# electric blue acara in 20L tank



## feignfacade (Jan 11, 2015)

Hi guys,

im new to this forum so bare with me please. I purchased an electric blue acara over a year ago and it was like 1.5-2 inches long for my 20L tank. at the time I did not do my research it was an impulse buy because how pretty the fish was. now the acara is over 4 inches long. I also have two pairs of apistogramma cacatuoides. they all look very happy and active and eat like pigs. I have a fluval c3 and a top fin internal filter rated for 97 gallons per hour. I do 5 gallon water changes every week. my question is my tank over stock and and is it safe to leave my acara in my 20L tank. money is tight right now and I cant afford to buy and furnish another tank. thanks in advance guys.


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## feignfacade (Jan 11, 2015)

yes


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## BDASTRK (Dec 12, 2014)

The only way to know if it is over stocked is water quality, this will determine if its overstocked or not.


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## feignfacade (Jan 11, 2015)

oh sorry so I just tested the water. ph-7.0-7.2 ammonia-0ppm nitrite-0ppm nitrate-0ppm. again I think I take really good of my fish tank the biggest concern that I have is when the acara gets to its fulle size around 5 to 6 inch size will it be safe or will it be too crowded for it.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

What type of test kit are you using? 0 nitrate is a red flag and indicates a tank that is not cycled or just experienced a 100% water change.

I know your tank has been setup for some time, and it's likely your test result for nitrate is false.


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## feignfacade (Jan 11, 2015)

im using api droplets. I also both of my filters have a bunch of seachem matrix and purigen


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## feignfacade (Jan 11, 2015)

I just tested nitrite and nitrate again and was more carful on filling the test tube to the line. the color came out closer to 0ppm then .25ppm. ammonia still tests at 0ppm


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Are you doing the nitrate test correctly; shaking the bottles and test tube per the instructions? I would expect your nitrate to be quite high according to your maintenance of 5 gallon water changes.


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## Mr Chromedome (Feb 12, 2013)

Is the tank planted? Live plants will often suck up all nitrogenous waste when the tank has such a low population of fish.


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## feignfacade (Jan 11, 2015)

yeah im doing the tests properly. most of my plants are real and I have a few fake plants along with drift wood a moss ball. *** had my tank for about two years now and *** only had fish die because of the acara eating them lol. I do 5 gallon water changes each week and its rodi water.


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## feignfacade (Jan 11, 2015)

Well I'm going to assume it's safe to have him in the 20L


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

If you're not experiencing problems at this time then I wouldn't change anything up. Questioning the acara in the first place means you realize it could be a problem but I'm sure you'll do what's needed if the time comes under your watchful eye.


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## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

What does 20L even mean? 20 litres? 20 gallon long? If so, how long (I used to own two 20 gallon tanks that were 36" long by 12" wide)? Or is it one of these new ADA style planted tanks that have a number & letter designation that refer to something else entirely?

If it is some variation of a 20 gallon tank I would think it is probably to small for a full grown acara, but it may be okay right now. It would certainly be okay for Apistos foever.


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## Mr Chromedome (Feb 12, 2013)

When written with a capital "L", a 20L is a standard size that has been around for decades, 30"x12"x12". The abbreviation for "litre" is always a small "l" (all metric measurements use small letter abbreviations), so a 20 litre is 20l. A 20 gallon tank that is 36" would be some sort of special build, certainly not one of the two common standards. I have a 20 gallon tank that is 24"x20"x10", very useful for my Daphnia culture.

Also, a standard 20L is big enough for a single Blue Acara type, as these mostly max out around 6", but rarely reach that size. A normal Blue Acara may coexist with a tough Apisto such as Cockatoos, but not in that small of a tank. The Electric Blue Acara has an unknown manmade origin, and the behavior cannot be predicted as readily.


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