# Peacock with mbuna



## Deviate

I know it's basically written rule that peacocks don't mesh well with Mbuna, but I had a question regarding the matter anyway. I cant help but notice a lot of similarity between the aulonocara nyassae, for example, and the sciaenochromis ahli.. which I have a male Ahli that's currently housed with several mixed Mbuna and have no trouble amongst them whatsoever. My father keeps referring to the Ahli as a peacock even though he's not an alunocara but they do look quite alike. I've been thinking about attempting to introduce a male peacock to the tank, so long as he's not blue in color to avoid any conflicts with the Ahli, to see how it would work out. Is this basically a genus/species war that is unavoidable or could it work out?


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## Timkat4867

I wouldnt try it. in my experience mbuna are way to rowdy for peacocks. Even if you were successful in keeping a peacock with them, he probably wouldnt show his best colors.


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## GaFishMan1181

only success i have had with adding peacocks and mbuna is 1 red shoulder peacock with labs and acei.


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## Number6

I've heard this often repeated, so I'm sure there is truth to it, but it's not a rule I've ever held to nor passed along... I've always mized mbuna in with Peacocks.

Now, granted, you cannot mix a sunshine peacock in with say crabo, but that's got nothing to do with one being a mbuna and the other a peacock, so perhaps there is the basis for the "rule"... there are many gentle peacocks, few gentle mbuna.

Jacobfreigi (Jakes) are one of the larger and more aggressive peacocks that I've mixed in with some very nasty mbuna like Kenyi with no issue in long tanks with plenty of rockwork. Your experience might not match mine, but it should at least point to the rule not being a golden one 

I could also see many a peacock in with any of the "sane" mbuna like Acei or yellow labs.

Let's call it rule "bending" to mix mbuna and peacocks and not rule breaking... try it at yours (and the fishes risk) and have a hospital tank up and ready in case you made a tactical error!


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## LeeKai

In my personal experience I've seen more issues mixing mbuna with other mbuna for ex 2 male mbuna es of the same type or coloration,don't usually mix to well especially if there are females... I have a successfully mixed bash tank ie mbuna, peacock and haps all have their own territories and hold good color it has taken some trial and error an as I said the problem was when I ended up with 3 sexually mature male kenyis, auratus, and red zebras and that ended since now there is only one male of each with the exeption of the zebras with 3 males it is amazing to me that they get along good but it could be because they have been in the same tank together since they were only 1 inch and the one male that got out of control has been removed from that tank... So it just depends on your fish you need to observe and see what is happening in your tank, 2 of the same genus or coloration is what I see as the issue. I don't see any trouble mixing mbuna into a peacock hap mix...


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## SoDakJeep

I will be adding a red peacock to my tank this weekend.


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## hollyfish2000

SoDakJeep said:


> I will be adding a red peacock to my tank this weekend.


In my experience, German/ruby reds (my assumption what you're adding) are incredibly timid and I wouldn't put them in a mbuna tank. If you're looking for red, you'd have better luck with a Red Empress (hap) or a Eureka Red (jacobfriberghi group and generally more assertive).

I also have learned from hard experience not to add just one fish at a time.


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## SoDakJeep

Aulonocara sp. Maleri "Ruby Red". It has the blue face with red body. I believe it is said to be one of the more hardy of the peacocks.


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## LeeKai

It is better to add more than one fish at a time, but just watch closely and make sure they are getting along ok within an hour and if they are fighting take him out or take the one picking on him out, rearrange tank might help too, but Ruby's are tough I know the 3 I have are =)


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## jbacker7

Yea I'm not so sure about that ruby red either. Mine is really shy and submissive in my peacock/hap tank. My eureka red is not though. I think the eureka would be a much better idea.


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## Deviate

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I took a trip up to ThatFishPlace (actually two trips) last weekend and yesterday with my father who was visiting from FL, and yesterday I was really bent about bringing home a Alunocara Jacobfribergh or "Red Jake" in addition to something else. These fish were gorgeous and there were 4 males together in the tank.

I'm not worried about my Mbuna bothering them, because the Mbuna are all smaller. But I was concerned about him getting along with my Ahli, even though the Jake was not really of any color similarity to the Ahli.

The fact that it was a $50 dollar fish made me want to do a little more research to make sure that he would be alright with the Ahli before I brought him home. The Ahli is actually the g/f's fish since she wanted him so bad and paid for him, so I don't feel like arguing with her about who's fish stays and who's goes, if you know what I mean.

I'd add the Jake of the same size as the Ahli, and one other smaller moderate aggressive Mbuna (probably an additional yellow lab) to go with the others and that would be it for my current stock.

Should I should give it a shot? If I do I'd rather run up there to get it on the beginning of my weekend so I can be home to keep an eye on their initial interactions the following couple days. Because if I'm at work, I can't break up a fish fight.


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## gmaschke

I have sunshines and Lab. sp. Mbambas in a 90 and have no issues with this mix occasionally a peacock male will push around a mbamba bot not the other way around

I also have a large mix of peacocks in a 135 with a bunch of demasoni and yellow labs. with no issues. Both these have been up for at least a year.


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## LeeKai

I don't forsee a problem, the only fish my ahli fights with and it is very minimal is a blue dolphin i think it's probably bc they are both haps...


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## hollyfish2000

The red jake might work. Operative word "might." It should. Hopefully, it will. But sometimes personalities of individual fish aren't what we assume for the whole species. I assume you have a hospital/quarantine tank handy to use if you have to remove someone. I have had to, on occasion. It goes with the territory of an all male tank. Please, please, please do not add a single fish. That is really stacking the odds against them. They take all the brunt of the "hey, he's the new guy, let's give him a poke" behavior.


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## Deviate

I was thinking of adding the Red Jake and and one (maybe two) other mbuna of the same size as the others. Currently there are 9 fish in the tank including one synodontis cat, so that would take me to 11 or 12 which I think would be plenty.

I do have a small isolation tank and a spare heater on hand just in case. I know the individual personalities of fish vary depending on where they were bred and what they were housed with and environment they grew up in. But those factors are always unknown unless you know the breeder.


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## billdawson3

are the red peacock and the red empress peacok the same fish?


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## Afishionado

If you have a sufficient size quarantine tank (with dividers if necessary) you could put some of your existing stock in the QT tank with the newcomer, then after the QT period move them all to the main tank at once - that way the 'new guy' isn't the only necomer to the general population. One downside of course is that you're exposing healthy stock to anything the new fish may bring into the QT tank. This is one way to make adding a lone new fish work though.


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## DJRansome

Red peacock is an Aulonocara and red empress is a Haplochromine: Protomelas. Never heard of a red empress peacock?


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## amakayov

I have also had luck with adding red shoulder peacocks with a mixed mbuna tank. This was before I switched over to only peacocks and haps. But I had about 14 mbunas and 2 red shoulder peacocks... the female was killed unfortunately and now I know why (because of the mbuna) but the male stayed alive and healthy and showed beautiful colors for 7 or so months until I traded in all the fish for haps...
Just sharing my experience


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