# How many peacocks/ hap in a 90 gallon!?



## jsmeesterr (Nov 28, 2011)

90 Gallon dimensions- 48 1/2 x 18 1/2 x 25 3/8.

Fish that will so far be going into( all full grown)
1 blue dolphin(only one not full grown- about 6 ") unsure on sex.
Male strawberry peacock
Male otter point peacock
Male usisya flavescent peacock 
Male German red peacock
Male blue ahli hap
1 rainbow shark
1 albino rainbow shark.
What can I add!??? I wouls like to have a male and female blue dolphin? This tank is not set up yet. Will be switching everything over from a established 75 gallon.


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## 1025667 (Dec 20, 2012)

Just say yes or no to the following questions and we will find out the sex of the blue dolphin
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Are its fins dark (darker than the body)?
Is it aggressive to any other males in the tank?
Does it get picked on by the others in the tank?
Does it hide alot?
Is the hump on the head big or small?

A male and female blue dolphin will not work unless the other fish are not dominate yet, but I am assuming they are because you know their sex. It will be fine at first, than after a week or so, males will start fighting and getting stressed along with the female.

Those fish will do great in a 90 gallon!
Another pretty male would be a Nimbochromis linni and a Dimidiochromis compressiceps. 
You could probaly add 3 more max though. It was a very stocked 75, haha!

Back to the blue dolohin's
I have to say that you can make a gorgeous tank full of breeding blue dolphins! And a great tank make is frontosa's! They look amazing together!









Everything I said above is from my own experience.

Just comment if you have any more questions! Hope I could help.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

jsmeesterr said:


> 90 Gallon dimensions- 48 1/2 x 18 1/2 x 25 3/8.
> 
> Fish that will so far be going into( all full grown)
> 1 blue dolphin(only one not full grown- about 6 ") unsure on sex.
> ...


The 75g and 90g are basically the same tank in regards to stocking as they are both 48" X 18" tanks and floorspace is what is important in this regard. You could add a lithobates, Azureus, etc....I would add no more than 12-13 if they are already large. Also....look to add the new ones at the same time you made the move. Keep in mind the otter point, strawberry and fryeri(ahli) will all likely have a chance of being fairly aggressive. So keep an eye on them.


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## jsmeesterr (Nov 28, 2011)

TO 1025667-
yes the fins are a bit darker.
yes it can be agressive(a lot of the times to my ahli)
no it doesnt get picked on much
no it doesnt hide unless a human scares it
and right now it doesnt have much of a hump

change of plans. i was going to buy a 90 gallon but for right now i am just sticking with my 75 gallon. with the 
1 blue dolphin(only one not full grown- about 6 ") unsure on sex.
Male strawberry peacock
Male otter point peacock
Male usisya flavescent peacock 
Male German red peacock
Male blue ahli hap
1 rainbow shark
1 albino rainbow shark.
being my stocking right now, is there maybe 1 or 2 fish i could add?
i really want to switch from gravel substrate to sand, would this be a wise choice? 
one quick question i have...
a while ago i bought some cichlids from a guy and he had about 2" yellow benga peacocks and we guessed on which one was a male. well turns out we were wrong i have a female yellow benga peacock and she is holding. has very little color and it about 3-3.5". now i need to sell her and am wondering how much you think she is worth? havnet sold many cichlids but i would prolly list her as 15-20$ would that be correct?


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## jsmeesterr (Nov 28, 2011)

what cichlid(hap or peacock) could i add that isnt the same colors as the cichlids i already have?


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## 1025667 (Dec 20, 2012)

He is almost defiantly a male. You may want to watch for the hump as it gets towards 8 inches or so.

You could defiantly add a couple more males. If you want something kinda out of the ordinary check out the nimbochromis linni's, and placidochromis phenochilus tanzania. I am not sure where you got the fish that are currently in your 75 but you can get great fish from online retailers...
*vendor names removed*
You may also get luckey and find them at your local fish store.

Changing the substrate to sand is a very wise choice, considering most of your fish find their food from the sand, and breed in the sand in the wild. The blue dolphins eat shrimp and crabs from the areas where sand meets rocks, and your peacocks do the same. To switch from gravel to sand, here are steps, which worked for me many times in the past...
1) Set up a large bucket, and put a small heater in it, along with a small air pump. Fill 3/4 of the way with water from the tank they are in. Since the fish will only be out of the tank for a few hours you can forget about the heater, unless your room is freezing, haha!
2) Put a towel on the ground and put all of the tank decor/rocks on it.
3) Turn of heaters, filters, pumps, and lights.
4)Wait about 10-20 mins for the fish to settle down and go into sleep mode, than gently net them out and put them in the bucket you previously set up.
5) Take gravel out.
6) Put the sand in, but make sure you cleaned it before you put it in the tank.You can use regular play-sand from home depot! It is about $3.50 for a 50 pound bag! You will probly need 1-1 1/2 bags. How to clean play-sand for aquarium: pt1: 



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------pt2: 



7) Turn on all filters, heaters, and other accessories, check temp on tank compared to temp in bucket. If temps are more than a degree off either heat the bucket or heat the tank.
8) Add the fish!

