# Rocks for Peacock Tank



## pelphrey (Apr 9, 2014)

The wife and I are interested in changing out community 55 gallon to a peacock tank. It already has pool filter sand in it. I've done some research but haven't found a clear answer on the subject. Our PH from the tap is 7.6 and 8.0 with the API freshwater test kit. Is the egg crate below the sand necessary? If so I can add that to the tank, that's no big deal. We are running a fluval 306 canister and my plan is to cycle a spare tank with a top fin 60 HOB filter to increase the bioload and put that on the 55 to help the canister for the time being. Would like to move the HOB once the canister is fully seeded.

I've read some people use lace rock and I am not sure if thats the look we want.

I saw this image on another tread (Not trying to steal it just want to use it for an example). Its a simple look that we like.

Owner- 13razorbackfan









Can we simply go visit our local landscaping business and pick out smooth rocks and wash them and introduce them or is there more to it?

I've also read that we can house 15-20 peacocks in the 55 gallon tank. I want to verify this before we make any purchases. I would like to have a male/female ratio.

Thanks in advance!


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

Hi and welcome to CF!

Your pH is fine - 7.6 or 8.0 makes absolutely no difference for all practical intends and purposes of keeping and breeding fish.

Egg Crate is not necessary - well, that depends on how you look at it. About 50% of folks swear by it, and consider it an absolute must in their tanks. It certainly can give people peace of mind. The other 50% consider it unnecessary and never use it - myself included. I don't think there is any difference in tank leakage or tank failure rates between the two groups.

If you have an established community tank that you want to use for peacocks (or any other cichlid), just take the community fish out and put the cichlids in - done! There is no need to cycle another filter to have it ready for the cichlids. If you want to have more filtration, just ad another filter to the setup. The bacteria colony will adjust to the new conditions so fast your fish will never notice.

Rocks from a landscaping supply will be fine - virtually all of the rocks they have! River rocks like shown in the photo will definitely be fine. Just keep in mind that if you stack round rocks you get very little caves. Those rocks might look good to you, but they provide very little benefit for your fish. I prefer flat rocks that I can stack to form caves and hiding places for fish.

15-20 peacocks in a 55G with both males and females is madness. Peacock females all look nearly identical (drab grey brown), and different color morphs and species will interbreed pretty much indiscriminately. That way you would end up with gazillions of hybrid fry that nobody will take off your hands even if you give them away for free. If you want to breed peacocks, you have to choose one species, and in a 55G you might be able to have 2 males with 8 or so females. Please confirm numbers in the Malawi forum, since I have not kept peacocks in at least 20 years. To ad some color maybe you could ad a group of about 5 Labidochromis caeruleus to the setup. They are mbuna, but unusual in that they are very peaceful and behave almost a bit like peacocks. Alternatively you could have an all male tank. You would give up on observing the fish's most interesting natural behavior - breeding - but you would gain a lot of color. How many males you could keep in a 55G depends on species, but a dozen maximum would sound about right to me as a rule of thumb. Again, folks in the Malawi forum would be a lot more knowledgeable.

Best of luck!


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## pablo111 (Dec 10, 2013)

Something else that looks really good is yellow labs and acei










They get along fantastically.

You could add one or two male peacocks for variety.

You'll want more filtration than just a 306 on a 55 gallon for malawis. Lots more.

And yes you can just go to a landscape or stone mason shop and buy rocks there. Your pH is high enough already that you don't need to choose limestone or other alkaline rocks that will raise your pH.
What you have in the picture looks like granite.


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## pelphrey (Apr 9, 2014)

Thanks for all of the information guys! I am still working out the plans. I'll probably end up fully stocking the 55 gallon with youth fish. I am currently searching for a 75/90 gallon tank to replace the 55. Really excited to get this going!


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## pablo111 (Dec 10, 2013)

pelphrey said:


> Thanks for all of the information guys! I am still working out the plans. I'll probably end up fully stocking the 55 gallon with youth fish. I am currently searching for a 75/90 gallon tank to replace the 55. Really excited to get this going!


Go with a 75. You'll save a few bucks on the tank. the extra height of the 90 gallon is essentially useless for a lake malawi tank. Also, 90 gallons are pretty deep and you'll get your armpits wet working in the tank. It's not a comfortable scenario. I used to have a 90 and I kicked myself for not making it a 75.


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

Lots of good advice from Pablo. I can only second what he said!


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## pelphrey (Apr 9, 2014)

> Go with a 75. You'll save a few bucks on the tank. the extra height of the 90 gallon is essentially useless for a lake malawi tank. Also, 90 gallons are pretty deep and you'll get your armpits wet working in the tank. It's not a comfortable scenario. I used to have a 90 and I kicked myself for not making it a 75.


The 75 is my game plan. 75's around here go pretty quick. I am trying to find a used one with good filtration and a stand I like. I'm not worried about any lids of lights. Pretty picky about the tank and stand since this will be in our living room. The few 75's I have found have the wood trim around the tank and I want black. Beside myself if I want to paint the back of the tank black or not. The wife and I are thinking black background, black sand and some cool white LED's to make the rocks and fish pop out.

Once again thanks for all of the help. The wife and I will be going to St Louis for 3 days next weekend to catch a game. After that I plan to order some fish!


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## Sparrow19 (May 31, 2013)

I got a 75, thinking it was going to be huge and perfect. Well, that didn't last long and I upgraded to a 210, HA. If you have room and a little more money for it, I'd at least got to a 125. I don't mean to make your decision harder but that extra 2 feet looks awesome. I'd for sure agree with painting the back black. Helps hide anything running behind it, and keeps form getting water between it. Also the fish really pop against it. I wouldn't go with black sand, but that's your personal choice. LED lights work awesome too. Good Luck..!

Here is a pic of mine..


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## pelphrey (Apr 9, 2014)

I tried to get the wife to agree to 100+ gallon. But it just won't work in our current house. We measured and if we went 2 more feet it would just be a hassle for us. One day maybe! What LED lights did you go with? I'm leaning towards flood lights IF we find a tank with a hood on it. Otherwise it will be a low profile fixture!


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## Sparrow19 (May 31, 2013)

I got Beamswork LED lights. VERY low profile, as you can see. I have two 36" and they work perfect for my tank. 72x24x29

This is what I got, and actually cheaper right now than what I paid. https://www.aquatraders.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=56366


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