Should I buy it?
Electric Blue Acara
Andinoacara pulcher var.
Also known as: andinoacara hybrid line, Andinoacara hybrid line
Fishori provides conservative planning guidance, not guarantees.
Based on multiple reputable aquarium care sources with strong agreement. Use the numbers here as planning defaults — your room, water, and routine still shape real-world outcomes.
Calmer cichlid for a 200 L planted community. Far more community-safe than an oscar or a jack dempsey, but still eats anything that fits in its mouth.
Best for
Community tanks of 200 L or more that need a calmer blue centrepiece cichlid.
Avoid if
You only have a small tank, or you keep tiny tetras small enough to be eaten.
Top things that go wrong
- Grows large or needs a very big footprint. Electric Blue Acara is often sold at sizes that hide adult length (~18cm on file) and a published minimum near **150L**. Shop tanks are not adult housing.
- Mouth gap vs tiny tank mates. Predation risk toward smaller tank mates. The figure that matters is the adult mouth size against the adult prey length, not the juvenile sizes in the shop.
- Shrimp & snails. Shrimp: not safe. The fish will eat adult shrimp, shrimp fry, or both, depending on the size of the shrimp.
Common mistakeStocking with nano tetras under 4 cm. Adult acara treat small fish as prey regardless of what they coexisted with as juveniles.
What most shops don't tell you
- 1.Predation risk scales with gape, night feeding, and crowding. 'they grew up together' is a schedule, not a law.
- 2.Adding bite-sized tetras or livebearers "until the predator grows". The first lost fish lands months earlier than the plan said.
- 3.More peaceful than most cichlids but will eat small fish. Requires a medium-to-large tank. Can be territorial when spawning.
About this species
Electric blue acaras are 15 to 18 cm South American cichlids with iridescent blue scales. Calmer than most cichlids, so they fit a 200 L community with similarly sized companions.
- Angelfish150L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Bolivian Ram110L min · same fish family
- African Cichlid200L min · same group, similar adult size
- Apistogramma Macmasteri100L min · same fish family
- Checkerboard cichlid100L min · same fish family
- Cockatoo / crested Apistogramma100L min · same fish family
- Convict cichlid200L min · same fish family
- Discus200L min · same group, similar adult size
- Agassiz’s dwarf cichlidalso intermediate semi-aggressive, similar tank size
- Angelfishalso intermediate semi-aggressive, similar tank size
- Apistogramma Borelliialso intermediate semi-aggressive, similar tank size
- Apistogramma Macmasterialso intermediate semi-aggressive, similar tank size
- Apistogramma Trifasciataalso intermediate semi-aggressive, similar tank size
- Cockatoo / crested Apistogrammaalso intermediate semi-aggressive, similar tank size
- Convict cichlid tank mateslists this fish among its recommended pairings
- Firemouth Cichlid tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Keyhole cichlid tank mateslists this fish among its recommended pairings
- Royal pleco tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Severum tank mateslists this fish among its recommended pairings
Plan grid
Key limits are shown above; this section adds planning detail: pH band, swim level, bioload and activity, and the radar.
Swim zones
Planning trait chart
Six indices for comparing species on paper before you spend.
- Beginner ease32
- Peacefulness30
- Community fit26
- Small-tank fit97
- Hardiness54
- Energy54
Numbers are deterministic planning indices from Fishori fields — not a scientific score of your individual fish.
Common setup sketches
Conservative patterns from Fishori fields — still run the pair checker for every species you add; sketches are not a stocking guarantee.
Avoid “one of everything” baskets — Electric Blue Acara belongs in a plan built around territory, line-of-sight breaks, and matched water chemistry.
Tank mate intelligence
Compatible with larger tetras (congo, lemon, rummy-nose), corydoras, plecos, similarly-sized peaceful cichlids. Avoid neons (snack-size) and aggressive cichlids.
Pair-level compatibility with this fish as anchor.
Read the blocking rule on each pair page before experimenting.
Do-not-stock combinations on conservative hobby rules.
Compare with
Run a real pair check: Electric Blue Acara + Corydoras Catfish
Behaviour, temperament, and what to watch
Prose and lists come from the same record: read temperament first, then glass-level signals so you are not surprised after day three.
Among the most peaceful South American cichlids. Pairs can become territorial during spawning but rarely catastrophically so.