You could sell her for about $45 if she is holding, and probably about $110, if you sell the male and female as a breeding pair. 
Male peacocks will always be bright colors past 3.5-4inches. Females will stay drab, with greys, light yellows, and light browns. Males will have egg spots in anal fins. *Look at anal fins:*









Hope I could help!


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## metricliman (Sep 3, 2012)

First, 1025667, you can't link to vendors on this forum. Second, play sand is very dirty, many people use pool filter sand or quikcrete multi purpose sand. Third, I would recommend taking the water out of the tank when changing from gravel to sand-might as well get a water change done. Fourth, egg spots are not a reliable way to sex fish. I don't even know why you would look for any other factors other than color in a peacock/hap. Fifth, you should not sell Malawians in breeding pairs. They breed in harems. Sixth, male peacocks will not always color up past 3.5-4 inches, although many do. Seventh, I would also clean the gravel thoroughly before moving it.


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## 1025667 (Dec 20, 2012)

I have a lot of experience with this particular situation. I have upgraded tanks from 10 gallons all the way to 150 in just a matter of a couple years. I have playsand running in all of my tanks for many reasons. It is not as find grained, meaning it does not get caught in the filter nearly as often as pet store sand, it is more inexpensive, It supports heavy rocks better, and you vacuum wast right on top of it. Egg spots is not always a reliable way to sex the peacocks, that's why I gave two other ways to sex them. I the buyer has another female or two for the male than yes, a breeding pair is a great idea. That is actually how I bought my ruby red, german red, and OB. It is a serious problem if the fish hasn't colored up past 4inches. The seller must have done 0 water changes, and the tank temp must have been set at 60 degrees. And sorry I forgot to mention cleaning the gravel. I sure she wouldn't have thought to do that.


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## metricliman (Sep 3, 2012)

In regards to sand:I did not recommend pet store sand, I recommended pool filter sand which is even heavier than play sand, and much cleaner. Pool sand also collects "wast" on top of it. All sand does. Why would play sand support rocks better? It is a bad idea to put rocks on top of sand because a) the fish will dig and the rocks will fall over b) gas will collect in the sand under the rocks because you can't move it around and c) waste will collect in the gaps between the rock and sand.

In regards to egg spots and sexing: I don't see where you put 2 other methods of sexing them. Why would you put egg spots if it is not a reliable way to sex fish?

In regards to the holding fish: I would not sell the fish that is holding because there is a high probability that the fry are hybrids.

In regards to stocking: I don't quite get why you would recommend Dimidiochromis compressiceps (an 11" fish) _and_ Nimbochromis linni (a 14" fish) in a 90 gallon tank. Look at what Razor said. This is the same footprint tank so it doesn't allow you to add a 11" and 14" fish.


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## 1025667 (Dec 20, 2012)

It will take several years for the fish to reach that size. jsmeesterr would be keeping a large d. comp for years before it out-grew the tank. And besides I had a 75 gallon that was 6.5 feet long, so I must not have read the size of the tank. And besides he is keeping the 75 now. The only persone that knows if they are hybrids or not is jsmeesterr because he is the one that bred the fish. A majority of the time egg spots are a reliable way to sex the fish. I am not saying it always works, however you can always look at that and the color and know it is a male. I gave the size too. So if jsmeesterr sees a peacock cichlid with egg spots and it is 3.5 inches or more, he will know it is a female. I am making a great suggestion about the sand because it is affordable cheap and thousands of cichlid owners use it with no problems. In fact I recently set up a new 125, and I am using play sand in it. 8 dollars to be exact (2 50 pound bags) I washed it thoroughly first and then added it to the tank. My blue dolphins and frontosas love it. Frequent vacuuming of the sand will prevent ammonia spikes. Where else are you going to put the rocks if they are not on top of the substrate.


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## metricliman (Sep 3, 2012)

1025667 said:


> Frequent vacuuming of the sand will prevent ammonia spikes. Where else are you going to put the rocks if they are not on top of the substrate.


Gas pockets are not about ammonia spikes, they will build up with methane and eventually the gas will be released, killing the fish. It is always recommended to always put rocks in first, then sand.



> I am making a great suggestion about the sand because it is affordable cheap and thousands of cichlid owners use it with no problems.


I understand that play sand is very affordable but pool filter sand costs maybe 4 dollars more and is much better. Are you really going to care about saving $4 on _sand_?



> The only persone that knows if they are hybrids or not is jsmeesterr because he is the one that bred the fish.


