Lake Malawi Species • A Peacock Tank?? How does this work... or how COULD it work.

[Dawg2012]

So I plunged and bought a couple of large tanks (a 125 and a 180). Now what to stock.

I've heard that with Peacocks most if not all males color up, as opposed to Haps... this makes me intrigued by Peacocks.

How does one go about creating a Peacock tank? I don't want to buy sexed adults - I'd rather buy juvies and watch them develop, but of course you don't know what sex the juvies are.

Maybe the only good approach is to buy sexed adults, I don't know. I want a show tank, but I want to watch them grow up. I also wouldn't mind some breeding, but I don't want cross breeding. I'm not so interested in a bunch of drab females in the larger tank.

I wouldn't mind having some breeding groups in one of the spare 55's... keeping select fish as they appear for the show tank... but then they have to get a little size before you really know what they're going to look like.

Can you keep more than one male of the same species in an all male Peacock tank? If so I think I'd like an all male tank with attractive duplicates that I've raised from breeding groups. Ah heck I don't know.

As you can tell I'm kind of lost as to what to do . Would appreciate any information on how to proceed.

[poseidons minions]

Females complicate that kind of set up I've tried that all male before but failed maybe you might have better luck.

[Dawg2012]

The plan would be to only have females as part of a single species, or very distinct species, breeding group(s) in smaller tank(s), then pull colorful males for the larger show tank as they appear. I realize this could get complicated and if I can only have one male of a specific species in the larger tanks then... that idea is dead right out of the gate because my MTS is not THAT bad .

I'm so lost and not even sure what I'm asking. I want some really colorful fish in a show tank and would like it if I was able to stock it/them from fry/juvies I raise. Not sure if this is possible or how to go about it if it is possible.

[DJRansome]

I don't find it to be true that you would have a higher percentage of haps color up than peacocks in an all-male tank.

Multiple males of the same species are likely to have only one coloring up.

If you want to grow them all from juveniles, you could do a separate tank for each species. What I do is buy sexable males (young adult) of the ones that are available, but there is invariably 1-2 species I want that I can only get as juveniles. I'll buy six of those and grow them out in the tank with the big guys. Maybe that will satisfy your need to watch something grow. Make REALLY sure you can ID the females of the juvenile species...like one has spots and one has stripes if you mix. I did that with Protomelas marginatus. Take out the extras the instant you think you can ID a male.

[Derpfish]

Female peacocks don't color up, sadly. I have a 125 with mixed peacocks and the males are a little territorial at times and will chase each other around a little but that's alleviated by having plenty of hiding spots and enough females. The territories seem to be in a constant state of flux though because one day one male will chase everyone out of a certain area and then the next day a different male will be controlling that same area.

[DanniGirl]

I don't find it to be true that you would have a higher percentage of haps color up than peacocks in an all-male tank.

Multiple males of the same species are likely to have only one coloring up.

If you want to grow them all from juveniles, you could do a separate tank for each species. What I do is buy sexable males (young adult) of the ones that are available, but there is invariably 1-2 species I want that I can only get as juveniles. I'll buy six of those and grow them out in the tank with the big guys. Maybe that will satisfy your need to watch something grow. Make REALLY sure you can ID the females of the juvenile species...like one has spots and one has stripes if you mix. I did that with Protomelas marginatus. Take out the extras the instant you think you can ID a male.

+1
Another option is to purchase young sexable males, place them in the show tank and allow the fish to mature. This way, it alleviates the issues of weeding out the extra juvies. Obviously, it's not that big of a deal but creating an all male tank starting from juvies is going to take some time.
Another idea is to purchase a couple groups of juvies and raise them in a breeder tank. Then you have your breeding groups and as a couple males mature, place them in your larger show tanks.

As DJRansome mentioned, it's unlikely to have two or more males of the same variation within species show spectacular color. In the show tanks, try to shoot for approximately 20 fish for 125 gal and 25-30 fish for the 180 gal. The stock numbers are approximate because they're dependent on the sizes of the mature adults. You can certainly have a couple breeding tanks, but you're going to need to find another source in which to stock your larger tanks.

It's a fun process but expect a little trial and error along the way.

