# 125g : Male Peacocks, Haps and 1 Mbuna :)



## 60gallon (Dec 14, 2010)

I finally did it! I switched over my 90g to the 125g last night. It didnt take too long, only took 5-6hrs. :ugly1: Setting up the 125g only took about 2hrs. When it was all said and done, my back was killing me last night. Im only 33yrs old and my wife was making fun of me saying I sounded like an old man!? But coming down stairs this morning seeing the tank in action made it all worth it! And thank GOD my back feels great today, old man my butt!

3 of my Peacocks got a little beat up when I put them all in the holding tank while I switched everything over but theyll be alright. I love the new tank but because its a new tank w/ new decor alot of them are chasing each other trying to establish dominance and or territory. I feel bad but I kind of like them chasing each other, as long as none really get hurt. When they were in the 90g everyone player their role, they were sort of lazy but now theres so much action in the tank! The alpha was the Makonde Yellow Blackfin, hes MUCH larger than the others, so we'll see if he remains the king. They were all around the same size when I bought them but the Makonde really grew fast...and so did the Firefish. All of the fish were around 3" and I added the Firefish last, he was only an 1.5" when I got him. But now, hes just as big if not a little bigger than the rest. Anyway heres a few pics I took while doing the swap.

You can see why some got beat up, not much room...I had to take the Makonde Yellow Blackfin out because he was being a little too aggressive.










He was put in solitary.









Heres the tank as it was being filled up. The water was a little murky.









Not even 2hrs later it looked perfect. Man I love the FX5! And they got to eat, I was surprised they ate but they did.









Here it is this morning. I also moved the fry tank back in the stand this morning. Theyre growing up fast!









ReefKeeper Lite headunit









2x PC4s powering everything









And finally....a video I took earlier today.


----------



## vann59 (Jun 20, 2011)

Very nice. And I covet the FX5...


----------



## Anthraxx8500 (Feb 11, 2011)

thou shalt not covet thy neighbors FX5....


----------



## Guest (Nov 20, 2011)

you need more fish.. itll cut down on aggression.. electra blackin makonde is one of my fav haps.. i got one in my highly overstocked 125.. gorgeous fish


----------



## 60gallon (Dec 14, 2010)

vann59 said:


> Very nice. And I covet the FX5...


Thanks, yeah the FX5 is a beast!



Anthraxx8500 said:


> thou shalt not covet thy neighbors FX5....


 



m1ke715m said:


> you need more fish.. itll cut down on aggression.. electra blackin makonde is one of my fav haps.. i got one in my highly overstocked 125.. gorgeous fish


My fish arent aggressive at all. I think there were just confused about the swap and were trying to establish territory. I woke up today and theyre all swimming together just like they did in the 90g and I havent seen any chasing. But I am going to be adding some more fish soon. I dont know what other males Peacocks I can add.

Every since I saw a couple of youtube videos showing yellow tail Aceis schooling I think Im going to get 7 of those. And I have 32 yellow lab fry growing out in my stand so once they get to be an 1" I'll put several in my tank too.


----------



## vann59 (Jun 20, 2011)

60gallon said:


> My fish arent aggressive at all. I think there were just confused about the swap and were trying to establish territory. I woke up today and theyre all swimming together just like they did in the 90g and I havent seen any chasing. But I am going to be adding some more fish soon. I dont know what other males Peacocks I can add.


It's funny how many of us knock ourselves out trying to put in lots of rock, so there will be plenty of 'fish condos' to go around, to curb aggression, and yet some of the best and most natural looking tanks have moderate to little rock in them. And they seem to do fine. Go figure.

So maybe rocks just make the fish ornery? I think we need a cichlid food formula with Kava... 8)


----------



## 60gallon (Dec 14, 2010)

With less rocks theres less to fight over I guess. My fish have calmed down though so all is peaceful in the biodome! :lol:


----------



## 60gallon (Dec 14, 2010)

My photography skills suck but heres some pictures of my fish.


----------



## Nodalizer (Nov 7, 2011)

looks pretty good photos to me hehe

nice fish.


