Smiling Acara

[Chiisai]

Today I went out and picked up my 6 Laetacara araguaiae‏ from livebearer. I am so stoked. Currently they are 5 weeks old. I put them in a 65gal tank with a few guppies and some ramshorn snails that hitch hiked in on a few plants. Dont have any pics atm as they are hiding behind the spongefilter or under the rocks but I will update as I can. But I thought I would keep a journal of these neat smiling fish for all to see.

Tank: 65gal (established)
Vegetation: Mild to Moderate
Substrate: Black/white sand
PH: 7.2 (bringing it down slowly)
kh/GH: 4 (71ish ppm)
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrites: 0ppm
Nitrates: 20ppm
Temp: 77f

 

[zach_discus]

Good luck with them. I picked up 11 last night and am looking forward to seeing them grow up. Very neet little fish with a great adult coloration. I also have a group of nannacara adoketa that are about the same age in the tank next to them. Love dwarf cichlids oh and Discus

 

[Chiisai]

Got any good sites for information on them? Seems like there isn't much on the web about them except people who want them, and people saying they got them to breed. I am trying to find technical info like dietary needs, water parameters, ect

 

[dwarfpike]

There isn't much on them out there. They have been found in the Rio Tapajos, Rio Xingu, Rio Tocantins, and the Rio Araguaia drainages which are all clearwater rivers so they don't need the tanins and super low pH's that some of their cousins need ... but they are more nitrate sensitive than others in the genus so I would do a water change if I were reading such high levels.

I have yet to come across a stomach analysis of any Laetacara, but I would wager they would be much like any other dwarf acara ... tiny insects and debris. Especially given the one and only pic I ever found of them in their native habitat (it's a breeding article, and the pic is small).

http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1679-62252011000200013

Funnily enough, my always laid they eggs in the exact same time frame the article mentioned the wild ones do. I kept mine at 80F, which is a bit low than a lot of the larger species from those rivers, but I figured they would be found in the smaller tributaries and such. It seemed to work out.

 

[Chiisai]

There isn't much on them out there. They have been found in the Rio Tapajos, Rio Xingu, Rio Tocantins, and the Rio Araguaia drainages which are all clearwater rivers so they don't need the tanins and super low pH's that some of their cousins need ... but they are more nitrate sensitive than others in the genus so I would do a water change if I were reading such high levels.

I have yet to come across a stomach analysis of any Laetacara, but I would wager they would be much like any other dwarf acara ... tiny insects and debris. Especially given the one and only pic I ever found of them in their native habitat (it's a breeding article, and the pic is small).

http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1679-62252011000200013

Funnily enough, my always laid they eggs in the exact same time frame the article mentioned the wild ones do. I kept mine at 80F, which is a bit low than a lot of the larger species from those rivers, but I figured they would be found in the smaller tributaries and such. It seemed to work out.

Fantastic link just the type of thing I was looking for. I have my water a bit below 80 so maybe I will increase the temp slowly over the next few weeks. Also looks like their natural habitat is sand so I guess I should be glad I decided no to put them in the 70gal with small/medium gravel  :cheers: 

 

[Anonymous]

I think 6 is to many, you should reduce by 1. Just so happens I am looking for 1, your lucky day!  :geek: 

Kidding aside, I knew livebearer was on the hunt for these. Did she spawn them or are these part of a group buy? Either way, if you are successful with breeding there are a few members here that are interested in offspring. Me being 1. Please share pictures of these awesome little guys, watching you raise them and going through trials and tribulations of breeding is what makes this forum awesome

 

[lloyd378]

Going to need some pics from all you guys before I comment further . lol. Looking forward to following this post

 

[Chiisai]

Going to need some pics from all you guys before I comment further . lol.  Looking forward to following this post

ask and you shall recieve. Not sure how to resize these pics so I hope they are big enough...


Hiding under a rock

Swimming through the forest...

Swimming through the forest...

Peep hole view

Here is a shot of the whole tank

Cant get a close up of these guys as neither my phone or camera will auto focus through the glass. They seem to like to hug the back wall where I provided lots and lots of cover(rocks and plants). 2 are showing some really pretty blue facial coloring the rest are very dull. They are also demonstrating some real neat camoflauge. Going from vertical stripes, to horizontal stripes, to spotting similiar to Lloyds WC convicts. Real neat lil guys I will try to get better pics in the future. SiR... once I know I have a bonded pair Your welcome to come down and grab 2.

