Blue Acaras Breeding Ground?

[SalmonFamily]

Hi,

I read that Blue Acaras like flat stones for laying their eggs, so I introduced a bit more flat pebbles over the weekend into my setup, in arrangements.

I have 3 Acaras, one big one, that coloured up a few weeks ago, and another 2 slightly smaller ones, one has coloured up and one is just normal colourings.

The two that have coloured up, have immediately "claimed" the area I put these pebbles on, and they take it in turns, one will be hovering over the pebbles and nearly touching them, just fanning them by the looks of it. Then the other one will come over and hover over the pebbles and then the other fish will swim back off into the tank. They continue doing this, with always one by the pebbles.

Are they getting ready to breed? I am not sure if they are male and female, just notice this behaviour going on.

Can someone tell me if the game of "tag" is a mating ritual? What will they do next as a standard rule?

I have had babies in my community tank but am still awaiting that new arrival into my Cichlid tank!!
I can't wait!!

 

[rossyt99]

Can't be certain without seeing them, but it does sound like they are preparing the 'site' to lay the eggs......Usually the Male will be larger, with more elongated fins at the top and bottom - and will usually have more colour.

......The definitive sign that they are about to lay the eggs/ fertilise is when the 'Tube' appears near the anus. The females will be broader and the Males thinner.......It will be a yellowy/ clear colour and these appear when they are not far from spawning. .....You will then be able to see which the Pair is, and remove the other one if you can - or it will get harrassed all the time and cause a lot of stress.

Mine used to lay them on Pebbles (large, stone), slate or in Clay Flower-pots.

If the Temp is quite high (79-82F) it will encourage spawning. They lay about 300 eggs a time, sometimes more.


Good Luck!

 

[blue acara]

The pair of blue acara that I had the female had a white outline to her dorsal fin while the male had red/orange outline. Male is bigger/ longer dorsal. The first time they laid it was a suprise as I hadnt seen much interaction. They lay alot of eggs even at a relativly small size.

When courting the male will position himself close to the female and erect all of his fins- then he may 'judder' looks like hes twiching, he will do this repeatedly. The female will reciprocate this by erecting her fins. Some tail flipping between the two is common as well. This is all common behaviour in cichlid spawning.