----------



## vann59 (Jun 20, 2011)

Very nice indeed...


----------



## angeljin17 (Nov 14, 2007)

Nice fish and set of pics! :thumb: 
btw, is that an ngara in the 13th and 14th pics?


----------



## Guest (Nov 25, 2011)

angeljin17 said:


> Nice fish and set of pics! :thumb:
> btw, is that an ngara in the 13th and 14th pics?


that looks like a chiwinde to me


----------



## 60gallon (Dec 14, 2010)

Thanks everyone.

The 13th pic is of the German Red, the Ngara Flametail is in the 14th and 15th picture. Im sure thats what you meant.


----------



## vann59 (Jun 20, 2011)

60gallon said:


> My photography skills suck but heres some pictures of my fish.


Yeah, I wish my photography was that bad... :lol:


----------



## 60gallon (Dec 14, 2010)

Compared to some pics I see on here my pictures are good at best.

A few hours after setting the tank up I heard a weird noise and I was thinking oh man my tank is about to bust. :lol: I didnt see anything since the lights were off but the next day I noticed that my left top glass cracked. So word to the wise, if youre using a T5HO quad fixture, USE the legs!  I finally got my glass tops in yesterday so heres a full tank shot that I took this evening.


----------



## vann59 (Jun 20, 2011)

60gallon said:


> Compared to some pics I see on here my pictures are good at best.


Makes you sick, doesn't it?



60gallon said:


> A few hours after setting the tank up I heard a weird noise and I was thinking oh man my tank is about to bust. :lol: I didnt see anything since the lights were off but the next day I noticed that my left top glass cracked. So word to the wise, if youre using a T5HO quad fixture, USE the legs!  I finally got my glass tops in yesterday so heres a full tank shot that I took this evening.


At first I thought you meant the side panel glass  But I see now you were talking about a lid.

I am planning on getting 48" HO dual t5 lighting. Do you think the aluminum sliding supports are long enough legs? I have LED hoods, I plan to raise them and set the tube lighting on top and then close the lids back after each use. I also read that you can use the clear plastic panels that cover commercial fluorescent lights to cut and use as tank lids. I was thinking of possibly using them as splash guards while the tubes are on top.


----------



## 60gallon (Dec 14, 2010)

vann59 said:


> 60gallon said:
> 
> 
> > Compared to some pics I see on here my pictures are good at best.
> ...


Yeah it does!! :lol:



vann59 said:


> 60gallon said:
> 
> 
> > A few hours after setting the tank up I heard a weird noise and I was thinking oh man my tank is about to bust. :lol: I didnt see anything since the lights were off but the next day I noticed that my left top glass cracked. So word to the wise, if youre using a T5HO quad fixture, USE the legs!  I finally got my glass tops in yesterday so heres a full tank shot that I took this evening.
> ...


Which 48" light are you talking about and what size is your tank? My fixture uses plastic legs that adjust by sliding in a grove along the length of the light, Im not sure if you mean the coat hanger looking legs (Like the Marineland LEDs fixtures use) or the thick plastic legs. Either way if you have a 6ft tank they wont reach unless you buy a 72" fixture. My fixtures legs rest on top of the glass tops.

And the plastic youre talking about is egg crate. *** read people using those as tank lids before, I dont see why it wouldnt work.


----------



## vann59 (Jun 20, 2011)

I'm talking about the coat hanger type legs on a 48" tank and 48" fixture. And the plastic I'm referring to isn't the egg crate, but the solid clear plastic covers they use as diffuser. I do have eggcrate under my rocks


----------



## 60gallon (Dec 14, 2010)

^ gotcha!

Then yeah a 48" will be fine but Im still lost as to what you mean about the legs being long enough? Long enough for what? Its getting late so forgive my brain. :lol: When you say LED hood what do you mean? Do you have a canopy on your tank too?

And I dont think the diffuser will work very well. I have some in my garage that I use for projects and its pretty flimsy, I wouldnt trust laying heavy lights on top of it. Maybe you have some thicker / more rigid diffuser?


