Questions on how environment affects male peacocks, along with some other general questions about peacocks.

[Acara19]

I had a couple questions on the subject, and Reed from VeryFishe was very helpful with my questions and answered a few already, but I will ask them again to see other people's perspectives on the topic.
I am planning on jumping into peacocks after a couple years of keeping central american cichlids.
Some of the questions I have:
1. singular male peacocks can successfully be kept alone and show color, right?
2. would a solo male peacock live a longer life if it was kept alone, since it wouldn't have the stress of fighting for dominance or breeding?
3. does background/substrate color affect the color of the fish? For example, will they color up more on white substrate due to that being more natural, or color up more on a dark substrate in an attempt to match its color? or is the dark substrate/background thing more for discus and the like...
4. how many juvenile peacocks (around the 1.5 to 3 inch rank) can grow out temporarily in a 29 gallon?
5. adding onto the last question, what is the best food for peacocks to grow and gain the most color possible?
6. how big do dragon blood peacocks get?
7. around what age or size do OB's start to get the marbling pattern?
8. if you remove all the fish except the dominant male, will he keep his color? I know a thing that tends to happen with most fish is when they can't see other fish around, they feel like there's something the absent fish are hiding from, and they will hide too, or show signs of stress, which in turn would nullify their colors, but I'm not sure with peacocks.

 

[neut]

1. Yes
2. Not necessarily. Lifespan depends more on water quality, food quality, stresses, genetics.
3. Depends somewhat on individual fish and its color vs. background colors. But-- color is affected by water conditions and quality and nutrition as much as anything. Lighting is also a factor. Malawi cichlids are less dependent on background colors than some others. Overly bright light might affect them and lighting spectrum makes a difference in bringing out color.
4. Don't have a good answer for this. 29 gal is small for peacocks, a short term holding tank for sizes you mention is one thing, but at that size they're into their prime growth period. I've never kept juvie growouts in less than a 50.
5. After a LOT of food testing years ago, I settled on Omega One and NLS and used both for years. Both were good for growth and color. Both tested better than Hikari for color. But Omega One has changed their formula recently and added cheaper ingredients, setting it back in the pack of foods. NLS is still a good food. I tried the Northfin soldier fly pellet recently-- eh, not impressed. But they have different products, maybe others are better. Some peacock varieties are less sensitive to foods for coloring up than others or compared to some haps that are affected more by food-- food still makes a difference, but more so in some types than others.
6. Never kept them, I did have OB peacocks for a while, didn't breed them intentionally, but like most peacocks they breed easily, had a line bred red ruby red peacock or two many years ago, and bred Eureka Red jakes for a few years. Otherwise my haps and peacocks were all natural species found in the lake.
7. Males pretty early, especially dominant males. Depends on the individual, status in the tank, etc. In a group at 2", in many peacock varieties you should see some showing color, how much depends on species and individual. It's one of the attractions of Malawi cichlids, they color up early. Cichlids from some other regions can be equally beautiful in their own way, but some take time.
8. At a small size, it varies, also with comfort in the tank. But single males will also show color, not dependent on other fish in the tank.

I bred a lot of haps and peacocks. You can keep them singly and they still have color, to what degree depends on the individual. I did it on occasion having to isolate crazy aggressive individual males or separate males for a while. But they're be happier in a community. I wouldn't keep more than one adult in a 29-- really, I wouldn't keep them in a 29, anyway, even singles. other than babies or small juvies. Not trying to tank police guy, but my minimum for peacocks would be a 50. And if I had to predict, I'd suspect you'd get better color in a not so small tank.

 

[Acara19]

Thanks for the info, but woops I should have worded the second question better
Would a solitary fish's lifespan be increased if it didn't have the stress of breeding/fights over dominance along with good water quality and a good diet?

 

[neut]

If it would have been picked on and harassed constantly by a more aggressive male, then yes. Significantly so vs. being seriously bullied or even killed off by a really mean rival. Otherwise, not much difference imo, unless maybe it stressed him being in a tank by himself. When I'd get two males that wouldn't leave each other alone, I'd separate them. If I got a psycho male that disrupted the whole tank-- and I'd get them in some species, including sunshines, reds, OBs-- he'd get separated, either isolated or with bigger, badder fish he couldn't mess with. Some didn't seem to mind being isolated much, others didn't take it as well, got skittish, acted depressed, etc. Never kept a single peacock permanently, though, probably not more than a month or two. Was generally a fix for a problem until he either calmed down and I tried something different with him or I decided to trade or sell him.

 

[stany]

I keep 11-13 haps and peacocks between 1 1/2 and 3 inches in a 40 long without any problems if that helps. I did it initially to overcrowd and spread any aggression. I do have twice the filtration for a 40 as well.

I've not seen any impact on color other than some Lake Vic's I've tried. Had a Dayglow and Flametail that got to be 6 inches but less than stunning color. Lack of a female may be part to blame, but I think each fish is different. I would make sure you ask the breeder to provide a picture of the father, but that's no sure bet.

Cichlids are Special web site has a compatibility chart that I first used to pick fish which is helpful but they are cichlids and exceptions can occur.