P. Electras and A. Jacobfrebergi

[Michael_R]

Happy to say, i went to my dfs (Distant fish store) and found both of these dreamy fish for sale. And pretty cheap! One thing i did not like though, was that the Electra's eyes looked too big, almost stunted. They were small, 1.5", so i don't know, maybe they're supposed to be fairly large as juveniles. They had lemon Jacobfrebergi, and i want both of these fish in 90 gallon. I would also like a third species of peacock, any ideas??

I was thinking 5 Electras, 4 Jacobs... how many of the third fish would you recommend?

Thanks

 

[Fishyfanatic]

There are a few different types of the Electra. Do you know off-hand which one it is? There is the Blue Hongi, Blue Sambia Reef, Superior, and Makonde. They would easily be able to be housed in a 90 gal tank.

I am not farmiliar with "lemon" Jacobfrebergis, but there are also 5 different types of this one also. (The loveliness of African Cichlids, so many of each type). I have the Eureka, beautiful fish. Another good choice for a 90 gal tank.

When it comes to haps/peacocks, they are generally not as available as mbuna's. You pretty much have to see what is available to you and then narrow down your choices. Did you see any that you like?

 

[Michael_R]

For the Electra, it could have been the Blue Hongi, but the juvie had a little more black showing.

Lemon Jacobfrebergis are like Eurekas, except the red is yellow. (As far as i know, they were juvies in the store, so they had very little colour. Are only males 'amazing'?) A store right beside it had Eurekas, but they looked a bit too long...

As for what's available? Hmm... hard to remember as these were the two i was focusing on... they had OBs, but i don't like cultivated fish... they had a lot of 'red' crown fish (all with different species names, none of which i can remember)

I was hoping you could give me a list of 5-10 species that would work (any random species that would like nice), and i'd see which one of those the LFS carried.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

The male peacock/haps generally have the coloration while the females tend to be bland. I don't like females because they don't add color. I have a male and female Jacobfrebergis and the male is definately the only "amazing" looking one.

We also have a male and female OB and they really aren't all that pretty. The female is very blah in color and the male just doesn't look natural. I didn't know at the time that it was a hybrid, now James doesn't want to take it back.

There are so many species in Lake Malawi that it would be hard to give 5 or 10 names. Chances are, your lfs doesn't carry 90% of them. That's what makes it difficult. You really have to go to the lfs and get names. Then bring them back and check. www.malawimayhem.com is a great source for pictures. They have some info, but really just pics. You could also try posting in that forum for common haps/peacocks. They may be able to give you options.

 

[travis simonson]

Fishyfanatic I am truly humbled by your Malawian knowledge. And your gallery rules

Dang.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Thanks Travis. And that is a huge compliment coming from you (The Master of Plants and Malawi Cichlids). I need to update my gallery. We've changed so much in the tank to un-clutter the wires, hide equipment, and added rockwork. It needs a background. We finally found one yesterday that is an Ocean Vision. The problem is that we need to get behind the tank to put it on because it sticks to the glass, not taped. But it's hard to just move a 1800 lb tank. And now we are going to put it on our 110 instead of the 150, so we'll have to get another one. All in due time will it be looking good. I would love to plant our 110 the way you did yours. And it may be a possibility since it wil house all of our fry, not adults. As always, your tank looks amazing! Sometimes I think you have fake fish in the tank because it looks so good.

 

[Michael_R]

My idea: 5 Electra, 4 Jacob, 4 C. Azureus, 6-8 L. Caeruleus (As recommended by an expert on another site)

Good? Bad? Any input?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

IMO, I think thats alot of fish for a 90 gal tank. I would eliminate either the Labs or the Azureus. If you wanted to have all four, maybe 4 Electra, 3 Jacob, 3 Azureus, and 4 Labs?

 

[Michael_R]

Ya, no Labs. I didn't like how they weren't Peacocks. Without them, good?

 

[Michael_R]

But lets say they start breeding, the most humane way to get rid of the babies is for them to get eaten, right? Could i add a D. Compressiceps to do this job?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

That would be a wise choice not to include the labs. This way you are keeping only one kind of Cichild.

If they do start to breed you could just leave the holding mother in the tank. Our Jacobfrebergi had her first batch of fry and only 1 survived. Then about 3 weeks later she spit out another batch in the QT and 28 survived. So when they have fry, they have ALOT of fry. But if you have the resources to keep the fry in a tank and raise them, you could sell them to the lfs. That's what we are doing right now. We have 66 Cobalt and Jacob fry in a 29 gal tank that will soon be upgraded to a 110 so we can properly raise them to an inch in size before selling them.