Blue acara or Green terror??

[peppermint22]

Hi! I just bought a cichlid that was labelled "sunshine cichlid" (what the heck is that?) but according to my books, it's from the genus Aequidens. Could someone pls tell me the differences between A. pulcher and A. rivulatus? My cichlid is only 5cm long.

[RedParrotBubbles85]

if you can post a picture it would help a lot because at a small size blue acaras and green terrors look very alike.

[Chet]

Here are some pics of a blue acara and a green terror so you can make a visual comparison:

http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/gblueacara.html


http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/gterror.html

The most noticeable difference at most any size is the dark bar running through the eye of the blue acara. This is not a characteristic commonly seen in a green terror.

A word on semantics. While A. Pulcher is the blue acara, A. Rivulatus is not the commonly sold green terror. The green terror most often seen in stores is in fact a saum and falls under a different scientific name, which escapes me at the moment.

[peppermint22]

(Yeah, mine looks like the blue acara in the pic above). Do blue acaras always have orange outlines on their dorsal fins? Do mature male blue acaras grow a hump on the forehead like the green terror? I would like to get a mate for my blue acara, but all the blue acaras at my retailer look alike. What sexual differences are visible? What other cichlids can I keep with a blue acara in a 75 gallon tank?

[peppermint22]

Oh, and do green terrors always show a thick orange outline on the caudal fin and don't have any transverse bars on the flanks?

[thirty2cent]

one green terror, or you can some cons, some firemouths, salvinis, mayb a jd and some blue jacks,etc

[thirty2cent]

actually blue jacks might not be so good, some fish might nip at their fins when they get older

[peppermint22]

A few more differences I just picked out while browsing thru the Neotropical Cichlid gallery:

1. Do blue acaras only, have red iris?
2. Do green terrors always have orange-tinted pectoral fins and a thick orange outline on the caudal fin?

I'm terribly sorry I can't post a pic 'coz the digicam is currently out of service.

Someone pls help me!

[Chet]

Well, I don't have much first hand experience with blue acaras. I know one when I see it, but that's about all. On the other hand, I do have a green terror. It is one of my favorite fish. Your common LFS "green terror" will have an outline on the dorsal fin and the tail fin, usually orange, but sometimes red or even white. Acaras on the other hand, usually do not have the coloration on the tail fin, and the coloring on the dorsal fin is just a tipping at best. I hope this helps to clarify. Looking at more pictures of each should help you, as they have quite a few differences that become more obvious over time.

I'm not entirely sure about sexing either species, and would think that venting your fish would be the only reliable way to tell for sure. Good luck.

[cich1]

chet i realize that venting is the only sure way to sex them,but what about head shape(steep forehead usually male)finnage,and really vibrant coloration,are these good indicators?

[Chet]

I would say yes, but not until they get much larger than peppermint's fish is right now. Again, my knowledge related to that only applies to Green Terrors, although I would assume the Blue Acara would be very similar.

[cich1]

oops,didn't see that the fish was only 2 inches.thanks for the info chet.

[Ash]

Don't GT's have a more pointed mouth (more like a texas) whereas blue acara's mouth is more blunt shaped? (like a jag or dempsey)

[oscar_pack]

more or less.

[peppermint22]

Howabout the pectoral fins? I have noticed from pics on the internet, that GTs have orange pectoral fins. Is this one way of telling them apart? I have 3 cichlids. 1 is definitely a GT, but the other 2 I'm not too sure. They look a little different 'cos they have more bands on the flanks and their pectoral fins are not orange.