Hi everyone,
So recently I acquired a 75 gallon tank (48'), and I am cycling it as we speak. I had a cichlid tank of all male mbunas about 5 years ago in a 55 gallon (would like to have some words with the LFS that told me it would be a good idea for my first cichlid tank) and it ended with all of males being rehomed over the period of 6 months. I am now looking to give it a go again and still have a decent amount of knowledge from last tank so I'd consider myself a novice at this point.
I have done some research and it has led me to two options. First being 3-4 species of mbuna in harems of 1m-4f or an all male peacock tank.
I like the idea of having breeding fish, as I think it would be a cool environment to witness, but I don't really feel like going through the hassle of raising the fry and then distributing them out. Also I want to maximize the variety of the tank and also the color. The reason I'm considering this is mostly because I have read that is the preferred choice for novices.
The all male peacock tank intrigues me for all the reasons the harems doesn't. It has the color and the variety, but I am worried about the difficulty of managing a tank like this.
My main question is how difficult is managing an all male peacock tank? I would really like to go this route but if it is something that would be too difficult for me to manage, I am fine with going with the mbuna harem route as well. Thank you!
So recently I acquired a 75 gallon tank (48'), and I am cycling it as we speak. I had a cichlid tank of all male mbunas about 5 years ago in a 55 gallon (would like to have some words with the LFS that told me it would be a good idea for my first cichlid tank) and it ended with all of males being rehomed over the period of 6 months. I am now looking to give it a go again and still have a decent amount of knowledge from last tank so I'd consider myself a novice at this point.
I have done some research and it has led me to two options. First being 3-4 species of mbuna in harems of 1m-4f or an all male peacock tank.
I like the idea of having breeding fish, as I think it would be a cool environment to witness, but I don't really feel like going through the hassle of raising the fry and then distributing them out. Also I want to maximize the variety of the tank and also the color. The reason I'm considering this is mostly because I have read that is the preferred choice for novices.
The all male peacock tank intrigues me for all the reasons the harems doesn't. It has the color and the variety, but I am worried about the difficulty of managing a tank like this.
My main question is how difficult is managing an all male peacock tank? I would really like to go this route but if it is something that would be too difficult for me to manage, I am fine with going with the mbuna harem route as well. Thank you!