The Electric Blue Acara Breeding Project - Weeks 1-20

[@CichlidBros]

Below are links to foods I use with EBAs, which got them to breed readily: - Xtreme Krill Flakes - geni.us/iTAWsN - Xtreme Nice Pellets - geni.us/6ADcc

[@michaelshaw8370]

Acara’s are a great fish. Not aggressive or too timid. Wonderful combination not being as delicate as Rams. Prolific breeders with fry that are also a good starting point for aquarists breeding egg laying fish.

[@CichlidBros]

Agreed!

[@gregleuze6657]

Mine is only aggressive at feeding time but not as aggressive as the Green Phantom.

[@lesnowlin7]

Thanks!

[@tjautocross]

Thanks for the overview of the breeding “project”, Troy!! Exciting stuff, but I relate to not being setup to handle the aftermath. 😂

[@CichlidBros]

Haha definitely. Thanks for watching!

[@jasono4735]

Really interesting update. My tapajos have laid eggs a few times but none have hatched yet. They're not nearly as defensive as your acaras when in breeding mode.

[@CichlidBros]

Yep, I've seen the same thing. EBA parents really protect their fry compared to some others

[@andrewbenedict6496]

Just picked up 3 electric blues a month ago and they have become one of my favorite fish breeds. Very social and curious cichlids and the fact they are not aggressive makes them a great community fish.

[@CichlidBros]

Awesome, and agreed!

[@andrewbenedict6496]

@@CichlidBros right now I have them in a 55 gallon with an angelfish, 4 Cory's, two swordtails and an albino pleco. I would like to get some more cichlids in the tank. Any others you might recommend that would get along? Was thinking maybe a yellow severum and some keyholes?

[@CichlidBros]

I’d maybe do the keyholes since they stay smaller

[@andrewbenedict6496]

@@CichlidBros awesome, thanks!

[@ryanrogers8211]

@@andrewbenedict6496how about Honduran red points or Sajica cichlids?

[@reggie2803]

Setting up my 125 gallon now and can’t wait to stock my tank with the Acaras. Hope I’m just as successful.

[@CichlidBros]

Best of luck!

[@pennicontreras2128]

Thank you for this video. I have a bunch of babies in my tank currently and was considering pulling them to get them grow. Now I know what to expect.

[@CichlidBros]

Glad I could help!

[@gregleuze6657]

Great video. I have one and love the electric blue color and orange stripe at the top of the dorsal fin. My children like to watch it hover over a spot.

[@drm0563]

Great and helpful video. My 2 EBA's had success the 2nd time around and now i have the fry just starting to swim. My tank is a planted community so I just removed about 1/2 the fry with a turkey baster to a 10g. Im hoping it's not too soon.

[@CichlidBros]

Glad it was helpful. Best of luck!

[@melchantz]

Congratulations u got lots of fishy babies.. always exciting to see babies..

[@CichlidBros]

Thank you!

[@razinfishes1918]

Troy love the electric blue acaras. They are looking just awesome! I had a similar situation with a breeding pair of Serums I had to separate them as they are very aggressive when they lay eggs even in my 180 they would defend half the tank so it was best to separate for now

[@CichlidBros]

Thank you! Totally get that 👍🏻

[@guerrarsenal]

Acara’s are the best!!!!

[@Evil_Genius_888]

I recently got a 75g tank and wish I could get a few of these from you. I’m too far away though AND I don’t have the tank setup yet. They look awesome though!

[@DeanoSupremo1]

Amazing to see, i just had my blue acaras lay eggs 2 days ago and waiting for them to hatch. I will probably just leave them with the parents. So exciting !!!

[@reefa4715]

Need an update on this!!

[@lruddy8820]

Got my first little guy a few weeks ago at about an inch long, we bonded at the store i work at and i just got three more, the first one is always at the glass watching me and following me around the room the other three are still settling in but watch me from a little further back, very personable fish… ever since i started keeping fish a few years ago they were number two on my must have fish and within the last year i been able to add both to my fish room

[@CichlidBros]

Awesome

[@serenarathband4646]

Our mated pair are fierce parents both mother and father are a great set of 'live wire' parents we didnt even realise theyd bred till we saw them guarding one side of the tank, i think if it happens again wed definitely have to get a smaller breeding tank to transfer them over to as you say keep the large tank as peaceful as normally is !!!

