peanut2110

Really? I was told it would be fine but that I would need to get a bigger tank if I wanted any more fish (which I do). I have a 1.5m long 400ltr tank waiting in storage for them - the plan was to move them into this when we move into the new house as we are having a special bench made for it in the kitchen. I was then planning on adding more fish. If I were to move them into the bigger tank sooner, do you think that would help ease the aggression? Is it because the tank is too small that the baenschi is being a nuisance? Hmmmmm what to do?!

Hi everyone, well the Baenschi has become a real bully in the last couple of weeks. He is now the same size as the Maleri and is hassling this poor fish so that he is living permanently around the powerhead now. He is also chasing the chilumba a bit when he can't get asscess to the Maleri. I have removed a lot of the rocks so that there are no caves to defend but so far this doesn't appear to be helping the situation. I am wondering if the problem is too few fish which is why the hassling is taking place. The tank is 170 litres 800 long x 400 wide x 550 high it has an built in overhead filter and I also run a 2213 cannister filter. The only fish in there at present are the Baenschi, the Maleri (both about 10cm long) a chilumba (about 6-7cm long) 2 x electras (about 6-7cm long also) and a CAE (juvenile). I have been reading about dither fish ie giant danios and Oz rainbowfish. Do you think they would help? Otherwise I could try and find 2-3 more peacocks to add - or would that be too much for the tank to handle? I would rather not re-home any of the fish unless it becomes essential but obviously the situation can't continue as it is as life for the maleri is becoming miserable. Your helpful suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks! :-?

Hmmmm... thanks for that - the fact it can make a tank "smell like a brewery" is rather off putting - perhaps effects on the ph are the least of it! Plus it looks like I would have to come up with a cunning plan to keep the bamboo in some sort of horizontal formation without floating away! May have to go back to the drawing board and consider other alternatives... Thanks again.

Hi there, this may be a dumb question but does anyone out there know if bamboo affects ph in the same way as driftwood? Or if there are any problems with using it in a tank? I have access to lots of bamboo and have been toying with the idea of making some sort of structure for my cichlids to swim through and hang about in... :roll:

Wow, they are all quite different... I like the last one - pretty colouring! Do you have other peacocks? Can you tell us what you have? I am setting up a display tank of male peacocks and other peaceful haps but I am not sure what we have access to here in NZ. I have found some awesome looking fish on overseas websites but I understand we have access to very few of these. Do you breed any yourself?

Hi there, he looks very much like my Aulonocara Stuartgranti Maleri Red. The red shoulder peacocks I have seen have had quite a bit more blue through the body (I think their latin name is Aulonocara Hansbaenschi if you wanted to google it and look them up...) However I could be wrong - I am fairly new to the African keeping game myself - but for what it's worth, that's where I'd put my money... If I could get a pic of my guy and then figure out how to upload it, I would and then you could see him for yourself! He's quite shy unfortunately... :-? Definitely keep an eye on him with some of your other, more aggressive cichlids though as your peacock could easily get picked on...

Hi Andrew, Only just getting a look at this for the first time and I must say that is an awesome rock wall! Did it turn out exactly as you had envisaged it when you first started cutting or did you just let it evolve as you worked? It looks very natural. Was it really that easy or are you one of those blessed arty types???!!! :lol: I am also setting up a display tank for male haps and peacocks. So far I have A. Baenschi, A. Maleri Red, A. Stuartgranti Chilumba Red Flush, Placidochromis Electra and Otopharynx Lithobates - all of which are still quite young. Do you mind telling me what you have in your tank at present and if any of them have been "problem fish"? From your photos, it looks like a nice colourful mix. I am getting my new 400l tank early next year and I am keen to fill it with an appropriate number of lovely boys! How many fish do have in your 350l? Sorry for all the questions...

Ok so it's a bit of a lucky dip then huh? How would one go about viewing the fish before you buy them when you have asked the LFS to order it in for you specifically? Don't suppose the importers would send out pics?! :-? From what you are saying, sounds like it's best to go with local breeders where the hybrids/selectively bred are concerned so you get a better idea of exactly what you are going to get... Hmmmm, all good food for thought. Smidey are you going to get either of the peacocks?

