# Electric Blue Acara



## Snowflake311

I had blue acaras for years and bred them too. They are great fish
Getting 5-6inches. They do dig and then breeding will bite plants and shake them it's funny. They do not eat plants so as long as you do not mind a little digging they are fine with plants.

They will eat smaller fish. My female loved eatting tetras  . They are great fish do you have photos? Because blue acaras are not all that common and I would guess the electric blue is in fact a jack Dempsy. If you have a photo I can identify it I was obsessed with South Americans cichlids for years.


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## HybridHerp

No pic but google it. I'm a cichlids person as well and it's not an EBJD. These only came to the states for the first time this summer.

It's the same color as the electric blue ram but with an acara shape. No one is sure what species of acara it is, if it's even a pure species, but most seem to be guessing the blue acara gave rise to this.

Largest I've seen online has been 3.5", but idk their max since these where all only a few months old. Someone just breed two so we'll be seeing how it's inherited soon.


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## roadmaster

HybridHerp said:


> No pic but google it. I'm a cichlids person as well and it's not an EBJD. These only came to the states for the first time this summer.
> 
> It's the same color as the electric blue ram but with an acara shape. No one is sure what species of acara it is, if it's even a pure species, but most seem to be guessing the blue acara gave rise to this.
> 
> Largest I've seen online has been 3.5", but idk their max since these where all only a few months old. Someone just breed two so we'll be seeing how it's inherited soon.


Electric blue dempsey's have been available in U.S. for a few year's.
I kept them four or five year's ago.
Have never seen electric blue acara's but they cross breed all manner of fishes now day's.


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## HybridHerp

roadmaster said:


> Electric blue dempsey's have been available in U.S. for a few year's.
> I kept them four or five year's ago.
> Have never seen electric blue acara's but they cross breed all manner of fishes now day's.


Dempseys I know, I've been keeping them for years too. But this acara is something new.


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## HybridHerp

http://i1317.photobucket.com/albums/t629/JimboKuo721/null_zps586ddf60.jpg

probably the best pic I've seen of one, and the largest looking one I can find a pic of. I really want to pick one up tbh, I have a soft spot for cichlids and from what some owners have told me, they seem to be a little smaller and pretty decent with plants minus when breeding (which I'm not doing so I'm not worried).


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## toddnbecka

Awesome new color morph, might have to track down a few.


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## HybridHerp

Once I'm done with finals, I'm tracking one down.


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## HybridHerp

I tracked one down.


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## aceranch

I've seen the electric blues at a lfs. I have a standard one and she's a great fish. She's probably 5" and the dominant fish in my 75. I've never seen her messing with plants and she sticks to the top of the tank mostly. Adding her to the tank has actually cooled off the aggression in the community.


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## RWaters

HybridHerp said:


> I tracked one down.


Nice! Can I ask where you found it?


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## Coleopterist

These are being sold as was mentioned before by another individual who posts on this site, by Segrest Fish Farms out of Florida. There are some pet shops that are beginning to carry these. We carry them in our little pet shop here in Ridgecrest, CA. The sites that I found on-line are selling them for $24.99 each. I purchased 100 of them. They are very pretty fish, with a platinum/baby blue coloring over most of the body and fins, except the head, which has a brownish stripe over the head and back. I recently posted some on AquaBid.com, especially to make people aware of them. I had over 1300 views, so I think the word is getting out. 

The first night I had these fish, quite a few of them jumped out of the tanks that they were in, and it was amazing that I found that they had distributed themselves throughout a whole row of fish tanks (no lids/tops). I have since covered their tanks, and that ended the ordeal. They display for each other, much the way a male Betta does, which makes them quite the sight to behold, even at a very young age (2"). I will attempt to post some photos of my fish on this site, under "Coleopterist". 

There has been some comments about them being "Jack Dempseys". This is not the case. I have been breeding Electric Blue, Platinum, Gold, and Electric Pink Dempseys for some years now. These are NOT Dempseys. If you have the opportunity to obtain some of these, do it, you will be happy that you did.


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## Coleopterist

Here are a couple photos of a couple of my Electric Blue Acaras.


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## pirayaman

How big is there max size

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk


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## Meganne

I saw one of these locally today! lovely fish, want it, so reading up on it.
think it would hand out nicely with a geophaygus heckelli and a bunch of rainbows?


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## teqvet

I've got normal blue acara's in with heckelii and geo. redhead tapajos, with black neon tetras, bleeding heart tetras, and some rainbow fish. You should be fine adding a electric blue acara.


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## Coleopterist

*EB Acara*

I put 50 of these (1-1/2" - 2") into a large holding tank with a whole bunch of dollar size angelfish. They got along perfectly until I didn't feed them one day, and they decided to eat the angels (chewed the fins off of the smaller ones). These are so new that I don't have a real feel as yet for what they will do with various fish. I can tell you that they are very active, and never seem to stop moving, especially when I approach the tank, and they think they are going to get more food....little piggies!!! LOL.

They love to jump out of aquariums, so if you get some COVER THE TOP! 

