# Where to start with all male 75 gal Peacock & possibly h



## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

I have the 75 gallon standard tank with texas holey rock and sand on the bottom. Where do I start to try and pick out the type of fish I want that will possibly work well together? I plan to order juvies maybe about 3 or so of each type in hopes that I end up with atleast a male in each group to start the process of creating an all male hopefully peaceful tank.


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## hollyfish2000 (Aug 23, 2007)

Wow, I wouldn't recommend the approach you're taking. You'll be chasing females around your tank forever and with all that rock, it's a gigantic pain!

The more usual route is to buy peacocks/haps when they are immature but just starting to show enough color to be considered males. This is what I did when I had a male peacock/hap tank. At that size, they are still inexpensive and you get the fun of watching them grow up and color up. There are quite a number of reputable online breeders who have great selections of peacocks and are more than willing to talk to you about various options. (If you PM, I can direct you to two in particular.)

You want peacocks that don't look like each other. So go through the species list, pick the ones you like and if you like two that are similar, you can see which is more plentiful or has the personality you're looking for.

Some good ones that I had (common names):

Ruby/german red
Ngara flametail
Sunshine
Yellow jake
Swallowtail
Otter point
Eureka Red
Taiwan Reef (hap)
Red empress (hap)
Otopharnyx lithobates (hap)
Copadichromis mloto ivory head (hap)

With an all male tank, remember that some that are supposed to be peaceful will terrorize everyone and some that are supposed to be more aggressive will be peaceful. So you have to monitor closely and remove the bullies. This takes some time to get just right, so be patient. Also, when adding new peacocks to an existing tank, always add a group. (I learned this the hard way).

And don't forget a nice group of synodontis multipunctatus, too!


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## GoofBoy (Jul 3, 2007)

Tramitichromis sp. "Intermedius"
Copadichromis melas
Placidochromis electra
Red Shoulder Peacock

...and the list goes on.

Really anything that stays under 7in or so should have a very reasonable chance of working. Though as I am sure you know - there are no guarantees with all male since they all have their own unique personalities and don't always understand they are _supposed_ to be peaceful.

The only species I have really had that size that has been psycho has been Sciaenochromis fryeri - I've had 2 different males that were a royal pain - I personally would like to try one again - but in a 6ft tank next time.

I do have a Placidochromis sp. "Phenochilus Tanzania" and a Protomelas sp. "Spilonotus Tanzania" (Liuli) that are both over 7in in my 90 - my goal was to upgrade the tank - well that still hasn't happened, but those two are two of the calmer haps you will find. Personally - I would pick either for a 4ft tank before a Red Empress as I believe they are a bit more docile. Though none of the 3 would be 'ideal'.

Good Luck.


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

so you think I should take some of the rock out to start with until i get a little closer to having mainly males in my tank. Does anyone know about how many fish I can put in the 75 gallon typical 48 in. dimension tank? I will post pictures of the set up a little later tonight.


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

So far this is what I have. I plan on ordering 3 in hopes to get a male of each fish...
Aulonocara stuartgranti Cobwe 'Blue Regal'
Aulonocara sp. 'Rubescens'
Aulonocara sp. 'Lwanda' Hai Reef 'Red Top'
Aulonocara maylandi 'Sulferhead'
Aulonocara jacobfreibergi 'Eureka Red'
Copadichromis sp. 'Virginalis Gold' Nkanda
multipunctatus

As you can tell from my list there is a light of red blue and green. I am looking for a fish that is white and also a fish that is yellow if you guys have any suggestions to go along with the tank...


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## GoofBoy (Jul 3, 2007)

Tramitichromis sp. "Intermedius" or Lethrinops albus (or alike) for some green.

There a bunch of yellow peacocks - A baenschi, A stuartgranti (Usisya), A. "Stuartgranti Maleri" etc. (also Lethrinops senga bay if you could find them :roll.

I will be interested in seeing how the A. Lwanda & Eureka Red get along.

I personally would omit one of those and add a yellow peacock in its place.

I have found I like the look of Placidochromis electra with the peacocks. The solid lighter blue with the flat black is a great contrast and they are every bit as vibrant.

For white - albino whatever is all I can think of.

I would shoot for ultimately getting around 10 adult males with the assumption one or 2 will end up needing to move along.

Good Luck.


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## firenzena (Nov 29, 2009)

I have an all male peacock/ Hap plus a couple of randoms in a 150g tank.

most of the fish I bred myself so it was/is case of slowly building a base of fish to work on, then adding juvi males along the way.

I do think that a tank of young fish growing up together gives you more chance of a harmonious result. Adding mature males with asstd history and with their temperamant set in stone already can be fraught with Disaster.

I agree with hollyfish in term of the problem of getting Non sexed fish to growout.
Remember you will have a number of female peacocks that you will not be able to ID so they will be valueless to most people, and maybe a casualty of this process.
In many cases a breeder can supply 3-4cm fish where males are showing. 
Females can often be harder as this size as they could also be subdominant males- this could be a case in your tank also.

Adding in groups is important as this disssipates aggression to new fish.

I also have 15-20 juvi E yellows growing out that I will wittle down to 6-8. I think they are good for such a tank. I call them my 'PH neutral control strip".

Looking at you list I would be concerned about the 'maylandi'. They are small and timid peacock and even though you are talking juvi's I think they will struggle in that mix.

As for numbers, I think that is a good starting point. Obviously you wont know how many males you will end up with so there is an opportunity to add fish.
I would be tempted to get 5 multipunctatus. Worth it in the long run.

