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Hi, got these acaras as a rescues. Im a bit confused as to which variant they are. I have four of them 3 have a red tinge to their tails and one has a yellow tinge on its tail. THe red tailed ones follow the yellow tailed one around like its a female and the red tailed ones flare fins at eachother and show off for the yellow tailed one. Im not sure if the yellow tailed one just has not developed the red coloration yet, they are very small , just reaching 2-3 inches now. They are also developing blue on their ventral fins, a solid sky blue ventral fins and a bit of blue pearling on other fins but none on the body. Here is a couple pics of them.





Here it is with washed out colors when i first brought it home. It now is always much darker,

Ok, why wont my pics post in the thread ? Is there something different here compared to other sites ?

washed out pale colors :http://s441.photobucket.com/albums/qq133/cichlidgirl/?action=view&current=dempsey008.jpg

dark stressed colors :



http://s441.photobucket.com/albums/qq133/cichlidgirl/?action=view&current=newfish003.jpg

normal colors showing slight red tint in tails :

http://s441.photobucket.com/albums/qq133/cichlidgirl/?action=view&current=newfishies035.jpg

http://s441.photobucket.com/albums/qq133/cichlidgirl/?action=view&current=newfishies033.jpg

IMO that is an Aequidens portalegrensis. Or the Portal Aequidens as it is more commonly known. They are one of the more common Aequidens in the US for sale. Very easily bred, and will breed in most water parameters. They are great parents as well. I have personally spawned this species several times. They are a great fish to keep. Though they can hold their own with most other fish, they are not as aggressive as most other SA/CA cichlids are, and can be kept with many other types of fish.

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There is always a bigger fish...

I agree about the port cichlid, that was the species i figured it was but couldnt find mention of the red tails so wasnt sure. Did yours have wine colored tails like mine ? i think its odd that there was no mention of this red wine colored tail, that would have been mentioned somewhere i would have thought anyway in descriptions... Thanks for the quick response.

Yep, they had the red tails, and some red on their dorsal and anal fins as well. They become more colorful as they become more mature and larger. Most pics you see are not of full size fish. And usually not in breeding color.

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There is always a bigger fish...

They might not be fully-grown yet, but IMO they are still beautiful fish. A know a lot of people dislike port acaras they arent quite as colorful as their more aggressive counterparts, but theres just something about them that really grabs my attention.

Ive been looking for one for years now, despite being "common", and the one time i actually found one at an LFS, i immediately went to an employee to take him out, but when i came back to the tank, he was stuck to the filter

But anyway, good luck with your new cichlids, and i congratulate you for rescuing such amazing fish

EDIT: Oh, and the reason why you cant post pics is because you have to be a premium member to do so.

yeah i aggree,i dont have port acaras anymore,but the last blue port acara i had,he was awesome,he was the center piece of a 55 gallon,and he was that calm and gental,that he was in with small clown loaches,asorted tetras,silver dollars,a fair few other gental fish,and he NEVER caused any dramas,never tryed to eat his tank mates,as long as he could live in his cave,and get his tucker he was happy!yeah a reall nice gentall fish..he also used to take food from my fingers,this did take some time,he was a bit shy at first,but once he ate from my hand that first time,boom after that,he new it was MEAL TIME.

Thank you all very much.