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Everywhere I read , blue acaras, "not too aggressive for cichlids".

Could we please update that to psychopathically aggressive, evil, little fatherless fish!

Mine are about 2 months old, growing like wildfire,having gone from fingernail sized, to near on 3 inches and fat little buggers they are too! and trying to kill everything in sight. Theyre already jaw locking, and attacking some really quite sizeable fish!

Ive even moved them around to different tanks for compatability. They attack siver dollar adults, but not rams, they attack rainbowfish and not cories, they attack adult siamese flying foxes but not the kribs. They ate an adult black neon the same size they were at the time. Are they insane or what?

Is this normal? And if it isnt, is there anything I can do to chill these little suckers out without basically feeding them into non-movement or hitting them with a frying pan?

Oh and general literature seems to neglect to say how misty their poo makes the water. Ive had sheepshead acaras before, these things are like the mr hyde version of those timid little fish.

I have big , big tanks, visual barriers galore,they are spoiled for food, why on earth am I getting this? How much territory does a 3 month old 3 inch fish need for gawd sake?

50 pence each, I shoulda guessed something was up.
At that price they might become polypterus food!

well mate it sounds like they are just thriving,ive had heaps of blueys(as i call em)and it depends on the fish you keep them with,ive had them probs to b4,and now i only have 1 blue acara,and she is the boss of the 55 gal,shes in with,a male severum hes big too,3 convicts,salvini,and her partner is a green terror.she has no probs keeping all them fish in line.she dosent bully them bad,just a check now and then to let them all know she is boss.when i had a blue acara pair,they kept my BIG oscars in check no probs.some are quite plasid,i have a freind,whos got a male bluey in with choclate cichilds,and his 1 is really shy.i rekon they are running a muck because they can,keeping them with neons and lillte fish like that.get them in with some bigger more aggresive cichlids and you find they will fit in alot better and be kept in line by the other fish,look at what mine is with,and she is still the boss,and she isnt the biggest fish in there ether,maybe try keeping them with some fish that will have a good go back,not beat the blueys sensless,just enuff to say hey back offalso if you think they are nasty now,wait intill you see them spawn,a very nice fish,but as you said they can be nasty.hope this helps.
ps.also i agree that the info should,metion that the blue acara does have it in there nature to harras and bully other fish, compete for territory,ect,ect.i also think it depends on the individaul fish,is he nasty by nature or is he a big sook,you no what i mean...

I used to breed blue acaras and kept a heap (around 50) in a 55 gallon tank with very little aggression.
Just a thought, blue acaras when young are similar to green terrors (who get a lot bigger and are much more aggressive), any chance you have those instead?

Ah, but you had fifty of them in the tank.

One of my magazine back numbers had something to say on this. Namely that if boisterous Cichlids are present in large numbers, aggression is suppressed.

The reasoning works as follows. Cichlids apparently use the levels of pollutants in the water to gauge the number of potential opponents. If the numbers thus perceived are very low, and the fishes sense that they have space, aggression is minimal. If the numbers increase, aggression increases until a threshold is reached where warfare breaks out and the stronger ones dispatch the weaker ones in order to claim more aquarium real estate for themselves. However, beyond a certain level of crowding, aggression takes a nosediv. The reasoning being that a fish regards taking out one or two opponents as relatively low risk, but in large numbers at very high density, starting a fight might result in a mass brawl, and taking on a small army of opponents is not so much high risk as suicidal.

Plus of course if the fishes are all the offspring of one set of parents, the fact that they are siblings may reduce the aggression too. If they've grown up with each other, and recognise that they are siblings, that could also reduce aggression. I'm willing to bet that if the numbers were reduced to, say, 12 in the 55 gallon, fighting would soon break out, while if the numbers were reduced to just 6, fighting would only break out once a male/female pair formed and began breeding.

I'll dig out the article sometime, even though I've referenced it here before. Experiments in this area were conducted with Convicts, but I suspect Blue Acaras would exhibit similar behaviour under the same experimental setup.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Ok then (ps thanks for the post Cal) that means ive got some violent little kids then. The tank is a 55, the only other one they could go in together is the 60, the other tanks are all pretty much stocked. The 60 and the 55 could both possibly take one more large cichlid, the idea being that perhaps a single tough fish, not too aggressive for community, but enough to dash their hopes for dominance might be an option, and ill get another tank (yes another!) for when they mature to full size.

