New 55G: buy very small babies?
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Peacocks are very peaceful fish. The only problem you might have is when the fish go to breed. If there aren't enough females for the males, the males will start fighting and kill the females who aren't ready to breed. I would keep the peacocks separate from other more aggressive fish because I am having a problem with that right now.
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One word of advice, you might want to start one thread and stick with it. That will likely give you better responses than scattering bits of info over various thread and forums (eg here and here), so nobody gets a clear picture of your situation.
To summarize, you have a 55G - beautiful setup by the way :thumb: - and have decided on keeping peacocks. You want a colorful and active tank, and are wondering how to best stock it on a budget.
To expand a bit on what DJRansome wrote, before peacocks color up, there is no sure way of telling what's a male and what's a female. Also, all female peacocks look so similar that there is no sure way to tell them apart once they swim in the same tank. Finally, producing hybrids should be avoided at all costs, since they can spoil the blood lines many people take great pains to keep pure.
What all this means in practice is that if you buy baby peacocks you should only buy one group that you know all to be the same species to house in one tank. They should never be combined with other peacocks. A group like that would make a nice breeding setup in your 55G. You would get to observe a lot of the peacocks' natural behavior, but likely only your dominant male would color up.
In a pinch, you might be able to combine them with other peaceful fish. Most mbuna would be too boisterous, but maybe something like L. caeruleus would work. They would definitely ad a great color contrast to the blue of many peacocks. Hopefully somebody more experienced with peacocks can comment on this option.
The only option to get a more colorful tank with all peacocks is an all-male-setup. For that you have to buy colored up males, which would obviously be more expensive. Another disadvantage is that you won't get to see as much of the natural behavior of the peacocks, because the females are missing.
Last but not least, if you haven't discovered it already, I think you will find the Peacock Corner of our library worth exploring.
Best of luck!
To summarize, you have a 55G - beautiful setup by the way :thumb: - and have decided on keeping peacocks. You want a colorful and active tank, and are wondering how to best stock it on a budget.
To expand a bit on what DJRansome wrote, before peacocks color up, there is no sure way of telling what's a male and what's a female. Also, all female peacocks look so similar that there is no sure way to tell them apart once they swim in the same tank. Finally, producing hybrids should be avoided at all costs, since they can spoil the blood lines many people take great pains to keep pure.
What all this means in practice is that if you buy baby peacocks you should only buy one group that you know all to be the same species to house in one tank. They should never be combined with other peacocks. A group like that would make a nice breeding setup in your 55G. You would get to observe a lot of the peacocks' natural behavior, but likely only your dominant male would color up.
In a pinch, you might be able to combine them with other peaceful fish. Most mbuna would be too boisterous, but maybe something like L. caeruleus would work. They would definitely ad a great color contrast to the blue of many peacocks. Hopefully somebody more experienced with peacocks can comment on this option.
The only option to get a more colorful tank with all peacocks is an all-male-setup. For that you have to buy colored up males, which would obviously be more expensive. Another disadvantage is that you won't get to see as much of the natural behavior of the peacocks, because the females are missing.
Last but not least, if you haven't discovered it already, I think you will find the Peacock Corner of our library worth exploring.
Best of luck!
If you just have juveniles, at least one male will start coloring up. You should a very nicely colored male in a few months... and sexual maturity not much longer. Now if you have juveniles with adults, the juveniles will take a long time to color up.jlm86 said:
Why get juveniles?
... young fish adapt into a tank easier, fit into a community better than some adults
... young fish have their full potential in front of them
... adults for sale may be rejects, or have been traumatized by constant tank changes
... adults for sale may be close to being "over the hill"
... it may be easier to get quality stock of the fish you want in juveniles
... it is MUCH more fun to raise the juveniles and watch the male transform
Why get adult?
... with males you can be more sure of what you are buying, since it is hard to tell what type the juveniles are
... adding colored up males into a tank in which a juvenile may not color up soon or much at all
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I'd buy all juvies. That's what I did with my 1st 55. They are cheap and it's cool to see what you get. I really stretched out my "need to get more fish fix" by going every other week or 2 and buying one more species each time. I always had new fish to ad and stretched out the stocking of the tank over a 2-3 month time period. Buying the new fish are still one of the favorite things for a lot of aquarists. That's why we have so many tanks, 
To get instant gratification add some Labidochromis caeruleus for really nice yellow, maybe Iodotropheus sprengerae for some purple, and maybe Pseudotropheus sp. "Acei" for some nice purple, bluish, and yellow.
As for the peacocks fmuellers advise is valid. You can buy many species and add them, but the danger is " you must NEVER raising or sell the fry or let any of the females go. Because once they are mixed you will NEVER know what kind of peacock the females are.
To get instant gratification add some Labidochromis caeruleus for really nice yellow, maybe Iodotropheus sprengerae for some purple, and maybe Pseudotropheus sp. "Acei" for some nice purple, bluish, and yellow.
As for the peacocks fmuellers advise is valid. You can buy many species and add them, but the danger is " you must NEVER raising or sell the fry or let any of the females go. Because once they are mixed you will NEVER know what kind of peacock the females are.
I think it's awesome watching fish grow from babies. That's the way I always try to do it. But, I think only one species of peacock will be disappointing for you. If I were you I'd get some mbuna based on the suggestions above. You can't go wrong with yellow labs. Personality-wise acei are my favorite fish. You might be able to get fry in your area if you check craigslist.
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