# Picking my "show" fish



## Teggy

Hello everyone  . I'm in process of getting my tank restocked and I already have my selections picked out except for the species that will be the "main attraction" of the tank, so to speak. The fish I will have already once I get said fish will be (sets of 1 male to 3 females) blue cobalts, yellow labs, and an undecided peacock species.

I'm learning fast but I'm still very new to this, and don't know about the various types cichlids more than google images and whatnot can show me. I would love a compatible large fish, and colorful of course. Not sure If what I'm hoping is actually possible but if anyone would know I'm sure it's one of you. Thank you so much for any input I can get on this I'm pretty clueless on this particular subject.


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## ElectricRuler

You could try for a male german red or sunshine peacock.


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## Sir Tristen

Peacocks might not color up as much as you would like with the mbuna, but you could try a Lwanda or one of the Jake variants. They are known for being a bit more aggressive. I personally think the Lwanda is the coolest peacock out there anyway.


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## GoofBoy

How big is the tank?


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## CatCityGary

Hi Teggy,
Well I have a very similar setup that is up and working quite well for me. I have Yellow Labs, Cobalt Blue Zebras and OB (Orange Blotch) Peacocks. At this point in my fish keeping the OB Peacocks would probally not be my first choice if I was to do it over again. But I started out with a very limited local fish store. On the flip side of that I am very happy with my tank because the most important consideration for me was to have a peaceful tank. I have a very stressful job and have no interest of watching my fish fight all night when I get home. I will say that all the fish in my tank get along extreemly well with no fighting between species.


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## gdmeadows

I love my Eureka Jake!


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## slyman17

I second the LWANDA. It is gorgeous. I also love the NGARA Flame Tail. (both peacocks)


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## bossfish

S. fryeri. A single male or a small group depending on the size of the tank would probably be a good fit behaviorally. They are fairly common and cheap but they look really good.


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## cichlid_baby

Aulonocara "Lwanda" red top are nice...










another "Lwanda"...










another "Lwanda" too...










Aulonocara "Jacobfriebergi" tanzania are very nice as well....










Aulonocara "Maulana" bi-color 500 are nice too....










Aulonocara Eureka Reds are also very nice...










Aulonocara Ruby Reds are great...










another Ruby Red...










Aulonocara "Usisya" flavescents are great as well...










Aulonocara "Ngara" red flametails are one of my favorites too...










another Ngara red flametail...










more Ngara red flametail...










Aulonocara "Kandeensee" blue orchids are super nice...










Aulonocara "Turkis" turquoise are nice...










Aulonocara "Baenschi" benga sunshine...










Protomelas "Taiwan Reef" are hard to beat though...










another Taiwan Reef...


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## cichlid_baby

So it looks like you have quite a bit of decision making to do....  ....... :lol:


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## slyman17

Cichlid_baby,

They are beautiful. All of them.


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## Teggy

I love you all! I had been too busy to check all my posts until just now and I'm blown away by all the suggestions thank you! Good timing too because I just sent out an email to order some fish including Sunshine Peacocks, but I just may call him right now to change those sunshines to Lwandas. Those are stunning! Aulonocara "Kandeensee" blue orchid also blows me away, I wish I could get both lol.

That's it I'm calling right now lol, gonna get some Lwanda instead of the Sunshines. I still have fish to pick however, so I'm not done yet lol. Thank you all so much this was exactly what I was hoping for when I made this post 

The tank is a 135g by the way, forgot to answer that.


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## fish_addiction

In a 125G you could also add an Auloncara Firefish (Pink Peacock Hybrid). It's the only non-Mbuna in my 110G and has been the only Peacock that's ever colored up well for me.

Here's a pic of mine at 4"


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## kyoshi

totally beautiful fish :thumb:


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## Low Budget

cichlid_baby said:


> So it looks like you have quite a bit of decision making to do....  ....... :lol:


I was about to post the same question. Thanks for posting all the pics cichlid_baby!


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## GoofBoy

Since it is a 6ft tank. For a show fish, these guys are right around 8in now and peaceful to boot.

Protomelas sp. "Spilonotus Tanzania" (Liuli)









Placidochromis sp. "Phenochilus Tanzania"


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## Teggy

Ya lol all those beautiful fish made me want a male Peacock tank lol.


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## Teggy

Spilonotus Tanzania you say hmm? That may be exactly what I want eventually as the large solo fish in the tank.


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## GoofBoy

Teggy said:


> Spilonotus Tanzania you say hmm? That may be exactly what I want eventually as the large solo fish in the tank.


Here he is with sub-adult/old juvie yellow labs back in Feb. 2010.










A lot more size/mass than my peacocks.

Good Luck.


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## djoverdose

cichlid_baby,

Love your collection.... very nice show type peacocks/haps.

how big are their tanks? they are in their individual tanks right? how big are they and whats their diet?

how i wish our LFS here have those kind of peacocks and haps.

Quality peacocks/haps indeed.


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## cichlid_baby

Sorry... all the pics are "OLD" pics of fishes we've had in the past and all have been sold long ago... some were infact Show specimens and were our stud breeders at one time.

I posted them to give the OP some idea of what is available for him to fill his tank with as the choices are quite hard to narrow down when they all are so beautiful.

I love peacocks !!!


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## Teggy

Peacocks are definitely my favorite looking of the Malawi bunch, but I get such a kick out of Mbuna behavior that I'm willing to have just the one set of Peacocks.

I will order a Spilonotus Tanzania as soon as I get the current incoming stock situated and make sure everything's in order with them first. Love the look of that fish for how large it is.


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## natescraigslist

This thread is siply amazing and needs more pictures of beautiful peacocks they in my opinion are one of the best cichlid fish to raise and breed and watch become incredibly colorful very fast in good conditions =D>


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## Sub-Mariner

For me, the show fish in my tank is my German Red.










My Taiwan Reef is pretty nice looking.


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## mokujin22

With a 135, I'd up the group size of your mbuna and possibly add another species.

Maylandi/kandeense will not fair well with zebras. I'd avoid them as well as most of the Stuartgranti sp. Go with something more aggressive - Lwanda, OB, jacobfreibergi, benga will all work.


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## mokujin22

GoofBoy said:


> Since it is a 6ft tank. For a show fish, these guys are right around 8in now and peaceful to boot.
> 
> Protomelas sp. "Spilonotus Tanzania" (Liuli)
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> Placidochromis sp. "Phenochilus Tanzania"


I've seen (Tanzanian) spilonotus males upward of 10". Not saying they can't go in a 6'x18" footprint, just keep that in mind though. With much smaller fish in the tank, they will behave aggressively - especially around females.


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## GoofBoy

To fix the images as I have moved things...

Protomelas sp. "Spilonotus Tanzania" (Liuli) 









Placidochromis sp. "Phenochilus Tanzania"


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## mokujin22

^^ Nice haps. :thumb:


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