# peacock/hap or mbuna?



## fancey (Dec 23, 2013)

I cant decide on what to go with with my 75g(48x20x18) What do you guys think? what fish specifically.


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## Wilson33 (Feb 19, 2008)

The mbuna are generally more colorful when you have both male and female fish in the tank. The hap males can be stunning, but some consider the females to be drab in appearance. Some of the hap species are too large even for a 48" long aquarium.

The cookie cutter section under the Library section of this site has helped me choose compatible species. Have you ever kept either haps or mbuna? If not, I would suggest some Labidochromis Caeruleus (Yellow Labs) and Acei as a good combination in a 75 gallon tank. There is a good reason that this combination is suggested quite often. You can probably even squeeze in one of the Aulonocara (Peacock) species in this tank if you chose wisely.


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## Michael_S (Aug 18, 2013)

Myself personally like mbuna more, but some of the color of haps and peacocks males are absolutely stunning.

With mbuna in this tank you have many options.
With haps/peacocks you are limited to fish that don't get bigger than 7" or so.


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## fancey (Dec 23, 2013)

i think i will stick with my original going with mbuna. are there any large, extremely colorful mbuna species that i could have as the "main attraction" of my tank?


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## Michael_S (Aug 18, 2013)

Well mbuna sizes range from 3-8". It depends on what you think is large. The main attraction of my tank is my Cobwe male that we call "Fred" as in Fred Flintstone. He digs a lot and we call his females Wilma's.

Here is a pic of a male of his species(not mine).


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## Wilson33 (Feb 19, 2008)

I used to keep Labeotropheus Trewavasae. They get pretty large for mbuna, and there are several different varieties. The males are gorgeous, but I found them to be very aggressive. I was keeping them in a 72" long 125 gallon (only 1 male), so a 75 might be too small.


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## fancey (Dec 23, 2013)

Thanks guys!


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## fancey (Dec 23, 2013)

Wilson33 said:


> The mbuna are generally more colorful when you have both male and female fish in the tank. The hap males can be stunning, but some consider the females to be drab in appearance. Some of the hap species are too large even for a 48" long aquarium.
> 
> The cookie cutter section under the Library section of this site has helped me choose compatible species. Have you ever kept either haps or mbuna? If not, I would suggest some Labidochromis Caeruleus (Yellow Labs) and Acei as a good combination in a 75 gallon tank. There is a good reason that this combination is suggested quite often. You can probably even squeeze in one of the Aulonocara (Peacock) species in this tank if you chose wisely.


What type of peacocks could go with my Mbunas?
5X - Cynotilapia zebroides (Cobue) - Afra Edwardi
5X - Pseudotropheus sp. "Acei" (Msuli) - Yellow Tail Acei
5X - Labidochromis caeruleus - Yellow Lab
5X - Iodotropheus sprengerae - Rusty Cichlid
5X - Synodontis Multipunctatus - Upside Down Catfish


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## Michael_S (Aug 18, 2013)

With the fish listed, that is a fully stocked tank.


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## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

If you want to do a mixed mbuna/peacock tank yellow labs and aceis are about the only choice for mbuna besides maybe rusties. I have five yellow labs and four acies along with three peacocks (I want to get a couple more) in my 75G tank and it works great! I kinda wish I had more peacocks tho and less mbuna-such as the acei.

If I were you and you want to mix mbuna and peacocks and would go with five yellow labs and six or seven peacocks depending on size. That long with the syno cats would make a cool tank!


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

I like this group...



> 5X - Cynotilapia zebroides (Cobue) - Afra Edwardi
> 5X - Pseudotropheus sp. "Acei" (Msuli) - Yellow Tail Acei
> 5X - Labidochromis caeruleus - Yellow Lab
> 5X - Iodotropheus sprengerae - Rusty Cichlid
> 5X - Synodontis Multipunctatus - Upside Down Catfish


Acei do get big, but are really cool fish, IMO.


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## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

I really like my aceis too. They are beautiful fish with great personalities. So far mine aren't too aggressive. They are mbuna so some aggression is to be expected, but not nearly as much as other species. Right now I think my largest one is a an eight month old male who is around 4".


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## fancey (Dec 23, 2013)

Thats a pretty decent size. i do really like my current list. i just need to decide between Syno. Multipunctatus and Syno. lucipinnis.


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

+1 for Iggy suggestion... i have that mix, except I have cyno afra purple lupingo. Not Cynotilapia zebroides (Cobue) - Afra Edwardi.. 
Iggy,Cynotilapia zebroides (Cobue) - Afra Edwardi is a gorgeous fish. wish they had that in stock when i got my cyno..
i did replace my acei with cobalt blue, as they statred to get aggressive as they grew up. But beautiful fish. I do like my cobalt blue..
I have rusty and yellowlabs and a massive asian upside down cat,along with a couple small bristlenose.
I think thats a good mix to try what iggy said. It IS always trial and error though as all fish dont get along always..


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

I think you should go with a group of the S. Lucipinnis. They stay smaller than the multis.

The cynotilapia zebroides 'Cobwe' is like the prettiest fish I ever had. The male, that is.


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## Michael_S (Aug 18, 2013)

+1 on the lucipinnis. It is true males have awesome coloration. The females are very drab, varies from dark to light grey. Although the females are drab, they are what drive my male to show such awesome color.


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## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

Iggy Newcastle said:


> I think you should go with a group of the S. Lucipinnis. They stay smaller than the multis.
> 
> The cynotilapia zebroides 'Cobwe' is like the prettiest fish I ever had. The male, that is.


Ya, I prefer the monomorphic mbunas.


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