Blue Acara

[jayjay]

i see your point now lol

if it's a male you could try 2 firemouths?

 

[squishy_1984]

if i got 2 firemouths they would have to be females then to stop breeding and i assume aggression is less with 2 females rather than 2 males

 

[jayjay]

yeah your right but if you got a breeding pair the fry would up being picked off probably by the acara.

 

[squishy_1984]

thats not too bad but if i got a breeding pair would they gang up on the acara during breeding as its only in a 55gal

 

[jayjay]

well yeah they would defend against the acara till they stopped caring for the young....

you could always add some some off catfish not cories or anything like that, which would eat fry?

 

[squishy_1984]

i think i might try a male and female firemouth along with the blue acara. you've persuaded me. Hopefully the acara will be ableto hold its own. But theres nothing to say the firemoughs will pair up if i only buy 2 though

 

[squishy_1984]

this is my new acara, only been in the tank about 8hours. seems to have settled in, i am hoping for someone to help me sex him if its possible and tomake sure he is a blue acara

he's about 3 inches long

 

[squishy_1984]

can anyone id his sex?

 

[jayjay]

look like a female to me..... not 100% though

 

[squishy_1984]

how can you distinguish detween the male and female. he has a lot more colour today but i do not have a camera with me. could you tell me the differences and i can go have a closer inspection.

cheers again jayjay

jd

 

[jayjay]

i went mainly by fins enough though it is a young fish. the females are more rounded although the pics i have of a breeding pair look quite similar but the fins on females are more rounded then in males

 

[squishy_1984]

i can't tell, maybe he's still too young to sex

 

[Josiah]

I would say female aswell. But also personally if i was doing south american i would get a pair of blue acara and a pair of firemouths.

 

[max11180]

I started out with 4 blue acaras, and an oscar to keep them in line.. the Acaras are tougher than they seem! they keep the Oscar (which is 3 times the size of the acara) in line, and i now have to many acara to count, even after i've twice traded some in for supplies.
Anyways.. i would say that yours is female. Males generally, have more pointed fins, which, over time, grow to overlap the tailfin. As for colouration, males are generally bighter overall, and more showy, female seem to be darker, but, show more contrast between the vertical stripes when in breeding mood, with very distinct white/black stripes. the males stripes are more royal blue/sky blue colouration. Wait a few days and observe to see what happens, until the fish decide who is the "boss" of the tank. Being newly introduced, she is effectively the bottom of the pecking order and will not show much colouration, until she settles down, and figures out how she sits in the order of things. When they all know who's who, they will start to show full colours.
As for cichlid tank mates, as long as you have sufficient objects (caves, bits of bogwood, large plants), so then fish can easily identify teritories and boundries, and you choose one of a compatible size, then you shouldn't face much trouble from any choice. I've read and heard that convicts, or salvinis would be bad, but i had no experience with either so, not really sure, but they have a bad rep from someplace.

 

[squishy_1984]

thanks for the replies all.

she's the only fish in the tank so she's top of the pecking order.
Do you think a male + female acara and a male + female firemouth in a 55 then. would it not get a little cramped.