Lake Malawi Species • all male peacock tank

[mfish1]

So I'm starting to think I screwed up my stocking situation. I had been researching mbunas for a while but couldnt find what I was looking for so I rushed into an all male peacock tank without much research. It's a 55 gallon tank and I have 8 fish.

Theyre shown here
http://s1253.photobucket.com/albums/hh589/mfish1/

Sorry I don't know the names but I have 2 of the black ones with yellow stripes on there heads, 2 of the blue ones with yellow shoulders, 1 all blue one, the blue one with yellow on top of its fin, and 2 OB peacocks. Today I got rid of the large white and blue ob in the tank because he was causing serious problems with aggresion. He got replaced with a small red peacock that I don't have a picture of yet. The pink OB peacock in the pictures has sort of taken the place as alpha male, but he is not nearly as aggressive. He is however the only one who seems to chase other fish. The only other sign of aggression I've had is the two blue ones with yellow shoulders locking lips occasionaly. Other than that all the other fish never chase eachother.

The new red peacock has been completely left alone and actually follows the ob everywhere. He is the only one the ob leaves alone.

I guess I'm just wondering if there is anything I should do. Should I get rid of the OB and one of the blue with yellow shoulder peacocks in favor of something that looks different from the rest?

Thanks

[mfish1]

Ok so here is my best guess as to what they are

2 Aulonocara Maulana Bi-Color 500
2 Aulonocara Maylandi Sulferhead
1 Aulonocara Masioni (Masons Peacock)
1 Aulonocara stuartgranti
1 Aulonocara German Red
1 Aulonocara OB hybrid

[DJRansome]

Get rid of both the Maylandi (too timid) and one of the red-shoulders. Get some other peacocks that look different. Which kind of stuartgranti do you have? How about yellow?

[mfish1]

Get rid of both the Maylandi (too timid) and one of the red-shoulders. Get some other peacocks that look different. Which kind of stuartgranti do you have? How about yellow?

This is what I'm guessing is the stuartgranti
http://s1253.photobucket.com/albums/hh5 ... rent=n.jpg
My best guess is galileya reef or undu reef.

I'm surprised about the Maylandi, one of them actually seems to be the "ref" in the tank, occasionally keeping the ob peacock in line.

So I'll swap out one of the red shoulders with a yellow peacock...maybe something like this?
http://www.cichlidsarespecial.com/index ... duct_id=14

Then I would just need to figure out how to replace the Maylandi I guess.

EDIT: The one bi-color 500 I plan on getting rid of is the smaller of the 2 who usually ends up hanging out by himself in the corner. What happens to these "weaker" fish when they get put back in a tank at a fish store? Do they tend to get beat up a little? I have a 20gallon that I'll have available when I'm done using it as a hospital tank for a goldfish. Would it be ok to put him in a 20gal tank by himself? I'm kind of a softy and hate the thought of him getting beat up if I bring him back to the store. At the same time though the place near me sells africans exclusively and they guy really knows his stuff, so he would be in good hands. Just a random thought.

[13razorbackfan]

Going to be kind of tough in a 55g with some of those more aggressive man made peacocks like the OB's. My best advice would be to try for pure aulonocara species that do not look a like and make triple sure you don't have any females who slipped in by accident. You want to avoid the jacob's, dragonsblood, sunburst, OB's, etc...

Personally...I would only have one of each maylandi and bi-color. Keep the prettiest one of each. I would take the OB back. The rest look ok but you may still have some conflicts. Hard to know which ones will and won't work together but usually if they are not too similar or they are not the man made strains then you will have a better shot in a 55g. Hope this helps.

[DJRansome]

That stuartgranti looks a little like a lwanda to me, but visual ID is not my best skill.

Check the profile and see what you think, because a lwanda might be too big for a 55G.

[mfish1]

Yup you're right, it definitely looks like a lwanda. According to the profile, Stuartgranti reach the same size as well (6 inches) so i'll assume they are a no go also.

Would an Aulonocara Kandeense be too similar looking to the Mylandi to replace one with? I'll try and get a mostly yellow peacock to replace either the ob or 500 with, and maybe some sort of albino so that it won't look too similar to anyone else?

Is it possible to just do less fish? Maybe 6 or 7? I know it's best to overstock with these guys though.

[james1983]

for replacements you can always look into the smaller hap species, that will give you a few fish with a different look than the peacocks.