Hi again, I found the site I first saw the tangerines on http://www.bayfish.com.au/category1_1.htm which also has a marbled peacock which they refer to oa OB (orange blotch) but apparently the colours you get in the marbled strain are highly variable. Both are selectively bred so does that mean they won't have latin names?

Hi Smidey, I can't help you with the names but I would love to know where you got the list. I keep seeing references to it in discussions but don't know just where this list comes from. I would love to get my hands on one of the tangerine peacocks! :bounce:

Thanks for all the input! I decided to take the plunge and got a good friend of mine in Auckland to go and pick one up for me late this afternoon as they were disappearing fast! We'll have to wait and see what we end up with - I'm not even sure at this stage we successfully managed to get a male! I am hoping it will be the yellow crested variety like those you get in Oz Frenchy as I think they are awesome but even if it isn't, I am sure I will love it anyway...

Hi there, anyone know anything about these particular fish i.e. what strain they are? They are a good price so I am picking they were locally bred rather than imported. I understand there are a few variations (yellow crest, red crest etc) but the person I spoke to at HFF didn't know which these guys were or what colour they would ultimately end up. They are only 4-5cm at present and not showing much colour but there is a yellow blaze on the dorsal fin apparently if that helps with identification... Cheers.

Hi, I've not long had my cichlid tank set up but I went for Aragonite sand. There's a guy who sells it on TM for a good price and it buffers the water really well and keeps my ph stable at 7.8. I went for white but I think you can also get it in red, green and black - naturally occurring colours apparently - not dyed. My peacocks seem to like flinging it about a bit too - esp when they want to get into a cave or under some driftwood they are really a bit big for - they go in almost sideways and start digging!

Ok the tank I have is just over 80cm long x 40 wide x 67cm high (water level is at 60cm high). The tank I am getting is 151cm long x 51 wide x 62cm high. House will be completed for us to move in to March/April next year. Fish will move straight in to their new home at the same time. At present I have 7 caves for the fish - the CAE lives in one of them and the Electra's just like to swim thru them. I have read a lot under the cichlid-forum and it's really great - got some very good info in there. One thing I never seem to be able to find tho is what the peacocks/haps rate of growth is. I suppose that can be variable but it would be helpful to know as it would give me some idea of just how many juveniles I could add to the current tank... I have read that it is best to only keep one male of a particular colour in your display tank which should ease aggression and hopefully assure one of plenty of colour. A few I have identified that I would really like to get are Copadichromis Azureus, Aulonocara Rubescens Albino, Aulonocara Rubin Red, Otopharynx Tetraspilus and last but not least Aulonocara Kandeensis (that's if we get them all here!) And if my tank (and all the other fish in it) can handle one at full size, then the Cyrtocara Moorii would have to be on my wish list too. My preference would be to just stick with the haps and peacocks as I think they are awesome and I will never be able to own all the ones I would like to anyway! Thanks for all your helpful suggestions - I do appreciate it. Oh and if anyone has, or will soon have, any juveniles of the above fish I have mentioned, could you let me know? Cheers.

Thanks for your comments! The tank is one of those tall ones (which I regretted almost instantly as I am one of the vertically challenged and the bottom of the tank is a bit awkward to get to without half drowning myself!) I was limited by the available space I had in our current house but I didn't want to have to wait any longer to start enjoying these fish! One of the websites I found suggested you should keep 12-15 young haps/peacocks in a 30-40 gallon tank and then move them into a bigger tank as they grow. The ultimate tank at adult maturity was suggested as being 90 gallons. The inference being it was better to get all the fish within a reasonably short space of time and let them grow up together. What do you think? Would 12-15 peacocks in a 400ltr tank be too many? I don't think I have ever seen a tank that size with that many in it personally - there always seem to be just a few...