Stress / aggression triggers on file
- Crowding and limited territory
- Similar-looking fish in the same tank
- Spawning, for any breeding pair
Fin nipping: Not a habitual fin-nipper, but individuals can still test fins under stress or in a crowded tank.
Predation: Predation risk toward smaller tank mates. The figure that matters is the adult mouth size against the adult prey length, not the juvenile sizes in the shop.
Territory: Holds territory on substrate, in caves, or at the surface film. Break the line of sight with hardscape, and avoid placing the tank where the fish can see its own reflection.
Planted tanks: good — easy plant ideas
In the glass: typical and warning signs
- Moderate pacing — not hyperactive, not motionless.
- Clamped fins, gasping at the surface, hiding non-stop, or refusing food after the first week.
- Rapid breathing when parameters swing — fix ammonia/nitrite first, then reassess mates.
- Chasing one individual repeatedly, torn fins on tank mates, or food theft every feed.
- Corner guarding, flaring, or body-blocking — territory is normal until it becomes relentless.
- Separate or rehome if injuries appear, one fish is pinned, or feeding becomes a daily chase.
- If water is stable but behaviour worsens, reduce stocking or remove the highest-impact species first.
Fish behaviour can vary between individuals and tank setups. Always observe new fish closely after introduction.
Care parameters: water, food, inverts, grouping
Chemistry and group rules sit here so you are not re-reading the same line from tank mate or temperament blocks. Swim level is in the plan grid above.
Hardness
soft
Diet
omnivore
Mixed diet: a quality flake or pellet as the staple, with frozen or live foods two or three times a week.
Shrimp & snails
Shrimp: not safe. The fish will eat adult shrimp, shrimp fry, or both, depending on the size of the shrimp.
Kept singly or as a paired setup. Check the species profile before doubling up in one tank.
Breeding behaviour depends on the species. Research before you buy a mixed-sex group of this fish.
- Hold 24 to 28 °C steadily on a real thermometer, not the dial on the heater.
- Aim for pH 6.5 to 7.5 and a hardness you can re-test in two weeks. A one-time strip in the shop car park is not a water test.
- Footprint: short wide tanks and tall narrow tanks fish differently for the same volume. Match the tank shape to the swim pattern, not just the litre count.
- Tank volume meets or exceeds 150L published minimum for adults.
- Heater can hold 24–28°C without cooking cooler-water tank mates.
- No tank mates small enough to fit the adult mouth gap for this species.
Explore and stocking hubs
Same library as the rest of Fishori: tank-mate index for this species, category peers, guides, and litre-based stocking lists where min tank on file is within the hub volume.
Plan with tools
Pair-level rules and multi-fish stocking use the same conservative engine — add this fish in the tank builder only after mates pass pair checks.
Filtration & heating
A 150L minimum tank needs a filter rated for at least 600L/hr turnover and a heater to hold 24–28°C reliably.
Plant suggestions
Electric Blue Acara does well in planted tanks. Plants compatible with 24–28°C and pH 6.5–7.5:
Profile status: partially verified · Evidence tier: high · 3 linked source(s). Fishori does not fabricate citations.
Fishori uses conservative planning rules based on these sources.
Confidence is explained in the summary at the top of this page (same tier as here), not repeated below.
How Fishori evaluates compatibility (same logic as pair and tank tools).
- Seriously Fish. Andinoacara pulcher
Primary: aquarium size, water chemistry, behaviour, and compatibility (URL verified in upgrade script; recheck if site content changes).
- FishBase. Andinoacara pulcher
Secondary: taxonomy, distribution, and maximum length in nature; cross-check with aquarium import lines and measured tank parameters.
- Wikipedia. Andinoacara pulcher
Secondary: general species context; verify all husbandry numbers against a dedicated aquarium care sheet and your test kit, not a single table row.
Evidence notes
- The Seriously Fish profile for the binomial in this record was successfully reached as the primary aquarium reference.
- FishBase contributes natural-range size and habitat context. Translate those numbers through your heater, your water report, and your tank footprint before stocking.
- Wikipedia is only cited if the article URL returned OK. Use it for orientation, not as the only care sheet for an import.
- All compatibility text reflects typical hobby experience and the Fishori model. Individual fish, shop stress, and the order tank mates are added in can still defy a single-paragraph label.
- Fishori profiles work from typical aquarium trade sizes and hobby care norms. Specialist site checks and literature review for this species are not yet recorded here, so the ranges on this page are planning numbers rather than guarantees.