# Haps, Peacocks and Mbuna? Person Experiences please



## tmoore (Jan 12, 2006)

I was wondering what kind of luck people have had putting groups of Haps, Peacocks, and mbuna in the same tank.

I'm looking to stock my 75 and would love to go with a blue and yellow theme. Thanks for your input!!


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## hollyfish2000 (Aug 23, 2007)

presumably you're talking about an all male peacock/hap tank with suitable mbuna. The problem you'll have with this concept is that all male tanks must have fish that DO NOT look like each other. So if you're going for a color theme, you will be severely limited in what fish will meet your theme but not look too similar to each other that there would be aggression.

that said, two mbuna that meet your color scheme are yellow labs and p. acei (I know, some call this purple, but I call it blue.) Both of these go well with peacocks.


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## tmoore (Jan 12, 2006)

I wasn't planning on all male. I was going to get juvies and see what happens, that why I was looking for peoples experiences.


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## dielikemoviestars (Oct 23, 2007)

If you want to maximize color, which it looks like you do, and you don't want to be producing massive amounts of hybrids and creating crazy aggression in your tank, you want an all-male tank for this type of set up. Hollyfish's advice is right on.


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## RRasco (Aug 31, 2006)

True dat. Any time a female is present there will be aggression issues. The females don't have much color either, so it's kind of a moot point if you're going for colors. Find the species you want and buy adult males. A couple at a time if you have to because it does get real expensive real quick.

I went the "get juvies and see what happens" route on my peacock tank. Bad move. Now I don't know what 80% of the females are. ****, I have a few males I'm not sure what they are.


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## DanniGirl (Jan 25, 2007)

tmoore said:


> I wasn't planning on all male. I was going to get juvies and see what happens, that why I was looking for peoples experiences.


I know you mentioned you were not looking at an all male tank but *dielikemoviestarts* and *hollyfish 2000* gave great advice.

If you place juvie peacocks in an aul/hap/mbuna community tank- chances are some of them are not going to color up to their full potential (especially depending on the type of mbuna). Like *Rrasco* mentioned, the aul/hap females are dull and can be difficult to identify.


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## tmoore (Jan 12, 2006)

Thats why I was thinking one of each like a group each of

Pseudotropheus saulosi
Hap Moorii or Protomelas spilonotus Tanzania, 
Aulonocara sp. "Stuartgranti Maleri" (Maleri Is.)

Will haps, peacocks and mbuna breed with each other?


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## fox (Jun 11, 2009)

I have a mixed Hap/ mbuna tank. moorii, rostratus, chamsochromis, borleyi, nimbochromis, OB peacock with melanchromis auratus and johanni, zebra, kenyi, crabro, labs and a few dozen mixed juvies.

Give them a lot of leg room and places to call home and it can work. The girls create aggression.


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## gilberbt (Aug 1, 2009)

> Will haps, peacocks and mbuna breed with each other?


Yes, I started a 75G mixed tank 3 years ago and attempted to get males on the species I can tell and apparently I missed at least one because I have a male acei Pseudotropheus breeding with a female Moorii Blue Dolphin in my setup now.

I pretty much keep about 1 of each species and its a pretty peaceful setup. There has been 2x times in the past 3 years I have had to get rid of a fish because of excess agression towards others but for the most part they are ok.

Fox is correct that if you give them enough space it can work and the females are normally the root of the agression.


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## Chunkanese (Feb 4, 2011)

I have a mixed 90, haps peacocks and mbuna. Mostly all male adults minus 1 female kenyi and two female peacocks. I've added a juvis of ob zebra, ace, Taiwan reef, and ruby red peacock. All get along great except for the odd chase between a snow white, a cherry red, and a yellow male mbuna zebras. But they have distinctly different colors so it works.


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## hollyfish2000 (Aug 23, 2007)

IME -- you can have mixed genders of labs with boy peacocks and not have aggression or cross-breeding. The boy peacocks ignore the lady labs. But all peacocks will interbreed (giving you hybrids that shouldn't leave your tanks). Haps and peacocks can also interbreed given the chance. I once had a male red empress breed with what was supposed to be a poorly colored up male ruby red that turned out to be a hormoned female ruby red. She opened up her mouth to eat and out came the eggs and I got her out of the male tank pronto!!

I'm not sure why you'd put female peaocks or haps in a tank for color. Remember, too, that once you get females from different peacock species mixed together, you're unlikely to be able to tell them apart later down the line . . .


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## GoofBoy (Jul 3, 2007)

tmoore said:


> Thats why I was thinking one of each like a group each of
> 
> Pseudotropheus saulosi
> Hap Moorii or Protomelas spilonotus Tanzania,
> ...


All mouth brooders can interbreed - with proper M/F ratios you can keep the odds pretty low.

The only mbuna I would keep with hap/peacock breeding groups are Yellow Labs and Acei.

I think for breeding groups you would want something like:

Labidochromis caeruleus
Aulonocara "German Red"
Otopharynx lithobates (Zimbawe)
Placidochromis electra

Really one peacock and 2 smaller haps with different body shapes, should work just fine long run in a 75.

If you want maximum color, then labs with males Peacocks/Haps that stay 7.5in or less would be the way to go.

From first hand experience the Protomelas spilonotus Tanzania get too large for a 75, they make a good excuse to upgrade to a 125 when they outgrow the 4ft tank however .

Good Luck.


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