Wanting to setup and African Cichlid Tank Help and Advice Needed!

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Liz_0401

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
May 11, 2015
Messages
42
Location
Moline, Illinois
Hello I have been keeping fish for a few years, but have never ventured over into the African Cichlid world. I currently keep multifasciatus shell dweller tank and have kept angelfish in the past, but other then that I have no other cichlid experience.

I currently have a 55 gallon community tank that has been running for about a year. I'm looking for something new and more colorful to have as a show tank in our new home. Any advice you can give me on care and water parameters would be wonderful! I know they need great filtration and it is better to over stock I have talked to a local credited breeder near me and he suggested I stay with the lesser aggressive peacocks and haps to start off with and he suggested between 20-25 fish in the tank any opinions on this?

Here is the stock he has available and I would like to create a stock list from this. I will be buying them as juveniles when I get my tank setup. I am open to other suggestions and types that he doesn't have available, but I like to support local breeders.
Peacocks:
~ Benga
~Lemon Jake
~Blue Regal
~Sunshine
~Ruby Red
~Blue Neon
~Dragon Blood
~Gold Dragon Blood
~Otter Point Jacobfreibergi
~Chitande Type North
~OB

HapS:
~Red Empress
~Z-Rock
~Intermedius
~Star Sapphire
~Blue Dolphin


Also please post your cichlid setups and fish pictures!

Thank you for any help or information you can give me!
 
Last edited:
Water parameters should be the same as any other fresh water tank. Africans like high pH. I used to keep mine around 8.2. If you get African Cichlid sand it will buff the water for you.

Peacocks and Haps like open water so try not to put many tall plants or rock formations.

Also, Haps get very large. If you are going to do Haps try only keeping one or two. They could even out grow your tank. My personal favorite is the dolphin.

Other than that, it sounds like your buddy is leading you in the right direction.


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Alright thank you I will probably stick with peacocks as I like having more of a variety and a fuller looking tank then size:) I have heard there are a few hap exceptions that stay on the smaller side.

I'm planning on doing an all male tank my only question is can I have more then one male of the same species if there are no females in the tank to compete for? I would like to keep a few of the OB's because I love their color!

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You could keep more than one male considering peacocks are less aggressive. Just remember they are cichlids so anything can happen.


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Alright thank you! I currently have a 20 gallon tall that is empty so I could use that as a 'safe house' if I needed. I will be looking to get a larger tank in case of emergencies would a 20 long due or should I go for a 29?

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Bigger is always Better


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Ok of course this would only be a temporary home until the injury/sickness was cleared up or worst case I would have to rehome. Just wanted to mention that so know one thought I was going to try to keep them in that small of a tank permanently

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• Common Name: Benga Peacock
• Size of fish - inches: 5.1 inches (13.00 cm)
• Minimum Tank Size: 40 gal (151 L)
• Temperament: Semi-aggressive
• Temperature: 73.0 to 84.0° F (22.8 to 28.9° C)


• Common Name: Blue Regal Peacock
• Minimum Tank Size: 50 gallons
• Temperament: Semi-aggressive
• Water Conditions: 76-82° F, pH 7.8-8.6
• Max. Size: 7"


• Common Name: Dragon Blood Peacock
• Minimum Tank Size: 55 gallons
• Temperament: Semi-aggressive
• Water Conditions: 78-82° F, pH 7.8-8.6
• Max Size: 6.0”


• Common Name: Otter Point Jacobfreibergi Peacock
• Minimum Tank Size: 55 gallons
• Temperament: Mildly aggressive
• Water Conditions: 78-82° F, pH 7.8-8.6
• Max Size: 7.0”



• Common Name: Chitande Type North Peacock
• Minimum Tank Size: 40 gallons
• Temperament: Peaceful
• Water Conditions: 78-82° F, pH 7.8-8.6
• Max Size: 5.0”


• Common Name: Sunshine Peacock
• Minimum Tank Size: 50 gallons
• Temperament: Semi -aggressive
• Water Conditions: 73-84° F, pH 7.8-8.6
• Max Size: 5.0”