Hi everyone, I sent this out yesterday under what I thought was the Cichlid corner but I must have been in the Welcome area when I hit "new topic"! Anyway, I have done a quick copy and paste as I would like to know what your thoughts are with regards to stocking rates etc. Even if the answer is "wait til later" it would be good to know how many adult sized peacocks would be suitable for my new tank so I know what I'm aiming for in the future... Cheers. I have been reading a lot of really good info on this forum so I thought it was about time I joined and started participating in the discussion! Well at least asking some questions anyway! I have kept tropial fish for a while but only recently decided I felt confident enough to set up a tank for cichlids - the fish I have always wanted to keep! I love their colours and their personalities altho I'm not into bloodshed and carnage so opted for the more pecaeful haps and peacocks. Current set up is 180L tank with in-built filtration plus addl Eheim cannister filter. Aragonite sand for substrate, some crushed oyster shell in the cannister filter along with the noodles etc and pumice rock (boiled and cooled so it sinks) for the caves with a couple of small pieces of driftwood as well. PH 7.8, ammonia and nitrates 0ppm. Fish so far are 1 x Maleri red (9-10cm), 1 x A. Baenschi (7-8cm), 1 x A. Chilumba (5-6cm), 2 x P, Electra (4-5cm) and 1 x chinese algae eater. Next year once the new house is built, I will be upgrading to a 400-500L tank (yet to decide whether I will go with a purpose built tank or one of the Juwel aquariums - perhaps a future discussion topic?!) so my question at this point in time is, should I stick with the fish I have until I get the new tank or knowing it's coming, can I get some more fish now? You know what it's like - you always want more! I have done lots of reading on the web and get conflicting advice about whether one should overcrowd the haps and peacocks in the same way it is suggested you do so for mbuna. I would definitely like to get some more lovely boys for my display tank but not if the current tank is too small and it risks upsetting the fish I already have. So far peace has reigned supreme with only the odd chase here and there but it's usually the same ones doing the chasing (the Baenshi and the slightly larger Electra) and the same ones being chased (the Chilumba and the slightly smaller Electra). So I guess I'm also wondering if 3 or 4 more fish would help those guys who are getting chased a bit. Anyway, that's quite enough from me for now! I look forward to receiving some helpful advice from some of you fellow - but very much more experienced - cichlid lovers out there! Thanks.

Hi everyone, I have been reading a lot of really good info on this forum so I thought it was about time I joined and started participating in the discussion! Well at least asking some questions anyway! I have kept tropial fish for a while but only recently decided I felt confident enough to set up a tank for cichlids - the fish I have always wanted to keep! I love their colours and their personalities altho I'm not into bloodshed and carnage so opted for the more pecaeful haps and peacocks. Current set up is 180L tank with in-built filtration plus addl Eheim cannister filter. Aragonite sand for substrate, some crushed oyster shell in the cannister filter along with the noodles etc and pumice rock (boiled and cooled so it sinks) for the caves with a couple of small pieces of driftwood as well. PH 7.8, ammonia and nitrates 0ppm. Fish so far are 1 x Maleri red (9-10cm), 1 x A. Baenschi (7-8cm), 1 x A. Chilumba (5-6cm), 2 x P, Electra (4-5cm) and 1 x chinese algae eater. Next year once the new house is built, I will be upgrading to a 400-500L tank (yet to decide whether I will go with a purpose built tank or one of the Juwel aquariums - perhaps a future discussion topic?!) so my question at this point in time is, should I stick with the fish I have until I get the new tank or knowing it's coming, can I get some more fish now? You know what it's like - you always want more! I have done lots of reading on the web and get conflicting advice about whether one should overcrowd the haps and peacocks in the same way it is suggested you do so for mbuna. I would definitely like to get some more lovely boys for my display tank but not if the current tank is too small and it risks upsetting the fish I already have. So far peace has reigned supreme with only the odd chase here and there but it's usually the same ones doing the chasing (the Baenshi and the slightly larger Electra) and the same ones being chased (the Chilumba and the slightly smaller Electra). So I guess I'm also wondering if 3 or 4 more fish would help those guys who are getting chased a bit. Anyway, that's quite enough from me for now! I look forward to receiving some helpful advice from some of you fellow - but very much more experienced - cichlid lovers out there! Thanks.