# tank is cycled. Stocking help now



## pdiehm (Jul 9, 2013)

I made a printout with various Peacocks that are colorful and feel that the kids would enjoy watching. Of this list, we'll select probably 10-12, and add in 3-4 cuckoo catfish with 4 Yellow Labs (1M/3F), for 20 total fish (though I am seriously contemplating getting a pleco).

The peacocks I chose are:

Aulonocara sp. stuartgranti maleri (Sunshine Peacock)
Aulonocara jacobfreibergi (Butterfly Peacock)
Aulonocara rubescensi (Ruby Red Peacock)
Aulonocara baenschi (Benga Peacock)
Aulonocara hueseri (Midnight Peacock)
Aulonocara kandeense (Blue Orchid Peacock)
Aulonocara koningsi (Blue Regal)
Aulonocara maulana (Bi-Color 500)
Aulonocara maylandi (Sulfur Head Peacock)
Aulonocara saulosi (Green Face Peacock)
Aulonocara stuartgranti (hai-reef) (Blue Neon)
Aulonocara stuartgranti (usisya) (Flavescent Peacock)
Aulonocara stuartgranti (ngara) (Flametail Peacock)
Aulonocara stuartgranti maleri (Yellow Regal)
Aulonocara German Red (German Red Peacock)

I like the Otopharynx lithobates...I know it's a hap though.

Definitely will be in the tank:
4 Yellow Labs (1M/3F)
3-4 Cuckoo Catfish

I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciate all the help and information I have gotten off this site.


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## Kanorin (Apr 8, 2008)

Most importantly - what are the tank volume and dimensions?

A few quick thoughts:

The following pairs of peacocks have a more than moderate chance of not getting along because they look very similar:
Aulonocara rubescensi (Ruby Red Peacock) + Aulonocara German Red (German Red Peacock)
Aulonocara sp. stuartgranti maleri (Sunshine Peacock) *you list this twice* + Aulonocara baenschi (Benga Peacock)

The maylandi and kandeense are reported to be on the timid side and often don't show great color with more aggressive peacocks.



> I like the Otopharynx lithobates...I know it's a hap though.


There's nothing wrong with putting a few haps in with some of the peacocks you've chosen. Which haps you can keep will depend on tank size


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## DanniGirl (Jan 25, 2007)

+1 to what Kanorin mentioned. A usisya (Flavescent) may or may not work with another yellow such as the baenschi. Only way to know is to try it out.

You may want to pass up on the Aulonocara hueseri, Aulonocara kandeense, Aulonocara maylandi as they can be too timid.

Another thought would be to swap out the similar and timid fish for more compatible haps such as the Otopharynx lithobates, Placidochromis electra, Protomelas sp. "Steveni Taiwan" (Taiwan Reef) and Tramitichromis sp. "Intermedius" (assuming you have a 48" tank). If it's a larger tank then you'll have more options for the haps.


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## pdiehm (Jul 9, 2013)

It's a 75G, 48" long, 20" high and 18" deep or so.

Ok, I like the Benga Peacock more than the Sunshine, which was in there for an orange color. If I went with the Ruby Red, could I go with the Albino version as well, or is it 1 or the other?

take out the maylandi and the kandeese and add the 3 other haps that danni mentioned...and we're making progress!


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## pdiehm (Jul 9, 2013)

So:

Sunshine Peacock
Butterfly Peacock
Ruby Red Peacock
Benga Peacock
Blue Regal
Green Face Peacock
Flametail Peacock
Yellow Regal

Otopharynx Lithobates
Deep Water Hap
Steveni Taiwan Reef
Tramitichromis Intermedus

That's 12.

Add in the 4 Cuckoo Catfish (my 9 year old LOVES the name, so I gotta get em).

Thats 16.

I want to do the Yellow Lab group (1M/3F). Would that be ok, to make 20 in the 75G?

Also is a particular order that I would want to stock this? Would I want to stock the labs first, then the rest, or Catfish first, and the rest? Does it matter?


