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You are setting up a 55G ALL MALE Peacock Tank and your selections are:

Red Nose Rummy

Red Nose Rummy

Members
Would like your suggestions on the stocking of an ALL MALE Peacock Tank, and Haps that would thrive well with the Peacocks.

I don't want any Mbuna, quite frankly I REALLY love Peacocks......

This is my first Cichlid Tank - 55 Gallon - PFS Substrate - Rocks to include Caves - 2 Aquaclear 70's and an Aquaclear 50 Powerhead - PH 8.0

There are so many species, it seems that I find another, different, awesome Peacok everyday and I would like some help narrowing down selection.

Like most I'm looking for a nice color variance, it was a promise to "me lovely lady" for allowing me to set up another tank...... :)

So lay it on me: what are your top fish for my set up.......
 
Red Nose Rummy

Red Nose Rummy

Members
jonclark96 said:
If you can, go to the ACLC meeting this weekend and see Tony's talk on peacocks and haps. You'll get plenty of good ideas.
Click to expand...

Oh, I am so bummed..... this is EXACTLY what I need -- but there is no way I can attend this weekend.

Thank you so much for the suggestion.
 
Red Nose Rummy

Red Nose Rummy

Members
verbal said:
Sunshine peacocks are one of my favorite.

http://cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=632

You can look up info about a bunch of peacocks on cichlid-forum.com:
http://cichlid-forum.com/profiles/category.php?cat=3
Click to expand...


Oh yes, I love the Sunshines as well and will definetly include them in my community.

I've seen the cichlid-forum many times and it's a great sight, but it kinda supports my need. There are so many different types that it's hard to narrow them down and for new hobbyist the scientific nomenclature doesn't help. Maybe that's why people have so many tanks - you want them all!

Thanks for the follow up!
 
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DiscusnAfricans

DiscusnAfricans

Past President
A. Jacobgreibergi 'Eureka Red'
A. sp. 'Lwanda'
A. Baenschi
A. Hansbaenschi
A. Stuartgranti 'Ngara'
Protomelas Steveni 'Taiwan Reef'
Protomelas Taeniolatus
Otopharynx Lithobates
Otopharynx Tetrastigma
Placidochromis Electra

Most of these are fairly easy to find, don't grow much over 6", and are pretty sturdy in terms of aggression. They will be more likely to get along if they grow up together.
 
hollyfish2000

hollyfish2000

Members
For an all male tank, you basically want boys that don't look similar to each other (and no more than 1 of any one species). In a 55, I'd say you also want to lean toward the less aggressive peacocks because you don't really have a lot of room. For those reasons, I'd avoid the lwanda and the eureka red. Yellow jakes are also supposed to be more aggressive peacocks, but I've not personally found that to be true.

Small haps that would work include otolarynx lithobates and maybe Taiwan Reef (I so love these) and copadichromis mloto. Tony would know others.

I've advise you to buy juvenile males that are just starting to show color but are not fully mature and to add them in groups no less than three.

And you'll need to avoid maylandi and kandeense as they're too mild to color up properly in an all male tank. (One thought, tho, you can do a one species colony of either of these and have multiple males in a 55, which is not really possible with most peacocks, and get some breeding action, which is fun.)

Also, you have to monitor an all male tank closely as even among less aggressive peacocks, you can get a bully and a victim that needs to be rescued. You really need a stand-by hospital/time out tank if you're going all-male.

good luck!
 
Malawimania

Malawimania

Members
All these fish MUST be MALES- Ruby Red Peacock, Sunshine Peacock, Lemon Jake Peacock, Malawi Butterfly Jake Peacock, Electric Blue Ahli, Taiwan Reef, Albino Taiwan Reef, Albino Eureka Red Peacock, O.B Peacock, put this all together and it equals AWSOMENES! Lol sorry for my enthusaism but I have all those guys in my 120 plus a bunch more.

-Steve
-Steve
 
hollyfish2000

hollyfish2000

Members
As I've said previously -- some fish don't read their profiles! But if you take on an OB or any other peacock with a rep toward aggression you have to monitor and be willing to remove him if he's wreaking havoc in your tank.
 
fishman13

fishman13

Members
I agree with verbal but i LOVE the ruby reds. They are so gosh darn hot and beutiful. I named one of them after my girlfriend and she is hot so i named the most beutiful ruby i have after my girlfriend. But sunshines are my runner up if the hobby never had ruby reds. Aulonocara steveni
art_aul_usisya_02.jpg

are pretty good in color







Now heres a pic from one of my quarintine tanks-
images
My beloved ruby red peacocks. Well this was a sick one
 
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Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
Rule #1 of fish keeping: Do not name fish. It will certainly hasten and/or ensure their demise.

;)
 
Cnkbradford

Cnkbradford

Members
I've done this several times over the years and I've noticed something that always seems to happen. There will be several of your peacocks that looked amazing in the store that will not look great in your tank. Be prepared for the fact that there is a pecking order and some fish will go drab or even brown to avoid being picked on.

Also, slight overcrowding is ok, but don't go crazy in a 55. It's simply too small for lots of large adults. You'll get lots of fin tearing and likely some unhealthy fish. Peacocks are very prone to digestive issues if overly stressed and may become lethargic and get pinched stomachs.

Clean water, high quality food and the right amount of fish can lead to amazing results though. I like the earlier comment in this thread about buying juveniles and raising them together. This can be a really fun way to watch personalities and color development over time. Some of my best experiences have been raising juveniles into full fledged adults.

One last thought. Occasionally I have included females in these tanks....I don't do that anymore because you get way too many dominance issues and even worse, cross breeding. I never caught or kept the fry. I decided for myself that I didn't want more color variations of peacocks. Luckily nature provided plenty. :)


Sent from my iPad using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 
hollyfish2000

hollyfish2000

Members
Really, there are only two ways to go in a 55:

Single species with one male and multiple females, although with some mild peacocks you can do mulitple males (as I've done with both blue orchids and ruby reds)

All male
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
hollyfish2000 said:
Really, there are only two ways to go in a 55:

Single species with one male and multiple females, although with some mild peacocks you can do mulitple males (as I've done with both blue orchids and ruby reds)

All male
Click to expand...

While I generally agree with you, Holly, I've had good luck with keeping 2 species in a 40B. Something like a Stuartgranti peacock and a small Otopharynx would probably play nice together in a 55. You would only be able to have one male of each species and they'd have to look drastically different (both to avoid conspecific aggression and minimize potential hybridization). 1M/4F would be ideal.

But like you said in an earlier post, fish don't always read the rules (for the record, all the OB peacocks I've ever had were pretty feisty). You'd have to watch them closely and be ready to pull someone if they were getting beaten up.

An easy option would be a group of smaller peacocks and a less-aggressive mbuna (yellow labs are the most common choice).

Your mileage may vary....
 
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