Blue Acara

[squishy_1984]

Just bought my first blue acara for my 55gal. he's about 3.5 inches and so cute. What would you recomend iput withhim, would a severum work, and could iput anothother type, possibly a firemouth, with him aswell.

thanks

jd

 

[jayjay]

more blue acara?

maybe a female convict?

 

[squishy_1984]

wouldn't the convict throw the acara about??

yeah i could get another acara, would they fight a lot if there were 2 acara males?

 

[jayjay]

well if you get a female convict then they are more placide but i'm not 100% they wouldn't fight so you'll need better advice on them.

get a male and a female then? or 2 females if you don't want breeding.

also how about a severum not sure about adult tank sizes but that should work. read the pinned topics of them.

 

[squishy_1984]

i wouldn't mind adding a severum and a firemouth.

have looked about on other cichlid forums but most i have found are deserted. not much activity on them.

just want to know if there would be a lot of aggression between these choices

1. blue acara, severum, firemouth
or
2. blue acara, severum, convict(f) (as suggested by jayjay)
or
3. 2 blue acaras, severum

or put a juwel cichlid in there. open to all sugestions

what do you all think. could this work or is there too much fish and not enough room fo teritory

 

[jayjay]

i would go with the 2 acara's and the severum but i don't know what size tanks severums needwhen their adults.

the female convict was only a suggestion i've never done it by the way.

i've seen firemouths with acara's and they looked ok. i've also seen severum acara's and firemouths together.

 

[squishy_1984]

thanks jayjay. will do a bit more research and try make a decision. might do the 2 acaras and a severum if i can. cheers

jd

 

[jayjay]

Tank and Fish Size
Severums grow to a maximum size of 12 inches/30 centimetres (a foot long), sometimes even more in the wild but are rarely seen passing that length. The Severum is usually sold as a small fish around 2 inches at your fish shop. This often misleads people into buying these giants to be. They can also grow deep in size (like a discus), so therefore, a large tank is needed.
Only one Severums may be squeezed into a 55 gallon tank, but with that you don't have many options open for tank mates, In a 55 gallon tank you could probably have a pleco as a tank mate, but that wouldn't be interesting would it? So you would be aiming to go to the next step, a 75 gallon tank. With the extra space, you could add another Severum, but they should be upgraded later in their life.

Tank Mates
Severums are usually peaceful but, keep this in mind, large. So therefore you could get a large range of tank mates for them.

• Large Tetras(Such as the Black Widow etc) Large Danios (Giant Danios),Rainbow Fish, Hatchet Fish etc etc
  (though when selecting these fish make sure they're at or near their maximum size and get a large school (6-10), But fish such as Rasboras are small but fast, and since the Severum is a slow swimmer, these should be fine.
• Other cichlids that could possibly be kept with sevs include: convicts, blue Acara, oscar, Chocolate cichlid, Festivums etc(these fish are not to be kept with fish with large open mouths as they are the smallest of the bunch) But beware, these fish should not be kept in pairs as they will breed and get territorial and cause havoc in the tank. Also remember that when keeping an oscar with a Severum, the tank must be 125 gallons minimum.
  
  

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  thought i'd help you do some reasearch.
  
  

 

[squishy_1984]

haha, just read those. think severums are out of the question. will get a one more blue acara and either a firemouth or a medusa/bristlenose plec.

just trying to source a good cichlidforum.

thanks for being so helpful jayjay

jd

 

[jayjay]

it's alright anytime.

would you consider breeding acara's?

 

[squishy_1984]

yes but i have not got a tank big enough for the fry once they need re-homing. cant afford another tank.

how big would the fry be until they had to be removed from the parent tank?

how big would the fry tank have to be?

jd

 

[jayjay]

if their the only fish in the tank you could always let them breed wait till the adults loose interest in the fry (when they stop confinning them to one place and guarding them) and then move the adults into a smaller tank for a while or move the fry out.

the bigger the better on the fry tank but i'd say if you could a 20g to 30g would be good and give the fry/ sell the fry when their about an inch?

 

[squishy_1984]

i don't have room for anymore tanks, i have 4 in my room as it is. can just about move in there.

im trying to get a good picture so i can sex my acara, he's about 3 inches, maybe just over. i believe they can be sexed at about 3 inches so i'm hoping for some help.

i have read acaras spawn fairly often so i don't think a pair would be wise,
i think i will try (if i have a female acara) 1 more female acara and 1 firemouth OR i might try my acara, 1 firemouth and a convict (but from what ive read they can be aggressive!!!)

sound like a good plan to you??

jd

 

[jayjay]

i'll try my hand at sexing it for you......

why because they spawn in the open if that bad? probably better if their in a species tank you can see what's going on more.

yeah i'd go with 2 female acara and a firemouth, i used to have 4 firemouths i really liked them.

convicts can be aggressive but it's when they are breeding they are worst. but don't go with them if your going with the other option.

 

[squishy_1984]

i'll try my hand at sexing it for you......

why because they spawn in the open if that bad? probably better if their in a species tank you can see what's going on more.

yeah i'd go with 2 female acara and a firemouth, i used to have 4 firemouths i really liked them.

convicts can be aggressive but it's when they are breeding they are worst. but don't go with them if your going with the other option.

i read they spawn every few weeks somewhere and i don't have the room to look after the fry.

so if i have a female acara my tank stocking will be
2 female acara
1 firemouth

if i have a male acara
1 male acara
1 firemouth
and i need help chosing 1 fish that could go well with these.