community since they're not nearly as aggressive as other cichlids... they normally stick to their little corner and only chase intruders away for a short distance.

Very nice. How big are they? Can you give me some details on your stock & setup?

 

[cacichlids]

I don't have them anymore because I moved onto more aggressive species when the male died, but he was a little bigger than 4" in that picture. He died of unknown reasons during breeding (no scars, nothing wrong with water, no symptoms, just died overnight). They were less than a year old and housed in a 120 gal tank with 2 severum and a group of young Salvini. Filtration was a 20 gal sump.

Very beautiful fish, hardy, not shy at all and relatively peaceful too. I would like to keep another pair by themselves in a smaller tank at some point.