All male Peacock tank, how much work is it?

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Ruturaj

Ruturaj

Goliath Tigerfish
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Aug 6, 2011
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I always wanted discus tank but I was sure that I will not be able to keep up the water quality. I can handle 1-2 water changes a week but not everyday or eod. I have been looking at peacock tanks on youtube and damn they look so good. I have been thinking about getting a 75 gallon or 125 gallon tank. I understand water quality requirements, pH, KH, GH and nitrogen cycle. As per what I found online, it seems like I need to overstock the tank to keep the fish from killing each other. I will also need to be ready with backup tank in case something goes wrong, which I think won't be possible but I don't mind donating the fish and taking the hit on loss.

RD. saying this didn't help,
I’m getting old, need to cut back. My friend in post above now refers to me as crusty old #@%*. Lol
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Any inputs on water changes, aggressiveness maintenance on the tank?
 
Ruturaj said:
I always wanted discus tank but I was sure that I will not be able to keep up the water quality. I can handle 1-2 water changes a week but not everyday or eod. I have been looking at peacock tanks on youtube and damn they look so good. I have been thinking about getting a 75 gallon or 125 gallon tank. I understand water quality requirements, pH, KH, GH and nitrogen cycle. As per what I found online, it seems like I need to overstock the tank to keep the fish from killing each other. I will also need to be ready with backup tank in case something goes wrong, which I think won't be possible but I don't mind donating the fish and taking the hit on loss.

RD. saying this didn't help,

Any inputs on water changes, aggressiveness maintenance on the tank?
Click to expand...
Ruturaj said:
I always wanted discus tank but I was sure that I will not be able to keep up the water quality. I can handle 1-2 water changes a week but not everyday or eod. I have been looking at peacock tanks on youtube and damn they look so good. I have been thinking about getting a 75 gallon or 125 gallon tank. I understand water quality requirements, pH, KH, GH and nitrogen cycle. As per what I found online, it seems like I need to overstock the tank to keep the fish from killing each other. I will also need to be ready with backup tank in case something goes wrong, which I think won't be possible but I don't mind donating the fish and taking the hit on loss.

RD. saying this didn't help,

Any inputs on water changes, aggressiveness maintenance on the tank?
Click to expand...

My suggestion is do tons of research here and YouTube on all male African Peacock and Haplochromis Cichlid species. Water change % will depend on your bioload . Maintenance shouldn't be that bad.
 
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tlindsey said:
My suggestion is do tons of research here and YouTube on all male African Peacock and Haplochromis Cichlid species. Water change % will depend on your bioload . Maintenance shouldn't be that bad.
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Thank you, I am about 6 month away from getting a tank, so still doing some searches and learning.
 
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Are you looking at an all male tank? If so I recommend buying adult males and the usual suggestion is only one of each species to lessen fighting between the same species.

You may need to consider filling in with some male Haps that are also different colors than the Aulonocara.

You don't really want a mix of male/female Aulonocara since the females won't be able to be identified in the future.
 
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The maintenance is the same as for any Malawi tank. With the proper level of overstocking (i.e. 18 in a 72" tank), a 50% weekly water change should suffice.

The work is tinkering with the mix for the first 2 years. Removing aggressors or victims promptly to avoid disease. Rehoming. Never 100% satisfied because the lowest fish in the pecking order is likely to be drab.

Tried it. Succeeded. But I find mixed genders more satisfying, more zen, more natural behavior and you get the most brilliant males with mixed genders.
 
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deeda said:
Are you looking at an all male tank? If so I recommend buying adult males and the usual suggestion is only one of each species to lessen fighting between the same species.

You may need to consider filling in with some male Haps that are also different colors than the Aulonocara.

You don't really want a mix of male/female Aulonocara since the females won't be able to be identified in the future.
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Yes, I am planning all male tank. Why adults? That's my plan, different colored ones. I am open to adding male haps as long as they fit tank size.

DJRansome said:
The maintenance is the same as for any Malawi tank. With the proper level of overstocking (i.e. 18 in a 72" tank), a 50% weekly water change should suffice.

The work is tinkering with the mix for the first 2 years. Removing aggressors or victims promptly to avoid disease. Rehoming. Never 100% satisfied because the lowest fish in the pecking order is likely to be drab.

Tried it. Succeeded. But I find mixed genders more satisfying, more zen, more natural behavior and you get the most brilliant males with mixed genders.
Click to expand...

Thanks, 50% WC weekly is pretty doable by me. I want to have all different colors but I don't want too many tanks, so all male tank seemed like a good option.
 
I have an all male tank of peacocks haps and predator haps in a 220G for around 10 years. You have to constantly monitor the tank to see who is a alpha male and make sure the subdominant males are eating and not getting beat up. You will have on occasion an alpha male that wants to control the whole tank. you may have to temporarily remove him in a time out tank. All my males seem to color up fine but I also have a lot of rock work so there is plenty of shelter for everyone. I usually do 50-75% water changes every week.
 
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GVerde said:
I have an all male tank of peacocks haps and predator haps in a 220G for around 10 years. You have to constantly monitor the tank to see who is a alpha male and make sure the subdominant males are eating and not getting beat up. You will have on occasion an alpha male that wants to control the whole tank. you may have to temporarily remove him in a time out tank. All my males seem to color up fine but I also have a lot of rock work so there is plenty of shelter for everyone. I usually do 50-75% water changes every week.
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Thank you. That's a big tank, how many fish in total do you have in it?
 
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I used to have an all male peacock tank (mixed species). I had them in a 55g then moved to 75g. I had 6 of them and never had any issues with them fighting. Obviously this will always vary. Make sure you have enough hiding places and have the line of sight broken up in several areas. As for water changes it depended. Usually 25-50% weekly. This will vary based off bio load and feeding.
 
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Ash said:
I used to have an all male peacock tank (mixed species). I had them in a 55g then moved to 75g. I had 6 of them and never had any issues with them fighting. Obviously this will always vary. Make sure you have enough hiding places and have the line of sight broken up in several areas. As for water changes it depended. Usually 25-50% weekly. This will vary based off bio load and feeding.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I read that to keep the aggressiveness down it's better to overstock the tank. That's why I was worried about the maintenance (water changes). Weekly once works with me.
 
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