# Male peacock tank



## shef (Oct 3, 2004)

Is it possible to have a male only peacock tank? I have no interest in breeding I just want to show off their amazing colors. Will they still show nicely without females?

Thanks


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

thats what a lot of people do when it comes to peacocks

right now i have an all male tank, i find mouth brooders to be a pain to actually breed and raise fry so i keep all male tanks

but they are very possible and colorful, though i would say that since the actual number of peacocks that you can mix is quite small compared to the amount of species ou there, that you find some haps you might want to have as well

what size tank where you planning on?


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## shef (Oct 3, 2004)

Why is the actual number you can mix quite small? Are there alot that aren't compatible? My tank is a 70g.


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

yes, with all malawi you want to avoid having two similar looking males, and in all honesty the majority of peacocks are yellow and blue, so you would only be able to choose one from all of them

what are the dimensions?


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## shef (Oct 3, 2004)

The dimensions are 48" X 18"

hmm, I may want to rethink this if everything is yellow and blue


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## Dykemyster (Jul 30, 2003)

Hi,

All male peacock tank will certainly work in the tank you are wanting to you and they do come in other colors. Many of the Jake types do not fit into the blue and yellow catagory as there are purples and oranges.

Here is a quicklist of peacocks (Aulonocara) that you could keep and all male tank:
Jake Tanz or Jake Hongi or Jake Undu (yellow and blue/purple)
Jake Eureka Red (Orange/Red and Blue + dramatic white in fins)
Jake Otter Point (all kinds of colors - Lots of purple orange and red with very bright white in fins)
Jake swallowtail (amazing fins and color is like a Eureka)
sp Lwanda (Yellow and blue with some orange - awesome fish!)
Dragon Blood (basically a White and orange/red fish with very small amount of blue)
Ruby Red (Orange/Red and Blue)
sp stuartgranti Maleri (Yellow and Blue)
baenschi same as Maleri in color
stuartgranti Usisya (yellow, blue white and black)
stuartgranti Maulana (Yellow and Blue 
stuartgranti Ngara (Blue and Orange/Yellow)
stuartgranti Mbenji (Blue and Orange/Yellow)
stuartgranti Red Shoulder (Blue and Red)

As you can see there are many choices of peacocks to choose from and I would recommend that you get most of the ones listed above.

If you want to add some peaceful Haps to the mix I can send you a quick list of them as well.

Happy Holidays!


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## Fisherman727 (Sep 20, 2008)

Hello Shef,

I have two show tanks with all male Malawi Cichlids. One tank is a 125 show tank, and the second is a 90. You can keep an all male tank, and mix peacocks and haps successfully. In both tanks, I have Copadichromis Boryeli which present with a bright red body and a blue face. In the 125, I have 4 male Boryelis with no trouble. For neon green, you can consider Otopharynx Tetrastigma. It has unusual neon green coloring, with red lining on the fins. For nearly solid yellow, you can try the ubitquious Yellow Lab. They will usually have a deep black stripe along the top of the doral fin, which contrasts nicely with the deep yellow body of the fish.

You should consider that with African cichlids, you need to crowd them a bit more than you would any other category of fish. That helps reduce aggression between individuals. Ideally, some of the experts say that, if your budget and availability allow, introduce all of the fish at the same time. In that way, it is difficult for any single fish to establish territories, that they will later defend with aggression.

All of this said, keep in mind that the tank must be properly prepared by cycling the tank. In addition, with a heavily populated tank, you must keep track of the water quality and do regulary water changes. I do my best to keep up with water changes. When I do, it looks like the fish are swimming in the air. I also keep a filter bag with carbon in the sump, as I have large pieces of African driftwood which were leeching tanin, and giving the water a "tea" color. With the carbon, the water is literally clear as crystal.

Good luck to you, and whichever species you select, enjoy your fish !


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

actually with some of those listed by **** it would be unadvisable to keep some of them together, again you want to avoid similar looking fish

not everything is yellow and blue, i was just saying that a lot of them are so you would choose one of those, and then decide which of the other types you would like

i would not mix an otter point, eureka or lwanda because they look too similar to me

lethrinops is a good genus of hap to look at for color, and they are smaller and more peaceful like the peacocks
you can get away with some of the smaller protomelas species of haps as well


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## cater20155 (Jun 16, 2008)

Here is the list of male haps and peacocks that I currently have in my 125 gal tank, it may be helpful. Also, what works for one person may not work for the next, individual behavior/attitude of each fish can vary between individuals of a species.