The fish are selling on the on-line fish stores for $24.99 each (plus shipping cost). If you can buy them at a better price at the store you mentioned (you don't have to pay shipping), get them. They rival the Electric Blue German Rams in color, don't they? They are very pretty fish.

After looking at the fish that I have (80 or so left, after selling a few on AquaBid and locally), I believe I can tell the difference in the males and females on some of the larger ones. The larger of the fish appear to be mostly males, with very sharply pointed fins. The females seem to be shorter bodied, with rounded tips on their fins. We shall see. Also, what appear to be males like to display for each other, much the way male Bettas do. Let me know if you get some. And remember to cover your tank if you do!


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## Guest

*Pairing up*

I have an electric blue acara, looking to get another but not sure of the sex of the one I have mine is about 2 1/2 in long and the place I got him now has babies about 1/2 in. If I end up with two males will that be ok? Was told two males could get very aggressive. Wondering since one is older and the other being so young if that could be an advantage.


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## roogz41

pirayaman said:


> How big is there max size
> 
> Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk


Was talking to owner at LFS (Aquaridise for anyone near me) and he was saying that similar to albino color morphs, the Electric Blue's (both Acara and JD's) only get to around 6" max as well as that they are fairly slow growers.

Can anyone verify/debunk this? I also saw these in the LFS and it made me question everything in my tank at home hahaha I might have to shuffle stuff around to possibly try for a mated pair


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## HybridHerp

roogz41 said:


> Was talking to owner at LFS (Aquaridise for anyone near me) and he was saying that similar to albino color morphs, the Electric Blue's (both Acara and JD's) only get to around 6" max as well as that they are fairly slow growers.
> 
> Can anyone verify/debunk this? I also saw these in the LFS and it made me question everything in my tank at home hahaha I might have to shuffle stuff around to possibly try for a mated pair


Well, here's the thing, EBA have only been in this country about a year now, so no one is 100% sure on their maximum size. Mine is still in a 10 growing out before I throw him into my 75 (but that should be changing fairly soon).

EBJD are, generally, slower growers and less aggressive than normal JD, but a well breed one (as in not a LFS one but one that a breeder made) will sometimes get over 6". I've only ever gotten one to hit 6" and that took 3 years, but I've seen 10" ones that were from breeders and had amazing genetics and were placed in larger tanks and given the best of everything.


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## roogz41

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRIiE_KMONE

One of my favorite videos of EBJD's but as the description says, that's a Blue-Gene female...not sure why they chose such intense music either haha


Anyone have experience sexing EBA? There are 4 at LFS and I'm thinking about picking up 2 later, would love a M/F pair but they're so small right now and the fins look so similar that I can't clearly tell them apart. Also, will EBA or EBJD's dig up plants like I've heard some cichlids will do during mating?


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## HybridHerp

roogz41 said:


> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRIiE_KMONE
> 
> One of my favorite videos of EBJD's but as the description says, that's a Blue-Gene female...not sure why they chose such intense music either haha
> 
> 
> Anyone have experience sexing EBA? There are 4 at LFS and I'm thinking about picking up 2 later, would love a M/F pair but they're so small right now and the fins look so similar that I can't clearly tell them apart. Also, will EBA or EBJD's dig up plants like I've heard some cichlids will do during mating?


The only way to sex these guys is to look at their vents. The fin thing is more a guide and doesn't mean anything, especially on younger fish.

Mine have not been bothering my plants. They might dig if they are trying to breed but, mine have never seemed interested in that. My rainbow cichlids on the other hand were doing that for a bit....but that was just a temporary phase.

I will say though, that you want a good plant substrate, because these fish will accidentally uproot plants just by swimming too close and hard near them (at least things like HC that have really bad roots).

Look at my 75, I keep most any plant I want without the cichlids bothering them much.


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## HybridHerp

I should also add that not many people keep these guys in high tech planted tanks. Its not a traditional way to do a high tech planted tank...but it can be done, results may vary though.


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## roogz41

Your 75G looks awesome, I'm so jealous of your Bichir and Rainbows hahaha



HybridHerp said:


> I should also add that not many people keep these guys in high tech planted tanks. Its not a traditional way to do a high tech planted tank...but it can be done, results may vary though.


Meaning they'll be a little rougher on the plants than many people would want in a high tech planted tank?


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## HybridHerp

roogz41 said:


> Your 75G looks awesome, I'm so jealous of your Bichir and Rainbows hahaha
> 
> 
> 
> Meaning they'll be a little rougher on the plants than many people would want in a high tech planted tank?



On the plants and on other fish. Cichlids, even when balanced, will fight each other still.


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## HybridHerp

Coleopterist said:


> Here are a couple photos of a couple of my Electric Blue Acaras.


Hey, you have an update? My guy is still growing on the slow side so he is still in my 10 growing out. I want him in the 75 soon though.


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## roogz41

I finally picked up an Electric Blue Acara a couple days ago!










Sorry for the poor quality, it's a cell phone picture. He seems to be settling in nicely into my 55; there's only a Jewel, 3 BA Tetras and 7 Cory's in with him for now.


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