[ws812]

With a large tank you might be able to do large breeding groups of haps. Given you choose species that don't look similar. I'd think Placidochromis Phenochilus, Copadichromis borleyi red fin, and Dimidiochromis compressiceps stocked at ratios of 1:4-6 would work. Buy up some juvies and weed out the males until your'e left with a dominant male of each species. If you end up weeding to many out for your ratio females usually come at a pretty cheap price. With Pheno. you may even be able to keep more than one male given you have enough females in the tank(but don't set your heart on it). Once you get a nice large male fish one of the tanks will become an all-male tank at some point.

[cichlid-gal]

Maybe the only good approach is to buy sexed adults, I don't know. I want a show tank, but I want to watch them grow up. I also wouldn't mind some breeding, but I don't want cross breeding. I'm not so interested in a bunch of drab females in the larger tank.

I would buy the sexed adults if you really want the All Male tank...in the long run you will spend less on fish than if you buy say 5 or 6 juvies and watch them grow then have to rehome the extras with lots of species.

You have a couple of 55G listed as project tanks...after you pick your initial stock of males...pick one (or two) that you would really like to focus on and grow up and stock your 55G(s) with the juvies and have some fun growing up a few for breeding stock.

But of course some of the other suggestions sound great too...good luck and keep us informed.

[Dawg2012]

Alright thanks everyone - I really appreciate the help. I think the picture is becoming clearer.

A couple of clarifications:

... Multiple males of the same species are likely to have only one coloring up.

Are you refering to Haps or Peacocks? Or both...

... Another idea is to purchase a couple groups of juvies and raise them in a breeder tank.

When you say this, do you mean the same breeder tank, or separate? I read in Marc's article that you can mix certain species in the right ratios, or is cross breeding not a concern with juvies?

Do I gather from all the responses that size/maturity isn't as important as it is with Mbuna? It sounds like I could buy some males, and at a later point add maybe one or two species of juvies and grow them out in the same tank with the adults... Identify the male(s), rehome the rest, and repeat with a different species?

[lilscoots]

If you have multiple males of the same species in the same tank haps or peacocks they will most likely not tolerate it. I've been lucky with a couple of dragonsbloods but they're still young and every other type I have in my 125 will not tolerate another male or their kind or a male that looks similar. There will be shuffling and removal so you'll need some extra tanks for that. I agree that growing them is fun but you'd only be able to grow one type of peacock (the females all look the same). You can however grow groups that don't look the same, I grew protomelas, placidichromis, aulonocara and lethrinops (1 species of each) in the same tank but they all have different patterns/body shapes. The rest I had to either buy a single male or grow in separate tanks. Also, for me they started breeding as soon as the first male started showing some color (~2.5"). The other problem with growing them is getting rid of the females that you don't want...once you've gotten the male you were looking for.
just my thoughts,

[Dawg2012]

Okay, good feedback. Thanks.

I see you have Labs in with your Haps/Peacocks. How's that working out? Do you have a breeding group of them or just a male?

[red top hongi]

I was wanting to do the same thing, but from all of the local pet store in my area, I can only get assorted juvie peacocks. I've come to learn certain online websites will have sexable young males that dont fully have all there color. The Ngara flametail is one of my favorites. But the best way I think to do it is to do a all male tank. Peacocks are generally a more doscile species so if you put plenty of rockwork in they can hide and will get along. Having mixed species of females will probably cause interbreeding, because they all basically look the same. And of course be carefull with Mbuas in there. I didnt read the other replies haha so I hope I was repeating any info. Good luck!

[james1983]

Okay, good feedback. Thanks.

I see you have Labs in with your Haps/Peacocks. How's that working out? Do you have a breeding group of them or just a male?

labs work great in peacock/hap all male tanks. I've had breeding groups of labs and acei in my all male tanks for years. I've got rid of the labs, and i'm working on moving the acei, since i want more larger haps. neither the haps or peacocks have ever paid attention to the the labs or acei. both have held pure fry, some of the acei make up my current group.

[Dawg2012]

Ah that's good to know. I love labs.

[lilscoots]

I had to remove our single lab as he was a rather aggressive individual...too bad really.