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## pdiehm (Jul 9, 2013)

So I wasn't aware that the Sunshine and Yellow Regal are the same fish. To quote my brother in law...I'm in kindergarten and most of you guys are a Sr. in HS. The number is 19 as presented above.

Would Lethrinops sp. "Red Cap" (Matema) be ok in this list? I tried to pick mostly peaceful fish.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

That's a lot of fish for a 75G all male tank IME. Lethrinops often don't color up well in an all-male tank.


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## pdiehm (Jul 9, 2013)

DJRansome said:


> That's a lot of fish for a 75G all male tank IME. Lethrinops often don't color up well in an all-male tank.


which one is the Lethrinops?

I was under the impression that you want 18-20 fish in a cichlid tank to cut down on any aggression that may break out? I ask a lot of questions because I'm new and want to get it done right.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I found I like about a dozen fish that mature at 6" in a 75G all-male tank.

If you were doing mixed genders...20 would be a good number.

You asked if the Lethrinops would be OK with your list.


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## pdiehm (Jul 9, 2013)

Right now, I have 9 Peacocks/Haps in mind, 4 Yellow labs and 4 Synodontis Multipunctatus.

I figure the Peacocks and Haps will occupy the upper half of the tank, the labs near the rocks, and the catfish at the bottom. Would this be a good setup? I have removed the Lethrinops from the stocking list at the moment.


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## Michael_M (May 31, 2012)

Malawians don't really work that way, they swim all over the tank.


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## Kanorin (Apr 8, 2008)

pdiehm said:


> Right now, I have 9 Peacocks/Haps in mind, 4 Yellow labs and 4 Synodontis Multipunctatus.


These numbers seem reasonable.
Post your updated list of the peacocks/haps again and we can give it one last look-through.


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## pdiehm (Jul 9, 2013)

Kanorin said:


> pdiehm said:
> 
> 
> > Right now, I have 9 Peacocks/Haps in mind, 4 Yellow labs and 4 Synodontis Multipunctatus.
> ...


Aulonocara baenschi (Sunshine/benga)
Aulonocara jacobfreibergi (swallowtail)
Aulonocara Rbubescens (Ruby Red)
Auloncara Mbenji (Blue Regal)
Aulonocara Stuartgranti (ngara) (Flametail)
Aulonocara saulosi (Green Face Peacock)
Otopharynx Lithobates
Placidochromis Electra
Protomelas Taiwan Reef
Synodontis Multipunctatus
Labidochromis Caeruleus

I definitely want to get a red in there. that's my wife's wish. I was told today that the Benga doesn't always play nice with the Ruby Red (or German Red).

In looking up Red Cichlids, I found this one...not sure if it'd be compatible with my list above in place of the ruby red. Haplochromis sp. "all red". Another one that struck my interest was Aulonocara gertrudae. I'm trying to get some alternates in case I can't find one or 2...I now think that I'd be better served to stock all at once vs 4-5 at a time. The exception to that would be the catfish, where I was told that 4 is too many, and 2 Synodontis Multipunctatus would suffice nicely.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I like to keep multipunctata in groups of 5 or larger. Same with lucipinnis, petricola and polli. They are social and will come out more often in groups.

Eupterus are solitary so for that particular Syno I'd keep one.


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## pdiehm (Jul 9, 2013)

DJRansome said:


> I like to keep multipunctata in groups of 5 or larger. Same with lucipinnis, petricola and polli. They are social and will come out more often in groups.
> 
> Eupterus are solitary so for that particular Syno I'd keep one.


I'm actually leaning towards the petricola. smaller.


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## pdiehm (Jul 9, 2013)

I think I'm close now.

(4) Yellow Labs - 1M/3F
(5-6) Synodontic Petricola

Benga Peacock
Greenface Peacock
Masons Peacock
Blue Regal
Ngara Flametail
Rubescens Red
**Swallow Tail
** Dragon Blood

Otopharynx Lithobates Yellow Blaze
Deep Water Hap
Steveni Taiwain Reef

The Dragonblood and the Swallostail are could replace the Green Face and Mason's but am still looking into their temperaments in an all-male 75.

