Beginner with haps/peacocks help???

[kmny34]

Im looking to get a 75 gallon or larger to set up a hap peacock african tank and im just looking for advice from seasoned african keepers. Advice like:
How many should i start with initially?
What to keep as bottom feeder/clean up crew?
What types of haps/peacocks?
Where to order online?
What type of substrate?
What type of hardscape?
Etc

So feel free offer any advice please!!!

 

[sweendog87]

Hey mate firstly il start by saying great choice of fish i love mine you will be stocked once set up. Il add I'm not an expert by iv had my 55 gal all. Male hap and peacocks tanks for 6 months now and after lot of mistakes I think I'm goin great now. So to answer your questions
Get your stock lost you want first and try and stock all together to keel aggression but if all juvies it's not as important I started with 3 fish a week but I would of preferred to stock all at once
As for bottom feeders I have clown loaches they are great together I started with corys and they didn't last long
What I did after my mistakes was just stick male Hal's and peacocks and kept all different colors I do suggest you get named africans don't go to an lfs and buy anything from a mixed african tank you will. Never know what you have and the colors aren't as good imo this is my stock list
PEACOCKS
Red Rubin
Dragon blood/firefish
only one tho many say not to get these but mine is the best color ever so I had to have him
Red shoulder hansbaenschi
Lithobates sulphur Crest pink
Yellow peacock from a mixed tank he's the least colourful and has grown the smallest
Electric yellow mbuna but is great with these guys
HAPS
Taiwan Reef
Red empress
Linvingstonii
Venustus
And 4 clown loaches
They are all goin into a 180gal very soon and usually for a natural environment they like sand substrate and a few large rocks you don't want a tank with set up territories. They can just cause drama
Any questions you may have il help as much as i can I wish I had answers to all of my questions at the start

 

[Tpalmer]

You could go with some syno catfish for the cleanup crew. They're tough as hell. I have three featherfin syno cats in my 90 gal african mixed tank with 23 cichlids and they don't get messed with at all. The mbuna run out of their way when they come through.

 

[V227]

I've been keeping Africans for about a year. I bought them as dither fish "dither fish with a punch" for some very big South American Cichlids. I quickly grew to like the Africans too
-Royal Tangerine Dragon Blood / Red Shouder Peacock / Sunshine Peacock
-Red Top Hongi
-Williamsi Blue Lips
-Yellow Lab
-Red Fin Borleyi
-Yellow Tail Acei
Malawi Eye Biter
Clean up crew-Multipunctatus Synodontis. These little guys actually live in the rift lakes.
I also have a gold nugget and Royal Pleco in with them with no problems.
You would be surprised how well the South Americans and Africans coexist.
Substrate: I use small grain pool filter gravel
Hardscape: Texas Holey rock / limestone
Not a great photo, but pictured is the Texas Holey rock, and the pool filter substrate. A Dragon Blood, Malawi Eye Biter and Yellow Tail Acei can be seen amongst all the South American fish. The rest of the Africans were hiding in the caves And crevaces. Hope this helps.

 

[sweendog87]

I've been keeping Africans for about a year. I bought them as dither fish "dither fish with a punch" for some very big South American Cichlids. I quickly grew to like the Africans too
-Royal Tangerine Dragon Blood / Red Shouder Peacock / Sunshine Peacock
-Red Top Hongi
-Williamsi Blue Lips
-Yellow Lab
-Red Fin Borleyi
-Yellow Tail Acei
Malawi Eye Biter
Clean up crew-Multipunctatus Synodontis. These little guys actually live in the rift lakes.
I also have a gold nugget and Royal Pleco in with them with no problems.
You would be surprised how well the South Americans and Africans coexist.
Substrate: I use small grain pool filter gravel
Hardscape: Texas Holey rock / limestone
Not a great photo, but pictured is the Texas Holey rock, and the pool filter substrate. A Dragon Blood, Malawi Eye Biter and Yellow Tail Acei can be seen amongst all the South American fish. The rest of the Africans were hiding in the caves And crevaces. Hope this helps.

What are your south American cichlids and what size tank is that

 

[V227]

Pictured is my 120 gal. Show tank. I have an adult 8" male, Green Terror "Rivulatus" several Red Terror "Festae" cichlids one standard Texas cichlid and one Red Texas cichlid. I found that the Africans aggression is more aligned with "Fin splitting". The New Worlds aggression is focused more towards "Murder". The different aggressions combined reduce what should be a super agressive community into a semi aggressive community.
Don't be afraid to challenge the norms but if you go this route be sure to Introduce your fish together as juveniles.

 

[sweendog87]

Cool thanks mate been leaning towards putting whatever I want to an extent in my 180 gal as it's so big and il have heaps of hiding spots so they should be right

 

[kmny34]

Ok so for those who are experienced with africans. Out of this list, which can i keep together in a 125 gallon or bigger???

