New to cichlids - stocking Malawis

[Daven]

Originally Posted by PoppaRyno

Well yes and no on the color. Yes they brighten when "peacocking" for a mate. Most animals do. But they dont stay that way.

Yes you can have males of other species like labs and peacocks. And you can have females of each. You just have to make sure you have a good ratio of m/f.

Also, minor overstocking is ok in a malawi tank. It spreads the aggression around better. Also note that peacocks are mildly aggressive, but not as much as the label they are given would make you think. The labs ive kept have been more pushy than any peacock ive ever had.

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Well i was reading up on the all male tank and it seems sketchy at best for me to start on. So what might be a decent stock list for my 75 gallon in your guy's opinion? So far i like the electric yellow labs, acei, and peacocks in general. I still have to dig around and find my favorite peacock(s). Can i have more than one peacock species in my group?

[PoppaRyno]

Yes you can have more than one peacock type. Just note the females of the various species are very hard to tell apart, and they will interbreed. Which is a nono depending on who you talk to. Also makes seperating the correct males and females nearly impossible once inner mingled.

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[PoppaRyno]

You could do all of those you mentioned with 1 male to 2 or 3 fems of each. IMHO.

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[Daven]

Originally Posted by PoppaRyno

Yes you can have more than one peacock type. Just note the females of the various species are very hard to tell apart, and they will interbreed. Which is a nono depending on who you talk to. Also makes seperating the correct males and females nearly impossible once inner mingled.

Why is it bad for them to interbreed? Does it cause deformities in this case or simply dilute the genepool? I dont have any urge to make any fish breed, im more interested in what would be best to keep them better off. Hard to find solid info since some beleive stretching the line is fine and you cant really measure happiness with a ruler lol

Originally Posted by PoppaRyno

You could do all of those you mentioned with 1 male to 2 or 3 fems of each. IMHO.

So keeping one male with a couple females would be best for most cichlids? How about keeping a single male peacock or a couple different male species of peacocks?

[PoppaRyno]

Its only bad, like i said, to some. If your not planning on breeding them, then its no worry. That ratio is best with most malawis your discussing. Each type of cichlid can have different ratios though, as some pair off. Im not a cichlid expert, but keep/breed quite a few peacocks.

I also agree that a happy tank is not measured by a ruler. But that ruler can offer good guidelines to base your choices. Once the tank is well establiahed, youll be able to see your communities behavior and go from there.

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[TMRC Exotics]

I'm currently at 3 electric yellows, 4 yellow tail acei, unsure of sex on both, currently just a male and female peacock but I'm looking to get 3 more females. I think groups of five each is pretty decent, I'm working towards 5 acei and 4 electric yellows, 5 peacocks in a 60 gallon.

[Daven]

Ok, i have been looking around a little to see whats out there from private sellers since ive been working whenever the fish store here is open lol I am defiantly going to pick up 1m/3f electric yellow labs in however small i can guarantee the sexes (he has varying sizes to choose from). I found another who has a variety of cichlid juveniles so maybe i can get a good group now so they can grow up together. What are your thoughts on this group?

-1m/3f electric yellow labs
-1m/2f Solousi (only has 2 females so maybe id be betteroff with just a single male?)
-1m Red Empress peacock

and in the future id also like some acei. He has more to sell but these were the ones i recognized and liked the colors. Am i missing something? Would the peacock get too large for the other fish?

[PoppaRyno]

That sounds like a good stock list. If youd ever like any types peacocks lemme know, ive got 3 different kinds available right now.

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[PoppaRyno]

No/but maybe. Depends on how big his personality is, lol. But really, nah, hell be ok.

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[Daven]

Originally Posted by PoppaRyno

That sounds like a good stock list. If youd ever like any types peacocks lemme know, ive got 3 different kinds available right now.

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Thanks for the offer, but im up in canada so there tends to be slim picking up here other than local lol

And thanks, maybe ill see about picking them up

[Freakgecko91]

Originally Posted by Daven

Ok, i have been looking around a little to see whats out there from private sellers since ive been working whenever the fish store here is open lol I am defiantly going to pick up 1m/3f electric yellow labs in however small i can guarantee the sexes (he has varying sizes to choose from). I found another who has a variety of cichlid juveniles so maybe i can get a good group now so they can grow up together. What are your thoughts on this group?



-1m/3f electric yellow labs

-1m/2f Solousi (only has 2 females so maybe id be betteroff with just a single male?)

-1m Red Empress peacock



and in the future id also like some acei. He has more to sell but these were the ones i recognized and liked the colors. Am i missing something? Would the peacock get too large for the other fish?

Red empress are haps, not peacocks, just wanted to throw that out there



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[Daven]

Originally Posted by Freakgecko91

Red empress are haps, not peacocks, just wanted to throw that out there



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Yes! I somehow missed that, thanks. Any issue with haps in this group then? With any of the other fish mentioned so far? lol ugh theres alot to know out there

[Daven]

So ive been looking into the Red empress and i think i should be ok to keep it with electric yellows. Sorry to beat a dead horse here and keep asking, this tank just makes me a bit nervous since i dont want to commit to fish and then have them not get along. The diet appears to be the same as well from what ive seen.

So far i am set on getting 1 male and 3 female electric yellow lab. So compatibility wise i am looking to base off of them. Now for the Red Empress, i should be ok to go with a single male and no females for him? Or can males only be kept alone when the entire tank is a female free zone? lol And then there is also listed 1m/2f solousi so should i get them now or wait until i can get more females as well? He is going to get back to me when he gets a chance to check on the fish i asked about, so ill have to see what he has still. They should all be 1-2" so i should be able to have them grow up together and watch them mature into their colours! Something i never got a chance to with guppies as they already were almost full grown when i got them. Just looking for the ideal guidelines incase i missed something.

I appreciate the help with all this. I just never like to leave room for the beginner mistakes that most make their first time around