----------



## 60gallon (Dec 14, 2010)

Heres a shot with the LEDs on


----------



## Jarryd330 (Sep 14, 2011)

I like your setup. Makes me want to go all out and run a bigger tank rather than my plan of a 75 so I can add in some peacocks with my current stock.


----------



## 60gallon (Dec 14, 2010)

Thanks!

I started with a 55g, stepped up to a 90g and now this 125g, all in less than a year. If I were you and if you have the room Id get a 125g / 125g+! :thumb: I wish I wouldve went with the 125g from the start but oh well, it was fun just learning about stuff along the way.


----------



## vann59 (Jun 20, 2011)

60gallon said:


> ^ gotcha!
> 
> Then yeah a 48" will be fine but Im still lost as to what you mean about the legs being long enough? Long enough for what? Its getting late so forgive my brain. :lol: When you say LED hood what do you mean? Do you have a canopy on your tank too?
> 
> And I dont think the diffuser will work very well. I have some in my garage that I use for projects and its pretty flimsy, I wouldnt trust laying heavy lights on top of it. Maybe you have some thicker / more rigid diffuser?


I was thinking of the length of the legs for the purpose of heat dissipation so as not to crack or melt any lids.

I do think the plexiglass diffuser would be flimsy, but I wouldn't rest the light on it, but rather on the tank sides. Another question would be whether the diffuser would have a negative impact on light penetration into the water, which may be the bigger problem.

So what about thin lexan? I can get some of that and cut it into lids. I have the marineland lids shown here http://www.marineland.com/sites/marineland/products/Detail.aspx?id=3944
and they are great for general lighting as long as it doesn't need to be too bright, but they don't help the plants grow. They flip up on hinges that rest at the back of the tank, so they allow really good access too. But I figure if I lift them up, and set a t5 fixture on the tank, then I might want a lid to keep splashes out, and fish in, while I do that.

I really prefer something lightweight. Removing glass lids is tedious.


----------



## vann59 (Jun 20, 2011)

60gallon said:


> I wish I wouldve went with the 125g from the start but oh well, it was fun just learning about stuff along the way.


If you had known how addictive these fish can be, you wouldn't have just gone halfway, right? Me too.

What kind of pea is that in your avatar? Is it green on the body, or is it just the photo?


----------



## CrazyCichlid (Sep 22, 2002)

Excellent collection.
Thanks for sharing.
What is the hap on your avatar?
cc


----------



## 60gallon (Dec 14, 2010)

vann59 said:


> I was thinking of the length of the legs for the purpose of heat dissipation so as not to crack or melt any lids.
> 
> I do think the plexiglass diffuser would be flimsy, but I wouldn't rest the light on it, but rather on the tank sides. Another question would be whether the diffuser would have a negative impact on light penetration into the water, which may be the bigger problem.
> 
> ...


You mean the height of the legs? As long as its 2"+ I think youll be alright. Since adding the legs back to my fixture the glass tops dont even get warm.

About the hood, why would you still have it on your tank if youre just going to flip it backwards and have the T5 light on your tank instead? I would just use some glass tops or lexan / plexi-glass as tops and sit my light on the sides of my tank like you said.



vann59 said:


> If you had known how addictive these fish can be, you wouldn't have just gone halfway, right? Me too.
> 
> What kind of pea is that in your avatar? Is it green on the body, or is it just the photo?


I had my first cichlid tank was back in 2001. I had a friend that worked at Petco and he hooked me up with everything, even the cichlids. I dont remember what cichlids I had but I know 1 was a yellow lab. I had that tank for almost a year before I got rid of it. I was young and always on the go so I was never home to really appreciate the tank. If it wasnt for my daughter asking for a fish tank last Christmas I wouldnt even have a tank. Now that I've had it up and running since Dec. 2011, shes lost interest and Im all into it! But yeah if I knew what I knew now, Id go all out. 

About the fish in my avatar picture hes a Makonde Yellow Blackfin hap, the alpha male of the tank. He looks green / yellow depending on how the light hits his body but hes more yellow than green, its just not a vibrant yellow like my yellow lab or benga yellow.



