Electric Blue Acara Tank Mates

[KobaBetta]

I've decided to get a new 40 gallon breeder up and running this coming year and have decided to do a low light planted tank with an electric blue acara as my centerpiece fish. I'm looking for some tank mate suggestions that are big enough to not get eaten! I'm considering mollies and perhaps some corydoras (though I am concerned about size). Any other suggestions?

[Fish Folk]

Exciting! EBAs are fairly adaptable fish. They are not typically aggressive with medium-sized tank mates. They may eat small tetras or small livebearers.

You could go for a schooling set of 12x mid / larger-sized tetras such as:

(1) Candy Cane Tetras

(2) Black Phantom Tetras

(3) Colombian Tetras

(4) Buenos Sires Tetras

If you wanted, it is possible to add some reasonably mature Bristlenose Plecos or your favorite color morph. Bear in mind that plecos really benefit from wood added to the aquarium, and that they are known to eat eggs laid by cichlids from time to time.

As long as there is no major size disparity between either species, I have kept EBAs with Firemouth Cichlids before. I've also seen them with Blood Parrot Cichlids -- though I've never tried that myself.

I have far too many EBAs right now to deal with. I keep them with Colombian Tetras...

In a more recent tank, I've _temporarily_ housed a few smaller / first-year EBAs with Discus (a pair of EBAs just spawned in there)...

And I've got them crammed into a ridiculously over stocked grow-out tank...

 This tank was set up last year. IT was kind of a neat combo: 1 adult pair of EBAs, ca. 6x Firemouth Cichlids, a solitary Golden Convict Cichlid, 2x Bristlenose Plecos, and ca. 16x Buenos Aires Tetras...