Electric Blue Acara

[Beth777]

I went to City Pets after work today and saw what I figure were a few grown acara. I didn't expect them to be so big and thick bodied. I had read they get up to about 6" but man they're thick. I'm not sure I want fish that get that big. I know you front and oscar people are laughing. LOL

[Beth777]

Ken probably wouldn't want them in my crazy mix. LOL

Ken is raising some fry that start to show great color...if you can wait that long.

[Ken B]

Ken is raising some fry that start to show great color...if you can wait that long.

It will be a while before my acaras are ready.The ones I have seen in the lfs are about 2.5 inches. It might take another 3 months for mine to reach that size.

[ptran]

Ken is raising some fry that start to show great color...if you can wait that long.

[Beth777]

They had told me that they don't have a universal system, but I don't know about that. Since I've pretty much kept a limited amount of species I just don't know what I'm looking at most of the time and then I have to rely on the employees to tell me. That's how I wound up with the socolofi. I was told it was something else. Then when I put him in the tank he sure seemed awful grumpy for what I was told. I'm just glad he's not psycho. lol

yeah if i saw something like that i wouldnt buy anything either. seeing some dead here and there in any store is typical, but many stores are diligent on removal. some shops essentially have all the tanks tied together for filtration, which may be efficient but disease spreads rapidly.

you tend to see a lot more mixed tanks these days for peacocks and mbunas. some stores really go out of their way to verify the species, others just buy in bulk. most of my africans i just took my best guess what they were

[Beth777]

I love their little faces. I do worry about whether or not they would get bullied in my tank. I haven't decided whether I'm going to try a different LFS or just hold off for a bit. Thank you for the reply.

They are pretty awesome fish. I have 2, and they get along with my other SA's. They are like little puppies. Always the hungriest ones too.

[TankGirl]

They are pretty awesome fish. I have 2, and they get along with my other SA's. They are like little puppies. Always the hungriest ones too.

[morpheus]

yeah if i saw something like that i wouldnt buy anything either. seeing some dead here and there in any store is typical, but many stores are diligent on removal. some shops essentially have all the tanks tied together for filtration, which may be efficient but disease spreads rapidly.

you tend to see a lot more mixed tanks these days for peacocks and mbunas. some stores really go out of their way to verify the species, others just buy in bulk. most of my africans i just took my best guess what they were

[ptran]

No, came home empty handed. I saw some fish with a black beard that was unusually gorgeous to me. Asked a fellow customer what it was and after studying it for a few minutes he said some kinda hybrid he guessed. I'm really getting sick of "mixed cichlid tanks," unlabeled tanks and what the heck is that tanks.

I expect to see some fish with IP's and a dead one here and there too but this was really bad. There was a tank of pea puffers and some were on the bottom looking puffed and dead, others were dying. Saw a flowerhorn that would easily sell for $250 that wasn't looking well at all. Really sad...

Can't blame you not getting any fish there.

[Beth777]

I'm not really sure that I want to say. Maybe something bad happened and they're short on staff or something???

What LFS did you stop at?

[troy tucker]

What LFS did you stop at?

[Beth777]

No, came home empty handed. I saw some fish with a black beard that was unusually gorgeous to me. Asked a fellow customer what it was and after studying it for a few minutes he said some kinda hybrid he guessed. I'm really getting sick of "mixed cichlid tanks," unlabeled tanks and what the heck is that tanks.

I expect to see some fish with IP's and a dead one here and there too but this was really bad. There was a tank of pea puffers and some were on the bottom looking puffed and dead, others were dying. Saw a flowerhorn that would easily sell for $250 that wasn't looking well at all. Really sad...

I expected dead fish at LFS, but 27 is a little too much. Did you buy any fish there?

[ptran]

I expected dead fish at LFS, but 27 is a little too much. Did you buy any fish there?

[Beth777]

Stopped by the LFS after work and he wants $13 each. The smallest one looked a bit rough, I felt like rescuing it but I didn't. In a different species tank I counted 27 dead fish. It was quiet awful. All but 1-3 cichlid tanks were full of IPs, sick, dying, and dead fish. It's been years since I've seen a store like that. I don't know what's going on there.

Saw a tank full of the most adorable F8 puffers which looked good. They were about 1/4" long. So little and sweet looking.

[morpheus]

sometimes its harder to get them to pair up if they are already adults, but you shuold try for even number of M and F. otherwise you could see some aggression over mating partners.

and i agree. they are popular so shouldnt be hard to rehome if you see them not working out. Ken mentioned the same as i did in that new worlds (SA and CA) tend to be more relaxed than their african cichlid counterparts. if you see them either getting constantly chased or behaviors like not eating, breathing heavy, etc (signs of stress)....then best to take them back