1 -- Dragons Blood peacock
2 -- Aulonocara (Rubescens) 
1 -- Aulonocara jacobfreibergi (Albino)
2 -- Aulonocara jacobfreibergi 
1 -- Aulonocara sp. "Lwanda" 
1 -- Aulonocara stuartgranti (Ngara) 
1 -- Aulonocara sp. "Stuartgranti Maleri" (Maleri Is.)
1 -- Aulonocara stuartgranti (Usisya)
1 -- Copadichromis verduyni (Narangu) -- Wild caught
1 -- Copadichromis melas
2 -- Placidochromis electra 
1 -- Placidochromis sp. "Phenochilus Tanzania"
1 -- Protomelas sp. "Steveni Taiwan" (Taiwan Reef)
1 -- Protomelas taeniolatus (Red)
1 -- Sciaenochromis fryeri
1 -- Lethrinops sp. "Red Cap"

So far I have only had major problems with the Fryeri and a Red shoulder peacock (the red shoulder was moved out). Most of the fish are in the 4 to 5 inch range and were raised, from the 2inch range, in a 55 gal for about a year and then moved to a new 125 gal tank.


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## tripnbili (Sep 6, 2009)

I am in the process of making an all male peacock tank. Actually I made the switch about two weeks ago and actually got my fish from dykemyster. I've had no problems thus far, and will add another batch of fish within the next week, and they'll probably be all haps that go in. I have a 55gal, and right now I have these from ****'s list above:

Jake Undu (yellow and blue/purple) 
Jake Otter Point (all kinds of colors - Lots of purple orange and red with very bright white in fins) 
Jake swallowtail (amazing fins and color is like a Eureka) 
sp Lwanda (Yellow and blue with some orange - awesome fish!) 
Dragon Blood (basically a White and orange/red fish with very small amount of blue) 
Ruby Red (Orange/Red and Blue) 
Stuartgranti Usisya (yellow, blue white and black) 
sp Red (Orange/Red and blue)

I'll be adding a Ngara, Eureka Red, and a Maleri along with some haps. Switching to an all male tank really brightened up the tank, brought more life into it, and also made the aquarium much more fun and appealing to look at.

BTW, thanks **** for the great fish!


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## Fisherman727 (Sep 20, 2008)

Hello,

I am curious about the "Dragon's Blood Peacock."

Is it a species? If so, what is the scientific name?

Thanks !


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## cater20155 (Jun 16, 2008)

Its a hybrid of questionable origins. So it has a trade name, not a scientific name.


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## Dykemyster (Jul 30, 2003)

There are some typical circumstances that can arise in an all male Peacock tank and I will briefly list some of the most common:

1) Certain yellow peacocks (sunshine types) may not tolerate anything that is bright orange or red. Often times baenschi are just this fish and sometimes they cannot be kept with Ruby Reds, Maleri & dragon blood. If you love your baenschi and you are looking for a way to calm him down see #3.

2) Hyper Aggressive Male, this is usually due to not having enough fish in the tank but there are some peacocks that just seem to be more common repeat offenders, here is a quick list and it is just from my experience: baenschi, stuartgranti red shoulder, OB (hybrid peacock) and jacobfreibergi. Doesn't mean these will always be the most aggressive but they do seem to be more common offenders.

3) Jakes tend to get very large and sometimes they can be great tank mates for a year or two but eventually they can outgrow the competition and that is why I have always found that if you like Jakes to keep atleast 3 of them and 4 is even better and this seems to spread the aggression out long term. Side note: when keeping several jakes in the same tank I have noticed it can calm down some of the more aggressive non-jake types.

4) There are many other peacocks that I did not originally have on my list and many of them that are not on the list do not show their best colors when kept in an all male tank and sport their best colors when kept in a species only tank. Here is a quick list of some of the ones that I tend not to recommend (does not mean you can't give them a try if you like them):
maylandi 
kandeensis
chitende 
rostratum
If you have your heart set on one of these listed above try making them one of the original fish and try to make it one of the largest most dominant and this will give them the best chance at getting really good color and keeping it.

tripnbili, you are welcome on the fish and we hope to see you soon!

Happy Holidays


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## Fisherman727 (Sep 20, 2008)

Erik,

Given your comments, I have a question for you. I have attempted, more than once, to keep an Albino Eureka Red male in an all male Malawi Peacock tank. Invariably, the albino is killed within a day or two. Looking back, I believe that there was a least one Sunshine Peacock in these tanks.

I never observed the aggression perpetrated towards the albino fish. I would generally find the dead fish during a morning check of the tank. In all cases, the fishes were in a 90 gallon or 125 gallon show tank.

I would welcome your thoughts on this.

Thank you.


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