[mfish1]

for replacements you can always look into the smaller hap species, that will give you a few fish with a different look than the peacocks.

Yeah I'll do that, the guy near me has a ton of haps.
Just to make sure though, the smaller of these haplochromines, correct?
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/r ... p?genus=82

Thanks

[DanniGirl]

Yup you're right, it definitely looks like a lwanda. According to the profile, Stuartgranti reach the same size as well (6 inches) so i'll assume they are a no go also.

Would an Aulonocara Kandeense be too similar looking to the Mylandi to replace one with? I'll try and get a mostly yellow peacock to replace either the ob or 500 with, and maybe some sort of albino so that it won't look too similar to anyone else?

Is it possible to just do less fish? Maybe 6 or 7? I know it's best to overstock with these guys though.

The Kandeense would be too timid as well. Here is a potential list peacocks and haps that could work in your setup:

Peacocks:
Aulonocara baenschi or Aulonocara stuartgranti (Blue Neon variant)
Aulonocara sp. "Turkis"
Aulonocara stuartgranti "Ngara"

Haps:
Copadichromis trewavasae "Mloto Likoma"
Placidochromis electra "Deep Water Hap"
Otopharynx lithobates "Z-Rock"

[mfish1]

Yup you're right, it definitely looks like a lwanda. According to the profile, Stuartgranti reach the same size as well (6 inches) so i'll assume they are a no go also.

Would an Aulonocara Kandeense be too similar looking to the Mylandi to replace one with? I'll try and get a mostly yellow peacock to replace either the ob or 500 with, and maybe some sort of albino so that it won't look too similar to anyone else?

Is it possible to just do less fish? Maybe 6 or 7? I know it's best to overstock with these guys though.

The Kandeense would be too timid as well. Here is a potential list peacocks and haps that could work in your setup:

Peacocks:
Aulonocara baenschi or Aulonocara stuartgranti (Blue Neon variant)
Aulonocara sp. "Turkis"
Aulonocara stuartgranti "Ngara"

Haps:
Copadichromis trewavasae "Mloto Likoma"
Placidochromis electra "Deep Water Hap"
Otopharynx lithobates "Z-Rock"

Great, thank you. My only question would be if the lithobates would look too similar to the maylandi? I'd definitely like to keep one because he is in no way timid and seems to keep everyone in order, including the ob when the ob gets a little fiesty.

I love the mloto likoma.

[DanniGirl]

[My only question would be if the lithobates would look too similar to the maylandi?

Na, I wouldn't worry about it. There is enough variation between the the two.

I love the mloto likoma.

The Mloto likoma is a nice fish. The male gets a nice white blaze and just beneath the blaze, he will have a brilliant blue sheen before transitioning into a darker color. This photograph was shot at an awkward angle (which accounts for the distortion) but you can see the color.

[mfish1]

Ok so the OB peacock and the weaker of the 2 bi-color 500 are gone. I went to the store to trade them in for a lithobate and baenschi, however I misunderstood the guy on the phone and he didn't have males of them, only females. I ended up with a copadichromis chrysonotus yellow blaze, which the guy told me would be a suitable replacement for the lithobate (he knows my tank situation) and a aulonocara nkhata yellow head (real little guy) instead of the baenshi. So now in my tank I have
1 Aulonocara Maulana Bi-Color 500
2 Aulonocara Maylandi Sulferhead
1 Aulonocara Masioni
1 Aulonocara lwanda
1 Aulonocara German Red
1 Aulonocara nkhata yellow head
1 Copadichromis chrysonotus yellow blaze

Ultimately I guess I'll need to find a new home for one of the Maylandi and probably the lwanda as I believe someone said they will get too big for a 55.

Pics of the new fish are here...

the red
http://s1253.photobucket.com/albums/hh5 ... G_1180.jpg

the yellow head
http://s1253.photobucket.com/albums/hh5 ... G_1177.jpg

the yellow blaze
http://s1253.photobucket.com/albums/hh5 ... G_1175.jpg

[mfish1]

So I've been sitting next to my tank for about an hour now just watching and the difference is amazing! The Masioni and bi-color 500 havecolored up big time in just the few hours since the ob and other 500 have been removed. Everyone seems to just be hanging out, no chases or anything going on, and the little nkhata yellow head has his own little cave that he's hanging out in

[DJRansome]