# How To Successfully Keep Two Blue Acaras?



## stiglitz (Aug 20, 2013)

I have a 55 gallon tank which I want to put two blue acaras in. The one's I am going to buy are unsexed. If I only bought two and they both ended up being males, would they fight? I've read that this particular species is more peaceful than other American cichlids, but I'm not 100% sure. I want to end up with two that can live together, so how should I go about this? Buy three and get rid of one later? Or what?


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## notho2000 (Dec 8, 2012)

I've always found that two of any given cichlid species (without any other fish in the tank) can be the most problematic number to deal with. If you've got a single specimen fish housed alone, it will tend to do well (although live a boring life :zz. Then again, it may be skittish and unsettled since fish often take their behavioral cues from other fish (i.e. dithers and targets) With three or more, there will be interactions, which is the natural state of affairs with living things. Some of these interactions will be positive, such as establishing a pecking order, creating territories, courting and pairing, and spawning (at least if there :wink: are two sexes present). There will be aggression but it will be distributed among several fish so little damage tends to be done. This, of course is the case if the number kept are housed in a proper sized tank with an appropriate amount of structure. When you have two, the scenarios can be more dire. If you end up with a male and female, they may or may not be compatible. If not, one (usually the male) will harass the other to the point where it's life may be threatened (or worse). If they do form a compatible pair and spawn, you have a delicate balance between short term bliss or all out war if one parent, at some point decides that it's fry could be a tasty snack. Or things just may take a turn for the worse if the male and female get out of sync in their need to spawn again. Long term pair bonds are difficult for the pair to maintain unless there are stimuli for them to "pull together" in the "out-of-spawning" periods. And this is most effectively accomplished by the keeper providing a perceived threat in the form of other fish present. If you end up with two males, then individual personalities carry behavior. Two fish of the same species and sex can have very different degrees of aggression and tolerance. It's difficult for two fish to develop an order of dominance, with a common scenario being the creation of a bully and bullied. Again, if these two males were in a setting with at least a few other fish (cichlids), this problem would be most likely defused. Females (at least in the fish world) being more docile than males, often tend to co-exist better in pairs than males. But the down side of same sex pair ups is that you never get to see the fish at their natural best, by not displaying all the behaviors that make keeping the species something special, to not only the owner, but the fish themselves. Certainly the choice is yours, but in my opinion, based upon many years of keeping cichlids, you would be best off to obtain say, four to six of them, along with a few of another species or two (geos and festivums come to mind) of cichlids, plus a few target fish (tetras work well like Hyphessobrycon columbianus). When the fish are young and aren't sexually mature, your 55G would do, but I would eventually up it to a larger one, at least a 90G. It is true that Blue Acaras as a species are quite peaceful when looking at the big picture, and that could change things up. One thing, I learned a long time ago about keeping cichlids, is that nothing about them is absolutely predictable and certain. So follow your instincts, tempered by your experience, and the experience of others. And remember, you can always change things. Hope this helps.
Jim


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