[@alvaroleandrohernandezalva3149]

Excelente video, Gracias, saludos desde Costa Rica🇨🇷🕊🇺🇸

[@nurrr2041]

Awesome fish, and great video I love timeskip videos. Shows the effort put into! They are so peaceful and hardy, one even survived being sucked into siphon and was out of water, in the hose for a minute. I was sceptical of a peaceful chiclid of this size but they really ended up fine on my community tank with mollies, angels and tetras, cories etc. I read that they dig the substrate and unroot plants but that didn't happen with me. Mine are 4 months old now, but still growing. How old do they need to be to breed?

[@juliaheinritz3264]

They sure are cute! It is alot of work though. This is why I would like just one:)

[@CichlidBros]

Definitely!

[@brandonm8249]

I just had a swarm of Black Acara cichlids hatch less than a week ago. I still have dozens of Red Devil fry I am trying to rehome, oh boy!

[@CichlidBros]

Haha, good luck!

[@amymandeville8342]

I have an EBA pair and they're fantastic parents. However, I'm running out of space for babies, so I'm going to be separating them after this last batch. They're an awesome fish and I'm still glad I got them.

[@TheAllanrodriguesdac]

Sou do Brasil e se for doar algumas unidades eu quero!!! Sonho de consumo esse peixe!! Parabéns pelo canal.

[@rojshbhattarai7974]

can you plz share your water change routine

[@CichlidBros]

In the 150, I do about 30% every three weeks. Less often than my other tanks due to the plants

[@krzysztofkopaczewski4319]

Very interesting experience💪

[@CichlidBros]

👊🏻👊🏻

[@davidolsen3209]

Good video thanks for the info

[@CichlidBros]

Thanks for watching!

[@seans7228]

Good vid. What are you feeding them there towards the end when you take a pinch from a container?

[@CichlidBros]

Thanks! Xtreme nano pellets

[@brendajernigan7642]

What is the food you feed your fry? Love the electric blue acara. I am stocking my 117 gal. tank now and hope to get some soon. I have angels and Cory cats now. Thanks for the update.

[@CichlidBros]

Either Xtreme Nano pellets, or usually Xtreme Krill flakes crushed up: bit.ly/2NBv109

[@southtexasSunandsea]

What substrate would you suggest in acara tank any specific Carib sea one , and how much sand do i need in a 40 gallon breeder ..: would like your input on this

[@erikdelay8970]

What was your water change/feeding cycle. These babies sure do make a mess! I’m on day 41 with my batch. Seems like they just hit a growth spurt. And your water changes how did you get all the junk up at the bottom without sucking them up. It’s getting easier now as they’re growing.

[@Rick-xy4bt]

At what size or age will they start breeding? I picked up 3 juveniles about 2mths ago. Seems like 2 have paired off and chase the 3rd one away all the time. One has really darkened up in the face. They seem to have started breeding behavior, but thought they would have to be older before starting this. They are probably about 2 1/2 inches in size.

[@Mr_Tequila_Travels]

Awesome! Did you have to change water like you do for discus?

[@CichlidBros]

I just did 25% water changes every two weeks

[@kennethbrown2864]

How do you distinguish between males and female?

[@jakegattuso2453]

Great video, my pair of EBA’s have successfully hatched fry for the 4th time, this time I decided to move all other fish out of aquarium to give the fry a chance to survive. They have been free swimming for 4 days now. Have been feeding them frozen cyclops a few times a day. Could you please tell me if I’m doing the right thing feeding fry from the first day I see them free swimming? Or can they live off their parents slime coat for so long?

[@mindofwij]

What rock is in the 20g grow out tank? It looks like a teal colored mineral on the rock. Is it chrysocolla?

[@swapneel8894]

Do i need to seperate the mother when eggs are hatched? She's trying to eat the eggs

[@heldaccountablepod]

Did you ever feed frozen foods? I have a small batch of 30 I managed to keep. Been feeding crushed flakes and frozen baby brine as well.

