Royal Acara

Remarks: The royal acara is a medium to large sized cichlid that can display a beautiful range of colors. Most of the time, they are a silver color with a blue sheen, a large black spot on their sides, an orange or yellow hue to their fins, and a blue face with red striations and red eyes. This gives them a nice subtle beauty but the real show starts when they are in breeding dress. When spawning, these fish can turn a bright yellow with a black band along their lateral line and a pink or red hue to the ends of their fins and belly. Mature fish can also grow elegant points to the tips of their anal and dorsal fin with them being longer in mature males. While wild specimens typically only grow to around five inches in length, captive fish can reach sizes upwards of ten inches! This unique blend of patterns, color, impressive size, and finnage make the royal acara really live up to its name as a truly impressive looking fish.

  In the wild, the royal acara can be found across a fairly broad range in the Amazon in countries such as Columbia, Brazil, and Peru.  They inhabit mostly black water habitats where they hide amongst submerged roots and sunken branches in the calm waters. However, this species has also been sighted in areas that are clearer with a fair amount of current showing they are rather adaptable. What these habitats have in common is that the water is soft, acidic, very clean, and free of pollutants. The bottom also consists mostly of soft sand that the royal acara will dig around in occasionally in the search of food or to prepare spawning sites. In captivity, these large cichlids will show the most natural behaviors and thrive if these conditions are replicated.

  Royal acaras typically are not very aggressive to fish that are not conspecifics and are too large to be swallowed. However, they can get very territorial when spawning or when kept with fish that are too similar to them. This is exasperated when they are kept in small spaces. For these reasons, the royal acara requires a sizable aquarium with a tank of 90 gallons being appropriate for a spawning pair and a tank that is 125 gallons or larger being needed if kept in a community setting. They pair well with other, larger South American cichlids along with large dither fish such as silver dollars.

  This species is omnivorous but has a very heavy carnivorous lean. They will typically hunt anything that can fit in their mouths; insects, crustaceans, mollusks, small fish, etc. Royal acaras will also occasionally graze on vegetation, algae, and fallen fruits. In captivity, a diet high in protein but with supplemental vegetable or algae-based foods should be fed to keep these fish healthy. Given all their needs are attended to, royal acaras can be a great choice for those who enjoy large, South American cichlids.