6 Catfish
4 Labs
6 Peacocks
3 Haps

19 total fish stocking.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Dragon blood might conflict with your rubescens. Swallow tail is a jacobfreibergi type and they are more aggressive than other peacocks. Your other fish are more peaceful...I'd stick to that theme for best coloration of all.


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## Kanorin (Apr 8, 2008)

How about a Stuartgranti Maleri for your yellow and a Rubescens Red for your red?
I agree that the swallow tail is likely to be the boss of the tank and could cause problems.

You can always try the Dragonblood - they are highly variable in temperament. Mine is quite peaceful, but I've heard of others who are very aggressive.

In fact, especially if you are mail-ordering these fish, I'd probably go ahead and order 1 or 2 extra fish because it's likely that you'll need to rehome a few simply based on personality conflicts (which is usually related to color, but sometimes hard to predict).


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## pdiehm (Jul 9, 2013)

Kanorin said:


> How about a Stuartgranti Maleri for your yellow and a Rubescens Red for your red?
> I agree that the swallow tail is likely to be the boss of the tank and could cause problems.
> 
> You can always try the Dragonblood - they are highly variable in temperament. Mine is quite peaceful, but I've heard of others who are very aggressive.
> ...


Anything that is iffy, I will probably skip. I have no other place to house a bad boy, though I've already told my wife, I need to pick up a 10 gallon for a hospital tank...the one store here in town has used 15gallon tanks for $15, which would suffice nicely probably. Just have very little room to put another tank.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

It's almost a pre-requisite to have a place to house a bad boy...all fish are iffy in all-male and you never know until you try.


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## pdiehm (Jul 9, 2013)

what about adding in Mylochromis Ericotaenia Manda?


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## pdiehm (Jul 9, 2013)

Just placed my first fish order!

Ordered a quartet of Yellow Labs, a Taiwan Reef, and 3 Petricola's. I was advised to make a small purchase of 5 or fewer fish (he didn't put the catfish in the fish category) because they'll be stressed and will "unload" when in the new tank for an ammonia spike.

Pretty excited. Friday is delivery day, and gives me a chance to dose ammonia on Wednesday, and do a large water change on Thursday in prep for the fishy's.


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## mclaren880 (May 20, 2012)

I agree that having a place to house a trouble maker is something you'll appreciate having down the road. You can try and go without, but in all likelihood, you'll find you need one at some point and it's easier to buy one in advance than making an unplanned trip to the store to buy a 10g tank and filter. Depending on how big they are, you could pick up a $5 breeder net from petsmart and use that to separate them temporarily as well.

As far as your stocklist goes, not to say other people are wrong (everyone has their own experiences), but i'd say you're list is pretty solid. It's true that "such and such might not get along with such and such" but they might get along just fine as well. I had a couple yellow labs and had to get rid of one because he was getting picked on. I can tell you that when i put my stocklist up here when i first started no one predicted that one. As long as you're paying attention to the tank somewhat, i've found i can usually pick out aggression problems before they get too serious. It's really not a big deal to find people to sell/trade your fish with. If a few eventually need to go, then add a few more eventually to make up for them. You're almost certainly going to find there are some fish you'd like to add at a later date that missed your attention at the beginning. I know what you mean about not doing anything iffy and minimizing your risks, but really, it's all a little iffy. Individual personalities are a big reason people love cichlids. Odds are, 2 years from now you're stocklist won't be the same as now no matter how much you "follow the rules."


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## pdiehm (Jul 9, 2013)

I agree, but hopefully, since I've picked fish who have reputations of being "peaceful" the problems will be minimal...and I figure (ie: hope) that since the fish are "peaceful" that colorups will be very bright because of no stress caused by high aggression. There are hiding spots in the tank and I have to re-arrange some of my rock.

