Lake Malawi Species • FINALY Time To stock! will this all work?!

[fusion]

Sounds like you need to remove the dominant 1 to me, take him back and trade him

[DanniGirl]

All male tanks are always trial and error. What always works for some does not necessarily work for others. It's almost a guarantee that over the course of time, adjustments will have to be made to the stock list. Some people give it two years before a tank is deemed successful.

So there's always going to be aggression in a cichlid tank; someone has to be dominant. There will be chasing but once you have damaged fins, missing scales, or a continued harassment of all the tankmates, then it's time to remove the aggressor. However, if it's only one fish that has become the target, then it's time to pull that fish out.

im not sure how i can reduce the agression and have a tank of minimal chases and biting, and where no fish is singled out and is forced to hide

DJRansome gave you a couple ideas. Add the three fish and see if that helps. If not, then pull the aggressor, leave him in the 30 gallon for a while (no less than a month) and reintroduce him. If he goes back at it, trade him or sell him.

Do you have any females (besides the labs) in your tank? How long before you add the three fish?

[jsmeesterr]

there is no females in the tank besides the yellow labs. unless the blue dolphin is a female but im sure its a male. i will be adding the 3 new fish in about 1-2 weeks or so. and maybe longer if the stores dont have the fish i want. and most online websites that you can buy cichlids from only have small ones.
every male peacock in the tank gets chased around buy the dom one. hopefuly i can get the new fish asap so i can make my decision on wether to sell the dom male or not.

1 other thing i was thinking about, one of my female labs is holding right now, do you think that the male yellow lab was the one who bred with her or the dom male?

[Michael_M]

You only have 3 peacocks in the tank. I think 6 would be better, should hopefully help with the aggression issues your facing.

Dolphins are hard to sex and females I've had can be quite aggressive. Easy to mistake a smaller one for a boy.

[sandandrocks]

I just sat here at work reading this thread from beginning to end and can't help but feel horrible for you.

1st of all, welcome to the world of All Male Peacock/Hap. I live in Milwaukee WI (2 hrs from Green Bay) and i have a 125 all male peacock/hap tank. I just started this hobby less than a year ago and like you has found this forum to be one of the best places to get helpful information. However, i also found that having a friend close by who shares the same fish interest as you makes all the difference.

As i mentioned i'm fairly new to all this, but i think i may be able to give you a few tips here and there.

PM me if you're interested.

BEST OF LUCK

[jsmeesterr]

[quote="sandandrocks"]I just sat here at work reading this thread from beginning to end and can't help but feel horrible for you.

thanks, hopefully ill get it right soon!

[jsmeesterr]

i havent added and new fish yet but i was sick of my dom male chasing everyone and making all the males stay in the corner so i removed him and put him in my 30! my plan is to get the 3 fish i want, then maybe put him back in and see what happens!

do you think my tank would be more "peaceful" if i removed the 4 female yellow labs and replaces them with different male peacocks/haps?

[DanniGirl]

The labs should really have no bearing on the aggression you're witnessing. Since you pulled the dominant male, it may be best to wait and see what happens.

[13razorbackfan]

The labs should really have no bearing on the aggression you're witnessing. Since you pulled the dominant male, it may be best to wait and see what happens.

Yep...


Also...are you positive there are no other female haps or peacocks in the tank? You say he is chasing only the other male haps and peacocks?

[jsmeesterr]

yes, im positive there are no other females in the tank!
the strawberry peacock, sciaenochromis fryeri - hap ahli, electirc blue, and aulonocara jacobfreibergi are 100% male. the blue dolphin, i have no idea yet. and then the labs (4 female 1 male).

i will be waiting to my put my "red shoulder(?)" back in until i get the remaining fish that i want to get

[jsmeesterr]

hey guys! i just want to give a little info and update on things and what im thinking of doing.

current stocking.
5 yellow labs.(4f 1m) only one female has held.
1 male strawberry peacock
1 blue doplhin. sex? not sure.
1 male aulonocara jacobfreibergi
1 albino rainbow shark
1 male Sciaenochromis fryeri.

im questioning wether or not i want to keep the 4 female labs in here. id rather have colorful peacock than 4 plane jane yellow labs. what do you guys think? should i keep them in here?

soon. not sure when but soon, i will be getting a male red peacock of some kind. maybe german red. and a male yellow peacock of somekind. maybe lemon jake or something. then i want another cichlid of some kind. and i am going to reintoroduce my male"red shoulder" back into the tank and see how that goes, but not until a few days after i get my new fish.

[DJRansome]

Not a bad thing to trade female labs for more haps and/or peacocks. What color is the Jake you already have? Jakes can be too large/aggressive for a 55G and often even in a bigger tank they do not tolerate each other.

My favorite yellow is stuartgranti Maleri Maleri Island. That along with the ruby red and red shoulder and you are stocked.

[jsmeesterr]

I don't have a jake already, I would possibly get a yellow jake male tho. I'm really torn on the fact or should I keep my 4 female labs or sell them!:(

[DJRansome]

Try a stuartgranti Usisya instead of the lemon jake. Smaller, less aggressive fish with similar coloration and will work with the Maleri Island.

[jsmeesterr]

The stuartgranti Usisya Is a beautiful fish! Hopefully my local fish stores have one in stock!
So you say, I should get a stuartgranti Usisya and a stuartgranti Maleri Maleri Island? 2 yellow peacocks will fine together? And then also a German red or ruby red. Is there any purple or black peacocks or haps I could add!?