[cram007]

I am relatively new in fish keeping but I got this fish from a friend to re-home since he was sent to deployment overseas and did not have much time. All I am certain is that this is a south African cichlid based on the looks. I have a 75 Gallon All male peacock tank and I am hoping one of you may be helpful in identifying the kind/type and sex of this fish. Can this be mixed with my peacocks? Thank you for the assistance - I really appreciate this forum (new account but have been reading for quite a while).

 

[noki]

Nimbochromis livingstonii I presume, a Lake Malawi "Hap".
https://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1158

Don't know if you mean "Peacocks" in just the broad term, or actual Aulonocara. Might be okay, but they can get kinda dominant, hopefully your tank is of a decent size. If male, they don't color up too bright thou some can be cool looking in dark blue camo.

 

[ken31cay]

It's a Nimbochromis livingstonii, male I think. These get fairly big, might do in a 75gal by itself but you mentioned there are tankmates. They're on the aggressive side. What is the tank's current stock list - species and sizes?

 

[cram007]

Thank you. Why do you think it is a Male?

I currently have it in a 75 Gallon sharing it with an all male 2 Lemon Jakes, 2 OBs, 2 Ruby Reds, 2 Dragon Bloods and 2 Clown Loaches. No aggressive issues so far. They are all 2-3 inches. How fast do they grow? I am planning to upgrade to a 125 when I move to a new house next year (June 2021) so hopefully that will be enough time. Sorry for all the questions. I just want to make sure that I can take care of it properly now and in the future before committing to giving it a permanent home. Thanks again and I appreciate the responses!

 

[DJRansome]

The size of the tank is not related to the size of the fish...it is related to when it will be old enough to spawn. Three inches.

For all-male the usual model is one of each species and no look alike fish to minimize aggression. You may see aggression between your pairs before June of 2021, but fingers crossed you don't.

Clown loaches are not ideal with Africans IMO but the like to be in groups of six and grow to 13" eventually.

 

[ken31cay]

Thank you. Why do you think it is a Male?

The orange top line on the dorsal. The females that I've seen have light brown there.

I currently have it in a 75 Gallon sharing it with an all male 2 Lemon Jakes, 2 OBs, 2 Ruby Reds, 2 Dragon Bloods and 2 Clown Loaches. No aggressive issues so far. They are all 2-3 inches. How fast do they grow? I am planning to upgrade to a 125 when I move to a new house next year (June 2021) so hopefully that will be enough time. Sorry for all the questions. I just want to make sure that I can take care of it properly now and in the future before committing to giving it a permanent home. Thanks again and I appreciate the responses!

How fast they grow really depends on how much you feed them and how 'clean' you keep their water. If you were moving them to the 125gal in 2-3 months then that would hopefully work but I imagine they'll be mature and much larger long before June 2021.

 

[cram007]

Thank you for the response. I just got a 125 6 foot tank from Craigslist and picking it up this weekend. Will also change substrate to sand.

 

[ken31cay]

When you setup the 125gal will you be moving all the fish from the cycled 75gal? If so then simply move the filter to the 125gal and the tank will be cycled. Don't clean the filter before the move and for a good 2 weeks after the move. But if the filter media is especially dirty you can gently shake off some of the gunk but make sure and do this in conditioned tank water so you don't kill the beneficial bacteria, and put that media back in the filter. In setting up the 125gal use fresh clean (conditioned) water. No need to use any water from the 75gal. You may already know all of this but if not then hopefully it helps.