Actually, that is not always true. Hybrids can look like either parent and the only way to know for sure is to have actually witnessed the spawning.



> jsmeesterr would be keeping a large d. comp for years before it out-grew the tank.


I think he wants a tank that can last for theoretically many, many years. Not something in which you have to fish out a very large and angry fish, even if it is for a few years.


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## DanniGirl (Jan 25, 2007)

13razorbackfan said:


> The 75g and 90g are basically the same tank in regards to stocking as they are both 48" X 18" tanks and floorspace is what is important in this regard. You could add a lithobates, Azureus, etc....I would add no more than 12-13 if they are already large. Also....look to add the new ones at the same time you made the move. Keep in mind the otter point, strawberry and fryeri(ahli) will all likely have a chance of being fairly aggressive. So keep an eye on them.


*jsmeesterr*, 
Try to stock with fish that mature under 7". A couple other suggestions would include an Aulonocara stuartgranti "Red Shoulder", Protomelas sp. "Steveni Taiwan" and Placidochromis electra.

Switching substrate would be fine and there are multiple ways to achieve it. As for the substrate, PFS or play sand will work and both have their advantages. PFS is much cleaner than play sand and is not stirred up as easily. Play sand is cheaper, but it requires a thorough rinsing. Once it's settled, I find it doesn't stir up that much so it's your choice.

As for the rocks, place a thin layer of substrate down, place the rocks, then pour the remainder of the sand around the rocks. This will stop the cichlids from digging under the rocks. Ideally, the substrate should only be around 2" deep.



jsmeesterr said:


> a while ago i bought some cichlids from a guy and he had about 2" yellow benga peacocks and we guessed on which one was a male. well turns out we were wrong i have a female yellow benga peacock and she is holding. has very little color and it about 3-3.5". now i need to sell her and am wondering how much you think she is worth? havnet sold many cichlids but i would prolly list her as 15-20$ would that be correct?


That sounds about right but you may do better by just trading her in for credit. If she was in the 75, I'd let her spit in the tank.


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## vann59 (Jun 20, 2011)

It's not recommended to keep more than one rainbow shark in a tank due to high conspecific aggression.


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## Derpfish (Jul 26, 2012)

I tried play sand once and it was a disaster. I cleaned it as thoroughly as possible beforehand and it still clouded up the water AND it killed over a dozen Tiger Barbs. I'm not exactly sure why. I suspect there was some bleach in the sand, which would make sense since they would want to thoroughly sterilize sand for children's sandboxes. Just Another reason to avoid play sand. Even after the sand finally settled, any time I stirred it up even a little it would create a huge cloud that would take a good 5-10 minutes to fully settle. A couple days later I got some "Handy Sand" from Menards and replaced the play sand with it and the difference was unbelievable. Stirring up the sand caused no clouding and it would resettle in less than a minute. It also looks much nicer and cleaner overall. You can get a 50 pound bag of "Handy Sand" at Menards for $5. It's the exact same thing as "Pool Filter Sand". It's so much better and easier to clean than gravel and I use it in all my tanks.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Based on earlier threads with jsmeesterr, he is not in a position to upgrade tanks at the drop of a hat, so I think it's a good idea to stock this one based on the mature size of the fish.

DanniGirl gave good advice.

I would expect to pay about $10 for a female peacock being sold by a hobbyist.


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## jsmeesterr (Nov 28, 2011)

DanniGirl said:


> 13razorbackfan said:
> 
> 
> > *jsmeesterr*,
> ...


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## jsmeesterr (Nov 28, 2011)

im not really sure how to quote people.. lol


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## jsmeesterr (Nov 28, 2011)

i will be either getting handy sand or pool filter sand. not decided yet. im going to have to watch some youtube videos and see which color i like better(unless they are the same color).

im going to try and sell my female benga peacock after she has spit out her babies becasue they indeed would be hybrid as i do not have a male yellow benga peacock. i was hoping this female was a male.

as far as the 2 rainbow sharks in the same tank. 
that is what i thought also but i took a rist and got a small rainbowshark to add with my full grown albino rainbowshark. they seem to be doing fine! better than i expected. maybe in the future they could mate?
can an albino rainbowshark mate with a albino rainbow shark? my friend had her rainow sharks mate in there cichlid tank and she told me it was pretty cool to watch!

im thinking about adding 3 more male peacocks. im worried about adding a male red shoulder. i previously had a male red shoulder and the males ganged up on him and i have to separate him and sell him. but secret is the store didnt no if he was a forsure male red shoulder so maybe i will try again ith a forsure red shoulder male. i want to stay away from blue bodied males as my blue dolphin really doesnt like the same colored males. he is always chasing my blue ahli hap.