CrazyCichlid said:


> Excellent collection.
> Thanks for sharing.
> What is the hap on your avatar?
> cc


Thanks. :thumb: The hap is a Makonde Yellow Blackfin.

My birthday is this coming week so I treated myself to an early present tonight, I bought 9 more peacock & hap males to put in the 125g.

*Peacocks*
Masoni
Sulfur head
Some hybrid; it looks similar to my bicolor

*Haps*
Yellow blaze 
Mbenji
Ericotaenia
Livingstonii
Insignus
Star Sapphire

That puts me at 21 fish total, so Im good for now. I have them set to be shipped overnight on Thursday so theyll be delivered on Friday. Im going to quarantine them for 2 weeks and I'll be using a extra Eheim 2217 that I have with some established media from my 2 FX5s but my main concern is the tank size I need to buy. I know what yall are probably going to say, go big and just set up another tank afterwards but honestly I dont have the room, so with that said.....*Theyre all under 3", Im going to try and find a 40g BUT IF I CANT will they be ok in a 20g for 2 weeks???*

EDIT: Dont think I'll have enough room to raise the quarantine tank in my stand so I'll use an extra AC110 that I have instead of the 2217.


----------



## Sub-Mariner (Dec 7, 2011)

60gallon said:


> My birthday is this coming week so I treated myself to an early present tonight, I bought 9 more peacock & hap males to put in the 125g.
> 
> *Peacocks*
> Masoni
> ...


Same person just new user name. 

Heres the new guys:





I also bought a Taiwan Reef from my LFS this past Wednesday, I just couldnt wait until Friday for the new guys to be delivered


----------



## vann59 (Jun 20, 2011)

60gallon said:


> I know what yall are probably going to say, go big and just set up another tank afterwards but honestly I dont have the room, so with that said.....*Theyre all under 3", Im going to try and find a 40g BUT IF I CANT will they be ok in a 20g for 2 weeks???*


If you don't have room, you could maybe get rid of a TV, or sell a couch and just have stackable plastic chairs? C,mon we're talking fish tanks here, this is IMPORTANT. :fish:

And by the way, my birthday is tomorrow, so do you want to send me some fish? I just got the t5 dual HO light a few days ago, and put the plants back in. I had put them outside in a bucket so they could at least get a little sunlight to keep them alive. I am only running one bulb, since Java ferns don't need much light, and I want some green algae, but I've been told if I run both bulbs without other plants, I could get a super algae bloom.

That Taiwan reef is a real looker...


----------



## skurj (Oct 30, 2011)

Great list! I ventured into the lfs yesterday and came across a fish i must have... the yellow blaze.. oop sno tank to put him in... i gonna need that plumber in soon to fix the sink and install a new one in the basement...


----------



## Sub-Mariner (Dec 7, 2011)

*HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY!*









Heres a nice looking fish that I picked out JUST FOR YOU from my personal stock! :fish: Notice the beautiful yellow coloring and look how active he is already! He'll only get better looking with time.

About my new guys, I just put them in the main tank. *** purchased fish from the same supplier three times in the past year and have always just added the fish directly to the main tank.

So the light fits your tank? What did you end up using for lids?



skurj said:


> Great list! I ventured into the lfs yesterday and came across a fish i must have... the yellow blaze.. oop sno tank to put him in... i gonna need that plumber in soon to fix the sink and install a new one in the basement...


Thanks!

A Yellow Blaze is a cool fish for sure! I had one several months back that I bought from a local guy, it was around 6", a big boy but he was too set in his ways for my tank so I had to sell him again. Every since I saw what one looked like grown up in person I knew Id have another one some day.

My LFS had a whole tank full of fully colored Yellow Blaze males when I bought my Taiwan Reef male. Unfortunately I saw them AFTER I had ordered the juvenile one. Oh well part of the fun is watching them grow and color up.

Get your tank and get your plumber in there!! :thumb:


----------



## crispyythree (Oct 20, 2011)

Your fish have amazing colors. Im wondering though. My adult peacocks and haps are not displaying colors like that. Could It be my substrate? I have a Black substrate but a bit of white in there as well. Im dying to see my males display that kind of color.