[@CichlidBros]

Not very often. Brine shrimp once every 2-3 weeks

[@louiewgroenewald]

I kept nmy fry in tank for about 4 weeks The breeding pair are in their own tank with one ancistres After about 4 weeks one adult starts attacking the other I do not know which is male or female Because of the attacking I removed the fry It seems one survived I have eggs again what would be the best to have most fry survive

[@GulzarGulzar-r7t]

Hoo cool bro can u breed an arrowana I wonder 🤔 coz it's very difficult thing to breed in tank or even in pond

[@addymarsh7134]

im near norridge. i need one of those for my sa/ca tank

[@gq_aquatics]

How old do you think you’re EBA’s were before they started to breed? I bought for a couple months ago from the pet store. They seem like juveniles, but I have two that are/seem like they’re pairing up. Total breeding behavior. Chasing off the other two EBA’s, Cleaning off rocks and shaking tail fin to clean off rocks and sand to make a pit

[@CichlidBros]

I had them about a year. But they can definitely breed even before a year old

[@thisizmonster]

Sorry, I've nowhere else to ask this. I have 250 liter aquarium with some fishes including 6 Electric blue Acara. They seem all adult and I don't know how many males & females there. Week ago I noticed 2 of them got paired and laid eggs on driftwood. It's my very first time ever receiving breed from fish. So I bought another small (around 30 liter) tank with sponge filter, and transferred mother and eggs there. I don't know what was mistake, but it got many fungus, I tried clean them, but they keep appears. Fortunately bit over 20 of them survived and now those little things swimming everywhere while mother trying collect them to one corner. I thought after few days, when they become large enough to catch, I transfer them all to something temporary, then clean that little tank completely, and put back (for fight fungus) But right now another problem rised. I just noticed another 2 of them paired and laid eggs again in my main tank. For protect eggs, I separated both parents and eggs into another temporary basket (I don't have extra tank, and its nighttime right now), with sponge filter. My question is am I doing things right? Also should I find another 3rd aquarium or not? Can I put those eggs into previous small tank with mother and her week old fries? I hope someone answer it :D

[@amazingaquaticsandexotics3030]

love myself an electric blue acara. bit unrelated but i wonder what their potential is as a Florida invasive

[@PaintingMates]

Hi mate, I have some eggs layered by blue acara today and I have some more fish in the tank as well like tiger barbs , silver dollar, gurami and some platy fish. How can I protect the babies from them ? Thanks

[@CichlidBros]

Best way would be to remove them and put into a separate tank

[@anthonybrown274]

great video like always ... i wish i could get 2 or 3 of them because my 1 is alone

[@janetwebster5099]

Do it. I hesitated for a while as I had a lone female EBA that came with a tank. She lived happily for quite a while with a female Demasoni & said Demasoni's 11 babies. (Put the Demasoni dad in a tank alone as he was bothering the two girls.). But I noticed how sad my EBA was. She was lonely, and her BFF had 11 children. So in October 2022 (4 months ago) I went to my LPS and got 2 small EBAs to add to the tank with the Demasoni and the lone EBA female. IMMEDIATELY she became a whole different fish. Happy, proud. running the tank. Swimming about with her two "babies" behind her. I had been concerned that the 11 Demasoni "babies" might bully them. Nope - far from it. The Demasoni actually swam 2 steps back as the EBAs passed by lol. They were intimidated by their larger size, as even the smaller EBA was bigger then the biggest Demasoni. . On February 1st 2023 moved the three EBAs into a new Fluval Vista 23 G. Not due to any problems , but as there was just not enough space in the main tank for everyone. On February 2nd she laid eggs. Ironically now she is mating with the male "baby" and they have mega fry lol which I am leaving with them as from what I have heard EBAs are good parents; and they are the only fish in the tank. The two of them are taking turns tending the fry and so far no issues at all. This is IMO the easiest option - just leave the parents with the babies. Had to move the younger female back to the tank with the Demasoni family.(Mum & 11 young - now about 6 months old and all living in harmony! ) Its a literal soap opera. Tune in next week for Demasoni daddy comes home to wife and 11 children and gets annoyed at wifes new roomie - another EBA! :) BTW I am well aware that Demasoni are African and EBAs are South American. It should not have worked so well - But it did. I think mainly as the two female fish were good friends and were happy to coexist. Oh - and if you DO get any more EBAs I recommend getting 3 more not 2 more. That way if you DO have to separate them due to breeding you will not end up with yet another lone fish.