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## jsmeesterr (Nov 28, 2011)

im buying the sand today! 
i still dont know which sand would b better.
A.) pool filter sand
B.) handy sand
C.) play sand
which one should i get and what store normaly has it in stock?


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## 1025667 (Dec 20, 2012)

Home depot should have them all..
Play sand will need more cleaning initially but is much cheaper
I have never used handy sand (not sure if it is aquarium safe or not)
Pool filter sand will need less cleaning before you put it in the tank but is more expensive


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

In the north where pools are seasonal, PFS is not always available in home depot type stores. Here I get mine at a pool and spa supply place, a chain called Leslies. But look for somewhere that sells pool/spa supplies.


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## Derpfish (Jul 26, 2012)

Handy sand and pool filter sand are the same thing but with different labels. The only difference might be a slight difference in color in some cases. Handy sand is much cheaper because it's not being sold as something special like pool filter sand. Unless the pool filter sand you see is a darker shade (and if that's what you prefer) then to me it makes sense to get the handy sand since it's cheaper. :wink:


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## jsmeesterr (Nov 28, 2011)

Handy sand it is! I just went and picked it up. Tomorrow will be switching my gravel to sand! And buying a few more cichlids! do I need to wash the sand? I'm pretty sure I do so can you tell me the best way to. Is this 100% safe for my cichlids? My cichlids are expensive and I do not want them to die due to this


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## 1025667 (Dec 20, 2012)

Always wash the sand. No matter what the type. Just rinse in a bucket several times. It will prevent from clouding when you add it to your aquarium


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## jsmeesterr (Nov 28, 2011)

how will i know when it is clean


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

When the water running out the bucket is 100% crystal clear after you have just swished the hose around in the sand to churn it all up.

For me it takes about 15 minutes of having the water run full blast throught the sand in a 5G bucket.


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## jsmeesterr (Nov 28, 2011)

Okay thank you! Just want to make sure I don't kill my fish!


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## DanniGirl (Jan 25, 2007)

Majority of the Red Shoulders should hold their own in an all male tank, but there are always exceptions. Instead of a Red Shoulder you could try an Aulonocara koningsi.


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## 1025667 (Dec 20, 2012)

Even if the sand wasn't clean.. it wouldn't harm the fish. The sand will just really cloud the water if it is not cleaned. Also, on a side note, when you add water to the tank, do not pour it directly on the sand.. If you have rocks, pour the water onto them and let it trickle onto the sand. The sand wont be perfectly clean. Fill the tank up with water and let the filters do the rest!


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## jsmeesterr (Nov 28, 2011)

i think the red shoulder i had was OB. but looked very similar to a red shoulder. i might try and give a red shoulder another try. is there any black or green bodied cichlids i could give a try in my 75? or even purple?


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## DanniGirl (Jan 25, 2007)

Tramitichromis sp. "Intermedius" or Protomelas marginatus or Thoracochromis brauschi for green. For darker haps, Copadichromis trewavasae or any other Mloto. (If a male is on the upper end of the hierarchy, he'll show decent color.)


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## jsmeesterr (Nov 28, 2011)

the Copadichromis trewavasae is amazing! i just hope i can find it in the stores! i also think im going to get 1 Tramitichromis sp. "Intermedius". and maybe try and find a yloow benga peacock male


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## jsmeesterr (Nov 28, 2011)

stocking is complete! and the switch has been made! i used handy sand and just put it on top of the gravel that i previously had in the tank. then i went out and bought a coralife aqualight for reed and saltwater, to really bring out my cichlids colors! and then to top it off i went as bought a few more fish! 
final stocking:

ALL MALE

german red peacock
auloncoara jacobfreibergi "otter point"
aulonocara jacobfreibergi not sure what kind right now, has a yellow body and fins
aulonocara stuartgranti (usisya)
aulonocara strawberry peacock
blue dolphin 
sciaenochromis fryeri, blue ahli hap 
copadichromis borleyi(kadango)
placidochromis milomo
albino rainbowshark
rainbowshark
1 synodontis flavitaeniatus
2 syndontis petricola

i realize i may have to rehome some due to full grown size but we will worry about that when the day comes

i really want to add a copadichromis trewavasae- mloto likoma i just wish the store would get some!


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## jsmeesterr (Nov 28, 2011)

Can I add a Christmas vulu?


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## jsmeesterr (Nov 28, 2011)

Fulu*


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## DanniGirl (Jan 25, 2007)

It looks like you're pretty well stocked. I wouldn't recommend a Fulu because it just won't color up that well.


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## jsmeesterr (Nov 28, 2011)

Alright I won't add the fulu. The only fish I will add is the copadichromis trewavasae if I would ever come To find one


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## jsmeesterr (Nov 28, 2011)

Anyone know of a good reliable website I could buy a male copadichromis trewavasae from?


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## DanniGirl (Jan 25, 2007)

Please send a pm! Thanks!


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