----------



## growpower (Jan 22, 2010)

Your pictures look great, what K rating are on the lamps you are using? They really bring out the color.


----------



## Sub-Mariner (Dec 7, 2011)

crispyythree said:


> Your fish have amazing colors. Im wondering though. My adult peacocks and haps are not displaying colors like that. Could It be my substrate? I have a Black substrate but a bit of white in there as well. Im dying to see my males display that kind of color.


Thanks!

From what *** read, everyone says to use a darker substrate to make the fish colors pop. They said white sand washes their colors out? My fish arent aggressive so maybe they feel comfortable to fully color up? Are you fish peaceful with one another? Feeding can help too, I feed my tank NLS 1mm pellets, *** since switched over to Dainichi color supreme to see if they will color up even more but at the time of the video they were strictly on NLS.



growpower said:


> Your pictures look great, what K rating are on the lamps you are using? They really bring out the color.


Thanks.

The bulbs in the video are:
2x: 10K, 2x: Power-Glo, which are 18K.

I was messing around with bulbs last night and Im now using:
2x: 10K, 1 Power-Glo, 1 Actinic.

I had 1 10K and 1 Actinic bulb on my last tank and it make the iridescent blues in my peacocks really pop but it was too much and they didnt look natural. The reds, yellows and oranges looked washed out due to the Actinic bulb. I think with the 1 Actinic bulb I have now combined with the Power-Glo and 2x: 10Ks its a perfect combo in my tank. :drooling:

I cant get a video up, my camcorder wouldnt turn on so I shipped it out this past Monday to get fixed under warranty. They said I will have it back before Christmas....we'll see. :roll:


----------



## crispyythree (Oct 20, 2011)

Another question. Whats the name of the fish in the 4th picture and the one in the 10th picture. The really nice red one in the 10th picture.


----------



## Sub-Mariner (Dec 7, 2011)

crispyythree said:


> Another question. Whats the name of the fish in the 4th picture and the one in the 10th picture. The really nice red one in the 10th picture.


4th picture is a Makonde Yellow Blackfin; _Placidochromis Electra Hap_

10th picture is a German Red; _Aulonocara Peacock_


----------



## vann59 (Jun 20, 2011)

Sub-Mariner said:


> *HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY!*


Thanks.


----------



## Sub-Mariner (Dec 7, 2011)

^^^ :thumb:

Just a little update, I did a little improvement to my tank this past week, or at least I think I have.  I moved the 3 rocks together to form one big rock formation. Doing that made alot more caves and little nooks, I like it 100x better this way. I also bought a Koralia Evo 1400 to replace one of my Evo 750s. I needed a little more power directing debris towards my FX5 intake. And finally I added a Actinic bulb to my fixture, so now Im running:

2x: 10K
1x: Power-Glo
1x: Actinic

On my 90g I was running a dual fixture with 1x: 10 and 1x: Actinic. The Actinic overpowered the tank where my fish didnt look natural so I originally didnt want to go with any Actinic bulbs on my 125g. I was curious to see how it would look and after adding it I think its the perfect mix of bulbs on my tank now. The Actinic bulb gives off just enough blue to make the iridescent blues in the Peacocks pop and the other bulbs do a good job of keeping the fish colors looking natural.

What do yall think...improvement or no? opcorn:

*The rocks look like theyre all straight but the 2 outer rocks are angled. * 









*Makonde Yellow Blackfin (Alpha-male of the tank)*








*
German Red (Favorite color fish)*









*Bi-Color (Favorite fish out of my entire tank. This little guy has TONS of personality.)*









*Bi-Color with camera flash on*


----------



## blackedout (Sep 21, 2010)

I absolutely love it! great work! your tank is very close to what i dream of having someday!


----------



## Sub-Mariner (Dec 7, 2011)

Thanks, its been a work in progress!


----------



## des (Mar 30, 2011)

All male peacock and hap tanks rule. :thumb:


----------



## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

:drooling: Those are some nice looking fish. :thumb:


----------