• Common Name: Ruby Red Peacock
• Minimum Tank Size: 55 gallons
• Temperament: Semi -aggressive
• Water Conditions: 73-84° F, pH 7.8-8.6
• Max Size: 5.0”



• Common Name: Blue Neon Peacock
• Minimum Tank Size: 55 gallons?
• Temperament: Semi -aggressive
• Water Conditions: 77-81° F, pH 7.8-8.6
• Max Size: 4.3”



• Common Name: Gold Dragon Blood Peacock
• Minimum Tank Size: 55 gallons
• Temperament: Semi-aggressive
• Water Conditions: 78-82° F, pH 7.8-8.6
• Max Size: 6.0”


• Common Name: OB Peacock
• Minimum Tank Size: 55 gallons
• Temperament: Mildly aggressive
• Water Conditions: 76-80° F, pH 7.4-8.2
• Max Size: 6.0”


• Common Name: German Red Peacock
• Minimum Tank Size: 50 gallons
• Temperament: Mildly aggressive
• Water Conditions: 78-82° F, pH 7.8-8.6
• Max Size: 5.0”


• Common Name: Z-Rock Hap
• Minimum Tank Size: 50 gallons
• Temperament: Mildly aggressive
• Water Conditions: 78-82° F, pH 7.8-8.6
• Max Size: 5.5”


• Common Name: Intermedius Hap
• Minimum Tank Size: 55 gallons
• Temperament: Semi-aggressive
• Water Conditions: 78-82° F, pH 7.8-8.6
• Max Size: 6.5”


• Common Name: Star Sapphire Hap
• Minimum Tank Size: 55 gallons
• Temperament: Peaceful
• Water Conditions: 78-82° F, pH 7.8-8.6
• Max Size: 10.0”


• Common Name: Blue Dolphin Hap
• Minimum Tank Size: 75 gallons
• Temperament: Semi-aggressive
• Water Conditions: 73-82° F, pH 7.5-8.5
• Max Size: 9.8”



• Common Name: Red Empress Hap
• Minimum Tank Size: 75 gallons
• Temperament: Semi-aggressive
• Water Conditions: 73-82° F, pH 7.4-8.2
• Max Size: 5.9”


Here is the information I found on the types of cichlids I am considering for my new tank. How does it look? There is a lot of conflicting information out there and I want to make sure I run into a few issues as necessary and that all my fish are happy and healthy in their home:) Mainly looking at tank size here thank you for all your help I know this is a lot to look over!
 
Im partial to the german reds in that list. I breed them and enjoy them immensely.

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I think their color is gorgeous! I would love to breed cichlids someday but I think I'll start out with just keeping them first and get some experience. Plus I'm looking for a show room tank and don't have all the necessary supplies to breed anymore I had to sell almost all of my fish and equipment to pay for my first year of college so now I'm down to a 20 gallon long multifasciatus tank I couldn't gove those little guys up lol and a 55 gallon community tank that I'm bored with so I'm diving into the world of African cichlids:)

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Awsome. Keep us updated. If ya ever need any, i breed peacocks.

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Awsome. Keep us updated. If ya ever need any, i breed peacocks.

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Will do and I will be sure to shoot a message your way if I'm looking for anything in particular. I'm currently planning on buying from a local breeder who has been extremely helpful I look to suppress locals and even though I have shipped fish and received very healthy shipped fish I like to try and avoid that stress if possible. He doesn't breed German reds though so I'm sure I'll be looking for some(; we are also moving in early September so I won't be buying inhabitants till then but I will try and have all my hardware done by then so I can get them ordered as soon as possible.

If you wouldn't mind sharing some pictures of your tank setups and peacocks it would be greatly appreciated! :D

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Sure thing. Ill get some posted as soon as i get home.

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Hi,I already own an 120L tetra fish tank,but I'm interested in starting an African cichlid tank.I am getting a fluval 190 Venezia fish tank,that's an 190L (41Gallon) with an external filter that can Handel 200L(206 external filter.) How manny cichlids could I have in that tank? I've done a bit of research but do you think I could have Peacocks,Haps and Mbunas in the same tank.Hope you can get back to me with some information. Thanks ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1445793472.627430.jpg (that is my 70l tank)


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