Blue Acara (advise Needed)

[Gooner]

Please could someone sex my Acara.
Sorry the pics are not that great, but can get some more if needed.

The reason I am asking is that I have a rescued JD and it needs to be rehomed and thought a mate for the Acara would be ideal. How would be the best way to pair them up, bearing in mind my Acara is around 4 to 5" and the Lfs have only got little ones about 2". There is also a Firemouth around 4" in the tank that keeps on terrorising the JD, would it do the same to the little Acaras?

Thanks,

Gooner.

 

[RadaR]

I think its a female. If it was a male the dorsal and anal fins would be much longer.

 

[Gooner]

Ok, assuming it`s female, how would I go about trying to pair her with a male? Would I just look for a male around the same size and hope for the best, or is there a specific way of doing this. I have heard of using one male and a couple of females and when two have paired off remove the other females. Should I do the opposite and get a couple of males and wait until they pair and remove the males?

Would it be a problem if the male was considerably smaller as the Lfs has only got smaller ones. (I assume they are harder to sex while they are still small at 2")

 

[Katchan]

On a fish that size I would agree with radar, male acara's at that size tend to have dorsal and or anal fins that may be as long (or longer) than the tail, otherwise in body colouration they are the same.

I have a pair of acara with a dempsey, no probs, he a little bit of bully (biggest cichlid in the tank) but no real amount. Young dempseys like to hide so if a couple of possible spots are set up he should be OK, also If you got a male acara (2" should be sexable) you may find its colours drab out alot, but will grow very quick, its colours will emerge once its reached the females size (that what happened to mine, my female was 1" bigger than the male when I got him) there shouldnt be any problem between them.

No experience with firemouths sorry but in a well set up and enough room all should be fine

HTH

Andrew

 

[Gooner]

Great advice, thanks.

The JD is deffinately being returned this weekend, so will look to see what the Lfs have available. I`m quite friendly with one of the employees so will ask if he can get a larger male. There is no rush, so could wait until a larger one is available.

Slightly off topic, the Acara that I have has taken residence under a large hollowed log and has started to clear out the sand creating a hollow uderneath bearing the tank bottom, is this normal activity for the Acara as I have heard that they do not dig?

 

[Katchan]

Acara most definetly do dig, they tend to be open spawner digging holes for their eggs or babies (which they move around a few different nests). She could be doing this just to make room or as breeding thing (even though there no males about she still may follow breeding pattenn/rituals)

Andrew

 

[Gooner]

Result
Just phoned the Lfs and they heve reserved a 4" male for me and will exchange for the JD.
Fingers crossed that they get on together.

 

[Gooner]

Got a few more pics just to clarify if it`s male or female. What do you think?
The dorsel and anal fins look pointed.

 

[Katchan]

With acara both male and female have the pointed fins, its the length that matters

Below are my pair, the top being female, the 2nd being male
(sorry for the crap quality, was after speed more than finesse )

hope this helps



You can really see the greater fin size/length of the males compared to females

Andrew

 

[Gooner]

Thanks Andrew,

Much appreciated.

Great looking looking fish

 

[Katchan]

Thanks Andrew,

Much appreciated.

Great looking looking fish

No probs

The colour on the male isnt so great though LOL, I did a total replant of the tank last night which has put him out a bit .
He did have wonderful dark stripes and nice blues trying to court the female till then

 

[Gooner]

I know what you mean, mine are pretty dull due to re-scaping, although it doesn`t help with the JD pestering "HER" all the time.
What size are your Acaras and have they bred? Looks quite a large tank.

 

[Katchan]

The tank is about 150L or 40 gallons, fish size are around three and half inches and they have bred once so far, about 6 weeks ago when they were both in a 20 gallon (were moved to there current tank about a month ago, and will get a new 6-8 foot tank in july) but are yet to breed in the current tank (or the eggs have been eaten before I've seen them)

Andrew