Keeping my electric blue acara in a 55g tank

[noviceguy]

I have a 55g tank that i would like to set up. My idea is 2 EBA with 6-10 Lemon Tetra and 4-6 corys. Will 55 gallon be big enough? Number of fish can be lowered if necessary.

[willie32]

I have a 55g tank that i would like to set up. My idea is 2 EBA with 6-10 Lemon Tetra and 4-6 corys. Will 55 gallon be big enough? Number of fish can be lowered if necessary.

I think it sounds good but I’d up your numbers to 12 tetras and 12 cories - go for a larger more robust Cory too and avoid smaller species like panda etc

[noviceguy]

I have a 55g tank that i would like to set up. My idea is 2 EBA with 6-10 Lemon Tetra and 4-6 corys. Will 55 gallon be big enough? Number of fish can be lowered if necessary.

I think it sounds good but I’d up your numbers to 12 tetras and 12 cories - go for a larger more robust Cory too and avoid smaller species like panda etc

Oh more fish sounds great!!! I just do not want to overcrowd. Thanks for responding!!

[Stefan]

I have a 55g tank that i would like to set up. My idea is 2 EBA with 6-10 Lemon Tetra and 4-6 corys. Will 55 gallon be big enough? Number of fish can be lowered if necessary.

I think it sounds good but I’d up your numbers to 12 tetras and 12 cories - go for a larger more robust Cory too and avoid smaller species like panda etc

Oh more fish sounds great!!! I just do not want to overcrowd. Thanks for responding!!

I would be cautious with the EBAs. If you get a male and female, they might pair and become territorial and hurt your other fish. If you get two males, make sure they are the same size and in the future, they might have territorial disputes but that is normal for cichlids. I currently have one EBA in a community tank, sometimes him and the severum get a little annoyed with each other, but he does not bother my Rainbowfish or the other smaller cichlid or my catfish, so they wont bother your other fish unless the pair for breeding.

[coltin]

Unless you buy a guaranteed pr of electric blue acaras, I would be careful adding two. If they turn into a pr and get along, they could cause havoc when they breed (as mentioned by Stefan). If they turn into two males they could fight and you end up with one male. You could get two females and they could breed but no young would hatch.

If you specifically want a breeding pair of cichlids, get 8-10 young fish and grow them up together. Let them mature and pr off naturally, then move the prs into their own tanks or leave the pr and get rid of the others.

Tetras and Corydoras do best in groups of 10 or more.

[noviceguy]

I think it sounds good but I’d up your numbers to 12 tetras and 12 cories - go for a larger more robust Cory too and avoid smaller species like panda etc

Oh more fish sounds great!!! I just do not want to overcrowd. Thanks for responding!!

I would be cautious with the EBAs. If you get a male and female, they might pair and become territorial and hurt your other fish. If you get two males, make sure they are the same size and in the future, they might have territorial disputes but that is normal for cichlids. I currently have one EBA in a community tank, sometimes him and the severum get a little annoyed with each other, but he does not bother my Rainbowfish or the other smaller cichlid or my catfish, so they wont bother your other fish unless the pair for breeding.

coltin said:



Unless you buy a guaranteed pr of electric blue acaras, I would be careful adding two. If they turn into a pr and get along, they could cause havoc when they breed (as mentioned by Stefan). If they turn into two males they could fight and you end up with one male. You could get two females and they could breed but no young would hatch.

If you specifically want a breeding pair of cichlids, get 8-10 young fish and grow them up together. Let them mature and pr off naturally, then move the prs into their own tanks or leave the pr and get rid of the others.

Tetras and Corydoras do best in groups of 10 or more.



I am definitely not interested in breeding lol. I am new to aquariums and do not want to manage multiple. I do not mind having just 1 EBA but I read somewhere that they don't like to be alone? I want to do what is least stressful for the fish. If 1 EBA will not be stressed alone then I can do the same setup but with just the 1 instead of a pair. If necessary I could also do 1 EBA and 1 other kind of cichlid if that is better.

[coltin]

One electric blue acara will be fine on its own. It might want to breed when it matures in 12 months time, but if you are starting out, just get one small fish so it doesn't breed and cause problems. If you want to breed them next year, then you can get another one to go with it.

Having more than one species of cichlid in an aquarium is risky because they are all territorial and fight. The other issue being that most cichlids and catfish live on or near the bottom and the more bottom dwelling fishes you have, the more likelihood of trouble. So a single acara and some Corydoras will work better than a pr of acaras or a couple of different types of cichlids and some catfish.