If I pick up a cheapy 10g startup kit for like $30, I can put a few of the rocks in that tank to maintain pH and get that cycled and keep up and running in case of a time-out, but it would have to be in the basement as we have no room for any other tank upstairs with the 75.


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## mclaren880 (May 20, 2012)

Not sure how your filters are set up, but i'll keep a spare penguin 200 running on the display tank. It helps keep that tank a little cleaner and then i also have a cycled filter that i can put on a 10g on a moment's notice.


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## pdiehm (Jul 9, 2013)

mclaren880 said:


> Not sure how your filters are set up, but i'll keep a spare penguin 200 running on the display tank. It helps keep that tank a little cleaner and then i also have a cycled filter that i can put on a 10g on a moment's notice.


I only have 2 filters...I didnt' even think about hooking up a small filter to the tank. How long would it take for that filter to get "cycled" if the other 2 are already fully cycled?


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## Kanorin (Apr 8, 2008)

pdiehm said:


> I only have 2 filters...I didnt' even think about hooking up a small filter to the tank. How long would it take for that filter to get "cycled" if the other 2 are already fully cycled?


I'd guess about 2 weeks. Faster if you can put some veteran filter media in it from your other filters.


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## mclaren880 (May 20, 2012)

Yeah you could probably speed it up to about 2 weeks if you take media from other filters as Kanorin said. Another thing to consider is that both a penguin 350 and 200 use the same filter cartridge. If you don't have room for an extra filter on the display tank, at least you could take a filter out of the 350 and place it in the 200 that's attached to the 10g. This is just an example, as you probably don't have those exact filters. If you put a clean filter on the tank with no cycled media in it, i bet you'd be looking at closer to a month before it's really cycled, maybe even a little more.


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## pdiehm (Jul 9, 2013)

How big of a tank would I need for a time out?

Reason I ask is Petsmart has a 10g, with hood (which I'd replace or not even use the light), and filter for $30. A stand would run me $30, and a heater probalby $25.

Essentially would a 10g be big enough to serve as a time out tank?


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## mclaren880 (May 20, 2012)

Yeah a 10g is enough for 1 fish in timeout... I put 2 holding mothers in a 10g once and that didn't work, so i think 1 is the limit unless it's a pretty small fish. But a 10g is what i use and it's worked well for me. Lights don't really matter, either, for your hospital tank. You'll be happy you got in the end. I thought i could go without one, then I had to drive across town to a petsmart one day that had a 10g in stock. Would have been much easier to get it on my terms, haha.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Don't forget the time-out tank is usually just to hold the fish until you take them back to the LFS. Usually if a fish is causing trouble, he will do the same thing when you return him to the same tank.


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## pdiehm (Jul 9, 2013)

DJRansome said:


> Don't forget the time-out tank is usually just to hold the fish until you take them back to the LFS. Usually if a fish is causing trouble, he will do the same thing when you return him to the same tank.


I got a 10g, with filter, heater, hood, light, and a stand at Petsmart for like $90. Yeah, I could have gotten one off CL probably cheaper, but I'll set it up tomorrow (as soon as I figure out where to set it up at, though I'm leaning towards the office upstairs). I'll probably take one of the sponges from my AC20 (fully cycled) and place in the new filter and start dosing with ammonia.


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## pdiehm (Jul 9, 2013)

4 Yellow Labs 1.25" each
1 Taiwan Reef (Male)
3 Pygmy Catfish (i have a hard time keeping track of them all but they are active creatures)

have entered the realm of the tank.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

What is the scientific name of the pigmy catfish?


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## pdiehm (Jul 9, 2013)

DJRansome said:


> What is the scientific name of the pigmy catfish?


synodontis Petricola.

At least that's what was on the website. Very very active little guys. Climbing my glass, all over the rocks.


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## wax32 (Aug 3, 2013)

Post pics!


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## pdiehm (Jul 9, 2013)

wax32 said:


> Post pics!


don't know how. right now these guys are skittish, can't get near the tank to get a good picture. The Pygmy's are just...hellaciously active, they don't stop moving.


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