Appearance

Blue Acara (aequidens pulcher) is a medium-sized cichlid from central and southern America. They are vividly coloured, ranging from almost-white to a deep, almost neon-blue colour, with serrated dorsal fins, red-black eyes, and a fringe of yellow-orange along the edges of their fins. They are curious and active fish which are peaceful enough to be compatible with many different tank-mates.

The morphs we sell are:

• Aequidens pulcher, ‘Electric’ - These are vividly blue acara bred for their intense colouration.

They typically grow up to 16cm long, and live between 8-10 years with good husbandry.

Water Conditions

• Minimum Tank Size: 150 litres

• Water Parameters

  • Temperature: 22° c - 27° c

  • PH: Neutral to mildly acidic - Between 6.5 and 7.5

  • Hardness: 100 - 250 ppm

• Tank Specifics:

  • Blue Acara can engage in digging and burrowing behaviours, so soft, sandy substrate is ideal, and any plants must be hardy enough to survive being disturbed.

  • Particular care needs to be taken to keep nitrate levels low, as high nitrate levels can lead to sickness in this species.

Feeding

Blue Acara are carnivorous and require a meaty diet to thrive. They will happily take high-protein fish pellets, but bloodworms, brine shrimp, and small pieces of chopped seafood are also ideal feeds.

Compatibility

This species is known to be extremely peaceful, but they are known to occasionally bully smaller fish within the tank - this can be mitigated by giving smaller fish places to hide where they can escape, but it is better overall if they are only housed with similarly sized or bigger fish. They will only tend to bicker with their own species during breeding, when they may become territorial.

Breeding and Sexing

Male blue acara are generally a little larger, and have slightly more elongated anal and dorsal fins, whilst females are a little rounder; but they are not a massively dimorphic species, and it may be tricky to tell males and females apart. When a pair of fish decide they are ready to spawn together, the female will seek out a flat rock or excavate a small pit, and deposit a clutch of eggs onto it, which the male will then fertilise. They will move on and repeat this in multiple more locations, typically laying 300 eggs total.