My tank is still 'work in progress'. I'm actually at a stage of removing some of the initial hap inhabitants as I replace them with younger versions. This process will continue till I get the combo right.
Off top of my head I have

Copadichromis Azureus 2X 14cm( 1 going), 3X 6cm
Protemela Sp Red Empress 14cm( just gone), 3x 8cm
Protemela Taiwan reef 2X 6cm
Placidochromis Electra 1X 14cm(just gone) 1X 7cm
Otopharynx lithobates 1X 14cm, 1X 7cm
4X Blue dolphins 5-6cm( just gone in)
2X Kadangos 6cm( just gone in)

Peacocks
2X ngara 10-12cm
2X jacobfreibergi 6-8cm
1 X maleri 'gold' 12cm
1X Maleri red 7cm
1X OB 7cm
1X Baenschi 10cm
1X rubescens 10cm, 2x5cm
1X dragonsblood/strawberry 8cm
3X Cobue 6-8cm

Randoms

2X sp.44 victorian 6-8cm
1X neolamprologus Pulcher 12cm
1X Trophues bulu point 8cm
1X E-yellow 12cm, 15X 3-6cm
Royalplec, Titanic Plec and Hypostomus Cochliodon

Plenty of rockwork for juvies and open water for larger fish, I am looking to move tank size up to 250-300g


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## GoofBoy (Jul 3, 2007)

firenzena said:


> I have an all male peacock/ Hap plus a couple of randoms in a 150g tank.
> ...
> My tank is still 'work in progress'. _I'm actually at a stage of removing some of the initial hap inhabitants as I replace them with younger versions. This process will continue till I get the combo right._


Why? Are these specimens causing problems with aggression? Just curious as to the why of your approach - hoping I can learn something.

Thanks.


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## firenzena (Nov 29, 2009)

No, everyone wass getting on fine.

To be honest it is just a case of getting the best males from my spawns into the mix without cramming the tank too much.
And also I have taken the bigger haps and some peacocks to a local wildlife park/petting zoo for their African display tank. It's school holidays here and my 8yr daughter has delighted in the chance to get in the cages with the animals and help out feeding etc. So everyone seems to be happy with the deal. :wink:


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

Can either of you guys or preferably both post pictures of your all male tanks?


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## GoofBoy (Jul 3, 2007)

Helps if I could keep track of my windows...argh...anyway...










No flash, so that is pretty much what it looks like. The plastic plants break up the middle water - the Liuli was deciding the entire center of the tank was his - the plastic plants stopped that.

I remove a Flametail Peacock and and Capidochromis 'Fireline' that were problematic and now there is no aggression whatsoever.


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

wow your tank is beautiful. 
So I have it narrowed down to:

Alu. rubescens
Alu. lwanda hai reef
alu. maylandi sulferhead
alu. stuartgranti blue regal
alu. stuartgranti maleri
lab.caeruleus white lab
Tramitichromis sp. "Intermedius" or Otopharynx tetrastigma 
placidochromis electra
synos. multis

I suppose get 3 of each 1.5 inches a piece and let them grow up and discard as necessary till I get all males and semi peaceful.


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## GoofBoy (Jul 3, 2007)

Thank you.

The only downside I see with the '3 of' plan is you will have a hodge-podge of Peacock females with no clue as to what they are when you unload them.

I would think about adding Otopharynx lithobates (Z-Rock) to your list, they have a different shape than the other fish you have listed. My guy:










Good Luck.


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

so then what would you suggest doing then? I'm not going to pay 50 dollars for a single male.


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## GoofBoy (Jul 3, 2007)

aandfsoccr04 said:


> so then what would you suggest doing then? I'm not going to pay 50 dollars for a single male.


First, I just made an observation.

Second, would be local breeders/fish clubs.

Third, there is a site sponsor (that I have used) who has sexable males for under $20 each with very good shipping cost.

Fourth, I will share the following:

I have 3 males I grew out from unsexed groups, 3 from trade / local breeders the rest from online sexable males. I have two more males coming tomorrow - ordered online from another site sponsor that are coming as part of a larger order.

My all-male approach is now driven by what I can get at a reasonable cost that I think will work, so I am pretty open on species for my all male as long as it isn't 'aggressive' and not too close to what I have - I will give it a try.

I really, really, really, want to try Dimidiochromis compressiceps, Dimidiochromis kiwinge, Placidochromis milomo, Aulonocara sp. "Lwanda", Sciaenochromis fryeri, and Fossorochromis rostratus - but it isn't going to happen in my 4ft tank.

My point being some flexibility isn't necessarily a horrible thing when stocking all male. That Blue Regal you grew out for a year and love may just decide to be a total brat one day an fight everyone. I had that exact scenario with a Flametail Peacock. What do you do then? After putting him in timeout 3 times, you find him a new home is what you end up doing.

I have found that all male isn't quite as forgiving as groups of mbuna - any individual male may work or may not, I have learned I can't be too rigid.

I have also discovered that getting sexable males speeds the process _significantly_.

This is my experience for what little it is worth, I figured I would share it, as you may find it helpful, or not.

So, if you want to buy 3 of each, my observation still stands as just an observation, nothing more or less.

Fifth, I wish you luck with your tank.


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## hollyfish2000 (Aug 23, 2007)

I chimed in initially with advice and will repeat it again --

Do not get a random group of unsexed peacocks with the idea that you will "weed" out the females over time. For two reasons -- all females look the same, so once they are mixed up in your tank, they are useless to anyone else who wants to avoid hybridization in their tanks. So you will either have a tank full of bland female peacocks to raise or you will have to euthanize them. Neither is a good option. Second, it's very, very difficult to chase fish around a tank full of rock.

So look for online sources that will sell you small, sexed (just barely showing color) male peacocks for reasonable prices ($10). Or contact local breeders who can do that without shipping cost.

Good luck.


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