[Bruinman]

I have decided to switch from munba to peacocks in my 75 gal tank. I'm planning on ordering from one of the sponser's on CF. The sponser suggest 25-30 fish at 1.5 to 2.0 inch fish for a 75 gallon tank. My question is this is this a high number of fish for a 75 gal tank? Will this high number cause some of the males not to color up once they reach maturity? Any advice is welcomed and appreciated.

 

[60gallon]

That's Alot of peacocks.

From what I've researched you should keep maybe 8-12 males in a tank your size. If doing male / female, maybe 1 male / 2-3 females.

 

[dielikemoviestars]

25-30 full grown peacocks is way too many. 25-30 juvies that will eventually be thinned down to 10-13 adults = good.

I assume you want to go all-male. Going m/f with peacocks is kind of pointless, since you won't be able to distribute the fry (all the females look the same, so you won't be able to know if they're hybridizing or not... and they will). If you're getting unsexed juvies, get at least 3, preferably up to 6 of each kind you want as an adult.

 

[dotbomb]

Exactly. I think what most times gets confused/lost/misunderstood about buying from some of these online vendors is they are selling you very small juvenile fish. You have to buy more because they are unsexed and in general more delicate. The herd will get thinned out either by nature/aggression or by you removing certain specimens to achieve a proper balance of fish in your tank.

I have 35 juvies in my 60g tank right now. I will be upgrading the tank within 5 months. Even with a larger tank there is no way I can keep 35 adult mbuna.

 

[firenzena]

Is it one species of peacocks?

With 25-30 fish you are more likely to get more males to colour up.
There will always be a dominant male, but at least aggression is dispursed.
You also have the opportunity to select the best examples in what is in essence a 'growout tank', and I think that is the scenario the supplier has in mind.
So hopefully the end result would be 3-4M, 8-10F.

All this can also depend on what species of peacock you are talking.
eg. 'blue orchids' requirements would be way different to 'Lwanda"

I have 60g breeding tank with 1M,7F of A.sp Ngara which as mentioned above is quite colourless if the goal is show rather than breeding.

If there are multiple species- I agree with above about an all male situation and would be doubling the amount of juvies to grow out and eventually get 10-12 show males.

 

[hollyfish2000]

My advise for starting an all male peacock tank is to buy them large enough that a competent breeder (I can recommend two that are site supporters) can identify them as male. Trying to fish females out of a rock-laden 75 gallon tank is really no fun at all . . .

Your list should include peacocks that don't look similar to each other. In a 75-gallon, there are also several medium sized haps that would work well, too, including my favorites the Taiwan Reef and the Otopharnyx lithobates.

I had 10 peacocks in a 58 gallon and that felt about right. If I had a 75, I'd probably shoot for 15.

BTW, also consider adding a group of 4-5 synodontis multipunctatus or lucippinis.

 

[Bruinman]

Thanks everyone for the valueable information. My plans are to have an all male tank of 10-15 fish. I have a lfs that will take any females i have and give me store credit for them. Hollyfish2000 could you PM me the two sites you informed me of i would appreciate it. Thanks again everyone for your help.

 

[DrgRcr]

I'd agree with the numbers others suggested. I've got 11 in a 72 bowfront, and it seems about right. 8 or 10 more would look like a traffic jam in there, not to mention the waste buildup.