I think one of the best parts of doing a journal for these fish is simply because there is just flat out not much on the web about them. I am going to keep notes on behavior and feedings so I can help the next guy. Its kind of exciting keeping a fish which has very little published information on.

 

[Anonymous]

I think that's the 2nd time you may have gotten me mixed up with SiRWesDragon? Or, am I off , and not understanding the "SiR" ? 

Anyway, nice start with the photos! Thanks for sharing  ! They will be more at ease as time goes on, I'm sure. I have recently got into dwarf Acaras as well. So far I picked up in the last month 1 Golden Dwarf (Nannacara anomala) , and 1 Dwarf Flag cichlid (Laetacara curviceps). 


Here is a picture from my phone. 








A bit different from the Apistogramma . I like em

 

[Chiisai]

yes sorry I have had a few to drink tonight. FishN... not SiR I give up I am not using names anymore : 

 

[Anonymous]

:beer: 

 

[Chiisai]

Behavioral Update

I can confirm without a doubt these fish are snail eaters. When first introducing these acara there were approx 20 pond snails, 5 red ramshorn, and a dozen or so trumpet snails. Of the afore mentioned list only 3 trumpet snails remain. They seem quite capable of digging up the trumpets in the sandy substrate.

 Still looking for a reason but these fish seem to occasionally "scratch" them selves against a rock or plant. The fish will swim up to a plant or rock and wiggle against it.

 

[Anonymous]

They eat snails? Interesting!



Rubbing? No white spots, right?

 

[Chiisai]

Yeah they are a bit like clown loaches they kind of toss the snail around in the water until they can pry the snail lid off and then rip the snail out of the shell. Its kind of interesting to watch them eat them. Thought it was worth mentioning as I know I have snails in every tank for "cleaning."

 Yeah I dont see any spots, I am thinking about medicating the tank just to be safe but not sure how the fish will react to it. Got them from Livebearer in a group buy and she had them quarintined to check for infection so if they have something they got it from my tank.

 

[Chiisai]

Added some new pics now that they are no so bashful. Quick lil buggers though. Had to take like 30 photos just to get these and even then they are kinda blurry.

Updated tank specs
Tank: 65gal (established)
Vegetation: Mild to Moderate
Substrate: Black/white sand
PH: 7.0 (bringing it down slowly)
kh/GH: 4 (71ish ppm)
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrites: 0ppm
Nitrates: 10ppm
Temp: 79f

 

[cichlid-gal]

Yeah they are a bit like clown loaches they kind of toss the snail around in the water until they can pry the snail lid off and then rip the snail out of the shell. Its kind of interesting to watch them eat them. Thought it was worth mentioning as I know I have snails in every tank for "cleaning."

 Yeah I dont see any spots, I am thinking about medicating the tank just to be safe but not sure how the fish will react to it. Got them from Livebearer in a group buy and she had them quarintined to check for infection so if they have something they got it from my tank.

I think I saw a post by Livebearer on our GSAS Airstone about spots on some of her quarantened fish so you might want to check with her. Assuming these are from the same shipment. Shipping is stressful and then relocating to you adds more. Good luck with the treatment.

 

[Anonymous]

Added some new pics now that they are no so bashful. Quick lil buggers though. Had to take like 30 photos just to get these and even then they are kinda blurry.

 :spoton: 

 

[Chiisai]

Updated tank specs
Tank: 65gal (established)
Vegetation: Moderate
Substrate: Black/white sand
PH: 6.2 (had an accident with acid buffer :wall: )
kh/GH: 4 (71ish ppm)
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrites: 0ppm
Nitrates: 25ppm
Temp: 79f

Well its been a while since I last updated. I have been working down in Portland and dont have much time to get online. Well tonight I pee'ed my pants. I went over to the Acara tank and only counted 4 of the 6. Upon closer inspection I noticed two of them hovering behind my pumice "donut." I'm a daddy!





Sorry about pic quality. the fry are very small, and the water is darkened by bogwood and indian almond leaves

 

[Anonymous]

:spoton: 
Got me a pair of the electric blue acaras.  Waiting for that day you experienced today.

 

[Chiisai]

If anyone can find anything on sexing these guys I would be greatful. They seem to shift color paterns alot so i can never figure them out. All seem approx. same size, fin shape/length appear similar as well. The two guarding the fry now have "aztec" type markings covering their bodies. I assume this is added camoflauge while protecting their clutch.