Mdoka Whitelips/Placidochromis Phenochilus

Nimbochromis venustus

Otopharynx lithobates*(Zimbawe Rock)

Placidochromis milomo/VC10

Star Sapphire" Placidochromis sp. (Phenochilus Tanzania)

Sunshine Peacock/Aulonocara baenschi

Blue Dolphin Cichlid/Blue Moorii

Im just trying to do the right thing and research before i jump right in so please help!!!

 

[V227]

Before planning your stocking options, start with planning your substrate, reef scape and filtration as well as lighting and heating. As for stocking, visualize your tank by its three levels, bottom dwellers "Rock fish and scavengers" Mid and top level swimmers "Haps and Peacocks". Out of your selections, I've only kept the Sunshine Peacock and the Giraffe cichlid. They do fine together. Other tankmates with them were Red Fin Borleyi, Red top Hongi, Williamsi blue lips, Dragon Blood and Red shoulder peacocks, Malawi Eye Biter, Yellow tail Acei and Yellow lab. They were housed in The above pictured 120 display tank. Hope this helps.

 

[Tpalmer]

I disagree with hardscaping the tank before stocking. Different fish need different hardscapes. If he ends up with mostly mbuna he should have tons of caves all over the tank and at different levels. Haps and peacocks need more open space.
Choose to go one way or the other mostly. I have mostly mbuna with a livingstoni and red empress peacock in a 90 gal. Tons of caves and three levels of caves around the tank with an open area in the top right. The two big guys are always in the open space I gave them. The mbuna are easily chased out of the open space so that's the big guys safe haven and then the mbuna can fight over the caves on their own.

 

[V227]

T, I like your set up and hardscaping. I'm sure we would agree on most issues regarding hardscaping and cichlid selection. When I designed my layout, I planned for a mixed cichlid community. I hand selected the holey rock from a rock yard. The pictured two rocks pushed together on the left weigh about 70 lbs. each, and are tall and hollow. Many instant caves. The rock pile on the right include four separate rocks, about 100 lbs.worth. several more caves and crevaces.i stacked driftwood piles on top of the reef for additional height and concealment. I had a good working knowledge about the behaviors and needs of the fish I planned to stock and hardscaped accordingly. I totally understand your point of view but if the beginner doesn't have some type of hardscaping in place before adding Mbuna, there's likely to be Injuries due to aggression.

 

[HUKIT]

Im looking to get a 75 gallon or larger to set up a hap peacock african tank and im just looking for advice from seasoned african keepers. Advice like:
How many should i start with initially?
What to keep as bottom feeder/clean up crew?
What types of haps/peacocks?
Where to order online?
What type of substrate?
What type of hardscape?
Etc

So feel free offer any advice please!!!

I do not personally feel any of the haplochromis species belong in a 4ft tank, a 125g would the absolute minimum in my opinion.

 

[kmny34]

I do not personally feel any of the haplochromis species belong in a 4ft tank, a 125g would the absolute minimum in my opinion.

Read my latest message on here. I did change my tank size to 125 gallons or higher.

 

[HUKIT]

I'd run something along these lines.

Cyrtocara moorii Blue Dolphin
Placidochromis Phenochilus "Tanzania"
Protomelas Taeniolatus "Namalenje"
Lethrinops albus "Kande Island" or Lethrinops sp. "Mbasi Creek".

I'd limit the stocking to 4-5 species.

For Africans I've always used Dave for Centrals Jeff or Gage.

Dave's Rare Aquarium Fish-Price List

 

[raccioppi83]

Okay, I have had my 60G hap/peacock tank running for a while now. Stocking for a 70 should be around 15-20 Cichlids.

You are free to pick just about any peacock species. I would stay away from Dragonsblood, OB, Red Empress and Red Fin Borleyi. They are the most aggressive and become the most territorial IME.

Some of the cichlids (I.e. Star Sapphire (Pheniculius)) that you listed are extremely rare and because of that, cost a pretty penny.

I think you are fine with some Haps though. Definitely stay away from venustus. They grow too big too fast and are aggressive to smaller cichlids.

My stocking is as followed:

1x Yellow Lab
1x Ericotania
1x Ngara flametail
1x OB scoli (not the normal OB)
1x baby red empress
1x baby red fin borleyi
1x Imperial tiger pombo rocks
1x lenthrinops red cap
2x Hybrids that I dont know
1x Red shoulder
1x blue dolphin
1x electric blue ahli

That's about what I have in my tank. I have about 90lbs of live rock and lots of open swimming space.

 

[Jbar]

I do not personally feel any of the haplochromis species belong in a 4ft tank, a 125g would the absolute minimum in my opinion.

Agreed!!!