[@gerardolira8479]

I recently did buy an electric blue acara from a local pet store. It had some blue but when I placed it in my tank it looks very pale. Could it be stressed out or any suggestions? It’s no more than 1.5 inches

[@jcspl4c3]

Is it normal for them to show aggression/lock lips before breeding?

[@CichlidBros]

Yep

[@3volk715]

I absolutely love my electric blue acara, I have one with 6 geophagus tapjos and a hand full of denisonii barbs. Blues attitude is just so much different than everyone elses. They are much more curios, it seems to me they are more intelligent. Most the rest of the fish would avoid me but blue is right there looking me in the face while im cleaning lol....the only other one with some guts is my alpha geo, if I go near his corner (where he and his mate occasional lay eggs) he will ram and attack my scrubber for the glass, he will even ram my hand and bite my fingers! I've got a vid on my page of it, I absolutely love the south american cichlids.

[@MariahFlick]

Hey there! We have EBA babies and we are having problems getting them to actually swim, should we be keeping the eggs with the mom in the tank until they learn how to swim? We are taking out the rock the eggs are on and putting it in a seperate tank right now. We had them all hatch 2 times and for whatever reason they just are having a hard time learning to swim and end up dying :( advice?

[@CichlidBros]

Yeah I would maybe let them hatch with the parents if you can and then scoop them out. They tend to have a better success rate that wat

[@vasili1207]

how many do u think you got?

[@CichlidBros]

Probably about 50

[@831sAntaNa]

Would have they survived in the tank?

[@CichlidBros]

Usually won’t. I had a few rounds of fry that were eventually goners. Had to pull them to let em grow. Big update on these guys coming tomorrow morning actually

[@dlioncoulthurst778]

Hey bros, my Red Spotted Severums have fry and spawn eggs again, do I leave the fry in the tank or take them out?

[@CichlidBros]

The safest route is to take the fry out and put into a separate tank. Most times you can leave them if it’s just the parents in the tank

[@dlioncoulthurst778]

@@CichlidBros Thanks bros, just the parents in the 55gal tank so i will leave them....Hoorah!!

[@mikejejenich7116]

I have a 55 gallon mubana tank. I found babys. The other day….. there very small The only time they come out is when i feed…… because the bigger fish. Try to eat them….. I tryed to get the babys out by net. But couldn’t……. Hopefully they survive. There pretty smart. Only come out to eat. Then go back. In hiding places. Where they cant be eaten

[@msimrow]

aww, I don't use IG< I live in the area and would def want to buy a few.

[@CichlidBros]

Email or Facebook works as well! [e-mail]

[@lauradeleon4735]

OMG can I please obtain a couple please. And thank you in advance. They are very lovely

[@davidslusnys6415]

Thanks You can make a video about difference sexual please, thanks very much

[@Martschy]

so its not possible to grow them in a tank with other fish - why did you not keep the parents with them? i heard that fish that did not get raised by thair parents for generations tend to behave weird when they have babies / eat them all.

[@KimberlyTinker-dp1go]

Did you get an answer?

[@fredericknorwood7695]

That's what I'm looking for

[@nick92028]

I have hundereds of these babies! I am flooding the local market! I cant even give these things away anymore. I dont know what to do with them any more.

[@nick92028]

Even the babies I have sold have started breeding. It is crazy!

[@CichlidBros]

Haha I’ve had similar issues. Had to separate the pair eventually

[@williamavery1758]

If you still got some a would buy a male I have 3 females and can't find a male no where so if you still got some I'm definitely interested

[@phrezhboy]

Boss

[@tangledty]

😂 They Just don’t stop!

[@CichlidBros]

Haha nope

[@kai_s.5177]

I have a pair, and they breed like crazy… 😂

[@fredericknorwood7695]

I want some

[@jimmylabuguen2393]

I’d like to purchase I’m in Hawaii Please get back to me Mahalo

[@tamhunter5025]

These fish are jumpers when panicked,watch out for it

[@CichlidBros]

Yep, I always have lids with cichlid tanks

[@tamhunter5025]

@@CichlidBros especially EBA

[@jasonmaceyko1902]

If you're interested in selling, I'm buying...

[@kutlessmedstudent]

if you have extra cichlids, i can take them off your hand