Any good candidates you could suggest for a fish that might level them out without slaughtering other fish in the tank? Perhaps a severum or another heros species? Even if it is a good idea id really only want the one, I dont really want things to get violent should whatever species I choose decide to get broody?

I never like to give fish back,id rather make it work, getting another fish could be a cheap option until I can get the cash together for another aquarium. Ive never kept blues before and if any of you out there have any suggestions for a dominant yet lenient cagemate, let me know.

I guess I could try splitting them up into 2 's and 3's , but I have parrot cichlids and lots of angels, and a few others that might not defend themselves too well if the acaras dont change temperament, so it seems risky whatever I do. Im wondering if the "superior firepower" approach might work, I dont mind if they scuffle a bit , but I wouldnt find deaths acceptable!

Good idea or a nightmare waiting to happen?

try a green terror,or a salvini,if you wanted to try a green severum,i rekon it would have to be a larger male,to fend of your mean little fellas

Ah, you have 8 of them in a 55.

Sounds like you're dangerously close to the peak where they are in the mood to start engaging in internecine warfare with each other once the instinct to breed kicks in.

Blue Acaras are fishes of variable temperament. You've found out the hard way that any statement describing these fishes as "not too aggressive for Cichlids" is always going to be relative. As in "not too aggressive relative to a Melanochromis chipokae on angel dust".

My old Braz Walker pocket book from the 70's is instructive here. This is what it says about Blue Acaras:

A sturdy fish, inclined to be aggressive especially at breeding time. Keep in large aquarium with other non-shy, robust species of comparable size and temperament. Only strongest plants can withstand the digging of this and other typical Cichlids. Rockwork, roots for cover. e to excavation: faciitate this by an inch or so of sand or light gravel.

While a "superior firepower" option to keep them pushed down the dominance hierarchy might work, then again it might not - they miight be smart enough to team up against a lone bigger Cichlid. Remember that Cichlids ARE intelligent fishes, and if the 'standard option' for getting their own way (as in one on one combat) doesn't work, they may prove capable of developing a "Plan B". The ferocious little Neetroplus nematopus is a case in point - parents of this satanically possessed little demon of a fish work co-operatively on "search and destroy" missions and can hold their own against much larger Cichlids. Be prepared for your Blue Acaras to adopt a similar approach if the idea occurs to them, even if you give them a big Guapote to keep them in line!

Of course, some people revel in this frantic activity. For some people, this is the sort of thing that draws them to Cichlids - the fact that they can be ornery so and so's.

Another problem is that Blue Acaras in the aquarium can be precocious breeders. The aggression you're seeing could be linked to this. It's surprising how small and how young some Cichlids are when they start breeding - and quite a few of the Central and South Americans start breeding early in the aquarium. Your youngsters may be only fresh out of their nappies in your eyes, but it's possible they're already experiencing the first flush of hormones that signal the onset of sexual capability. Once that happens, the scales can start flying, so to speak.

You may find the hard way that you are forced to hang on to just one pair (i.e., the first bonded male/female pair that forms) and rehouse the rest. This is a pretty standard occurrence in the world of Cichlid keeping.

If you are looking for a more sedate fish, there are Cichlids that will present you with fewer such problems. However, Blue Acaras can be just as vigorous as fishes whose allegedly far worse reputations precede them.




Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Solid gold advice there, if you catch the new thread in this section youll see the prophetic nature of cals entry.

Couldnt have been more right really. Still at least the violence is only one end of the tank now.Theres a 6 inch exclusion zone around the eggs, and Ive got 2 females and one male guarding this batch of eggs, something I hadnt expected.

These little swines are full of surprises, sometimes even good ones.

Now all ive gotta do is figure out if theyll be more aggressive with young, or if they will be worse if I take the young away? The "adults" are still so small I might risk keeping the fry in with them when they hatch, but I guess itll have to be species tank when they grow up a bit.

Ill say this though. Cichlid breeding, absolute doddle! Lol thats bound to annoy someone. MMMM a future of fishstore credits, and a nice giant bumblebee cat ive seen.