I'm planning to set up my first 120g of all male hap/peacock tank. My planned stocklist has around 15 peaceful/mildly aggressive fish. I have the opportunity to pick up fish at a really good price at local fish farm. I can get large (3.5-4 inch) or med (2.75-3inch) for a fraction of what they'd cost at a lfs. I wanted to get the larger fish but will I have a problem with agression putting the larger guys in at once? Or would I be better off going with smaller fish and allowing them to grow up together?
Can I put larger size africans in successfully?
- Thread starter dianas
- Start date
no matter on the size, your going to get some sort of aggression. Some species are more aggressive than others and each fish has its own personality. Also, at first, the fish will set up a pecking order so don't be surprised if you do see the aggression. They might find a territory that they like which will also spark aggression. Or if you throw females into the mix, that will definatly spark aggresion.
Back to your Q. IMO it would be better to get the smaller one. I believe it would be easier on the fish that way, cause there still growing and don't have that adult aggression that some fish get. I have an adult German Red that gets mean, he didnt get that way til he reached sexual maturity. I could not imagine dumping a bunch of adult male with that aditude all together at once.
what you can also do is look at the fish temperment before you buy. Also the most colorful isnt alway the right choice. There's always a domanint fish(or a battle for it) and will mostlikly be the most colorful. Hence, if you grab all the most colorful ones, you more than likely grabbing all domanint male and your putting them into a big royal rumble for dominance.
that's my opinion on it, you never know though, you could get all adult put them in together not have much of a problem. Personally if I was stocking the tank, I would get them at about 2"-3". Watching them grow is part of the fun for me.
Back to your Q. IMO it would be better to get the smaller one. I believe it would be easier on the fish that way, cause there still growing and don't have that adult aggression that some fish get. I have an adult German Red that gets mean, he didnt get that way til he reached sexual maturity. I could not imagine dumping a bunch of adult male with that aditude all together at once.
what you can also do is look at the fish temperment before you buy. Also the most colorful isnt alway the right choice. There's always a domanint fish(or a battle for it) and will mostlikly be the most colorful. Hence, if you grab all the most colorful ones, you more than likely grabbing all domanint male and your putting them into a big royal rumble for dominance.
that's my opinion on it, you never know though, you could get all adult put them in together not have much of a problem. Personally if I was stocking the tank, I would get them at about 2"-3". Watching them grow is part of the fun for me.
If you get all males it wont really matter and the colors would be much better. If you toss in some females then they will fight over them and also interbreed. Even the smaller sizes you mentioned are not really that different, once a peacock hits 3 inches they start to mature pretty quick anyway, at least mine did. What species were you thinking about ?
Hey Cichlidgirl 
Here's my planned stocking list for the 120g. It will be all male (no females) and I tried to select peaceful/mildly aggressive. Mostly haps/peacocks except for a few mbuna:
So would I be better off going with the mid sized fish vs the larger? I'll be getting most of them from 1 fish farm (picking them up). Some will have to be shipped in from Miami.
Here's my planned stocking list for the 120g. It will be all male (no females) and I tried to select peaceful/mildly aggressive. Mostly haps/peacocks except for a few mbuna:- Benga Yellow
- Ussisya
- Lwanda Red Top
- Ruby Red
- Violet Ungi
- Ngara Flametail
- Hap Obliquedens
- Oto. Litho. Yellowblaze
- Placidochromis Phenochilus
- Super Red Empress
- Taiwan Reef
- C. Moori (Blue Dolphin)
- 2 Yellow Labs
- Rusty
- 2 Acei
So would I be better off going with the mid sized fish vs the larger? I'll be getting most of them from 1 fish farm (picking them up). Some will have to be shipped in from Miami.
in my 220gl. i have about 60 -70 africans in this tank, i have some that are 3 inches to 6 inches they are doing great you just need lots of rock for them to feel comfortable. good luck..
dianas;2961190; said:
Yes, if you can get a good deal on the larger fish, do it.
Some of the fish on your list are very slow growing (Moori, Red Empress, Phenoculus). For example, it takes over a year for a Red Empress to color up. Phenococulus takes even longer. If you can get instant gratification at a good price, do it.
Despite the mbuna being less aggressive types, keep an eye on them. They can be aggressive, and can stress your haps.
That will be a very colorful and beautiful tank. Your yellow tailed acei and yellow labs are some of the most peaceful mbuna but keep in mind they are still mbuna and could be nippers in the future. (I have noticed africans tend to be ok when young then when they mature and start spawning thats when people get into trouble). Might want to leave out the rusty (just my opinion). The others sound good and will look good. Not sure on all their temperments (I have not kept all the species you listed) . Another species that might look good and work with that list is borleyi. They are a peaceful mid sized hap. Red fin Males have a red rust colored body and bright metalic blue head and black fins, females are shiney silver with red/orange fins (one of the few nice looking females). They grow pretty good and are colorful and active. I liked mine alot. You will want to over filter this tank (double or triple the amount of gph that you would usually do) since you will have that many fish in there. Keep up on your water changes too. How are you planning on introducing that many fish ? You will want to be careful that you dont overload the tank and end up crashing it. I would take filter media from your existing tank and put it in this tanks filters, you can also take a pair of womans panty hose and fill a leg with gravel from your existing tank and place that along the back wall of the new tank temporarily while your new tank is cycling, those two things will really help jump start your new tank and make the process alot faster. When your tank is good to go then you can just put the old gravel back into the other tank. You will have to be careful introducing all these fish to the tank. A safe way to do it is if your close to this fish farm is to try to introduce 3 fish at a time(especially if you go with the larger sizes), wait about a week between groups to allow your tank to catch up to the new fish loads. Better safe than sorry, i always feel bad when i read about people having a disaster from introducing too many fish at once . All or nearly all the fish usually end up dead when that happens. They can be fine in the morning and while your at work the ammonia or nitrites spike and the tank crashes , you come home to find them all dead or dying.
you should be ok if they are all males when you add females is when the TRUE problems start.when you add the fish completly redo the setup with your rock work and such.this will give you a greater success rate when you add them!!!