Dragonlady Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Hi All, I am a newbie here and am enjoying reading all the great advice I have found on the forums here. I have recently aquired a 100cm L x 45cm W x 65cm H tank. It is one of those all-in-one tanks with the filtration unit in the hood. I originally wanted to put 2 x oscars in there, but upon reasearching, I now know this is too small a tank for them, so I have decided on Blue Acaras (thinking they might have a similar personality and wanted some advice on how I should set up the tank. All the pics I have seen have sand at the bottom, and I have gravel that came with the tank. I know that these fish like to dig and escavate, so would gravel be too big for them as juveniles? Also, is driftwood ok to have in there with them as it can leech into the water? I have information overload from researching the net, and thought I would just plain out ask the experts lol. I am planning to cycle the tank next week when I set it up. Also any other advice would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L127 Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Hi All, I am a newbie here and am enjoying reading all the great advice I have found on the forums here. I have recently aquired a 100cm L x 45cm W x 65cm H tank. It is one of those all-in-one tanks with the filtration unit in the hood. I originally wanted to put 2 x oscars in there, but upon reasearching, I now know this is too small a tank for them, so I have decided on Blue Acaras (thinking they might have a similar personality and wanted some advice on how I should set up the tank. All the pics I have seen have sand at the bottom, and I have gravel that came with the tank. I know that these fish like to dig and escavate, so would gravel be too big for them as juveniles? Also, is driftwood ok to have in there with them as it can leech into the water? I have information overload from researching the net, and thought I would just plain out ask the experts lol. I am planning to cycle the tank next week when I set it up. Also any other advice would be appreciated. Blue Acaras come from Trinidad, like all american cichlids they are very adaptable fish, my recommendations would be too keep their pH a little basic (above neutral), say 7.2-7.4, temp around 25, substrate is not that important, any gravel or sand shoould be fine, they do like a bit of cover, and some dither fish would be good too, these could be larger species of tetra or rasboras. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonlady Posted May 22, 2009 Author Share Posted May 22, 2009 Thanks L127, I didn't think the tank would be big enough for any other fish, but that would be great to have some other diversion. I am hoping my pair will like each other, or is it more practical to aquire a group and wait for them to pair off (bearing in mind I do only want one pair for the tank) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foti Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 I am hoping my pair will like each other, or is it more practical to aquire a group and wait for them to pair off (bearing in mind I do only want one pair for the tank) i think as long as you are getting them young before Sexual maturity, then you should have luck when they mature. I think its only if the fish are adults and your trying to pair its harder to pair so your beter to have a group ? but i could be wrong? are you planning to introducing adults ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonlady Posted May 22, 2009 Author Share Posted May 22, 2009 No, I am planning just a pair of juveniles if I can (so I can watch them grow up and breed is the plan) More like pets if you know what I mean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcloughlin2 Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 Sexing a pair of juvenile blue acaras would be fun. Not the most reliable methods out there at any rate. Best of buying four or so and letting them pair off. Still get to watch the grow and then sell the excess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakes Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 Acaras aren't fussy, my suggestion would be to just buy the substrate you think looks nicest. Yes the driftwood will leach tannins, but will not harm the fish, in fact it can be beneficial. If you don't like the resulting tea coloured water you can boil the driftwood for 10min first which gets rid of most of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dobbin4 Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 Hard to sex at a young age, Better to get 4/6 fry , I would go 6. Try to pick a couple larger & the rest smaller. To get M/Female. Good fish to start with and would be good in tank your size, much more fun than an Oscar i think!! They will pair off when older Easy to breed and look after fry well. Trouble is with having others in your tank is you will slowly lose the fry. Not hard to sell the others Nice colour when over 10cm. Try google or a search for plenty of info. Hope helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonlady Posted May 24, 2009 Author Share Posted May 24, 2009 Thanks so much for all in the info you guysl!! That's great, Yes I have organised to have 10 bought in for me from local aquarium, so will do as you suggest. I have setup the tank with play sand (well rinsed), rocks and a couple of bits of driftwood. A friend has lent me some water starters etc and has cleared amazingly, but still a little cloudy. I guess it will take a good couple days to run crystal clear? Should I be putting bio stuff in to get cycle moving or best to use neons or something? Deb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dobbin4 Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Need to get cycleing going ASAP Can you get some old water from another tank Depends how long your tank sat for before you restarted it by filling with water If it was only short time your half way there with the filter etc being used You gravel is fine for Blue Acara. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonlady Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 Thanks dobbin, yeah, I have cycle going with two little babies, I have "noodles" or something for bio (aquarium recommended) so cannot get any more fish til test water next week. Prob is these 2 little ones which I know they are hard to sex, one is clearly more dominant, they fight (liplock) a little, other times they are fine and swim together. They do what seems to be a little dance and shake in front of each other, I worried I had 2 males, but aquarium said they could be just testing each other out and he wreckons I have a pair. The less dominant one (which he thought was female) sits in a log and the other one seems to guard. It doesn't matter if I have 2 males, I'll just try and get the rest females if you know what I mean. Just wondered whether it was territory at this age Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dobbin4 Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Thats just normal behavior.Tank will be fine in a week.Should settle don when you get more. Hard to say what sex they are, what size are the 2? Look at fins and body shape, colour, for clues of sex. Females have more rounded fins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonlady Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 Yeah, I just found another post with someone with the same behaviour!! This forum truly is terrific, especially for newbs like me. The babes I have are around 5cm including the tail? The dominant one definately looks pointed fins dorsal and bottom, the other one not as much and not as long so fingers crossed lol. Thanks for all your help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.