Help me start a Hap/Peacock tank

loganh83

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Jul 17, 2008
223
30
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The Lone Star State
I'm converting my 240g into an all male hap/peacock show tank. I have always kept CA/SA cichlids and oddballs but got the African cichlid bug. I've done a lot of research but cant find a good answer to some questions.

I want all males but I wont have a smaller grow out tank. Any fish I get will go straight into the 240 after adequate time in my quarantine tub. I would like to save some coin and buy the smallest guaranteed males for sale at Snake River or Tampa Bay Cichlids or somewhere else. They are advertised as being 1.5-3 inches in most cases.

1. Is it ok to grow out a bunch of fish that small in a 240 if they grow up together without larger fish in the tank? I will probably start with 10 or so and add more in groups of 5-10 over time. Are there any issues specific to African cichlids I should consider with this strategy?

2. If I buy juvenile fish that small and feed them quality food, do regular water changes, etc. should I expect them to all eventually color up? Or do some individual males never color up? Is that why people buy fully colored individuals at a premium? I don't really know how it works or what to expect.

3. Bc I want haps and peacocks, would it be better to start with all peacocks in my first order of 10 fish to let them grow a bit before buying haps that will eventually get bigger than the peacocks? Give the peacocks a head start I mean.

Please advise.
 
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Stephen St.Clair

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Jul 2, 2017
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I usually buy juvenile Cichlids from the LFS & have had pretty good luck selecting males. Much cheaper that way. I'd rather pay $6 for a baby male Fusco rather than $75 for an adult fully colored up, Lol.
I guess the majority of guys buy colored up adults to bypass the time it takes to grow them out.
IMO, its best to buy a juvenile group & let them grow up together. Not a bad idea to stock the Peacocks first, then eventually add a big group of juvenile Haps.
I keep a mixed tank of Haps, Peacocks & Mbuna. All the males colored up. Some sooner than others.
Your fish should progress quickly in an XL tank.
 

DJRansome

Aimara
MFK Member
Mar 16, 2008
765
818
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New Jersey
Another experience. I don't think peacocks/haps can be reliably sexed by anyone if they are much less than 2.5 or 3 inches. We buy adults to avoid getting females by accident. Unsexed juveniles are great to grow out to obtain males, but (a) you have to rehome the females and (b) you need to separate any species with females that look similar. Most peacock females and many hap females look similar. No one wants to have 6 tanks of unsexed juvenile females to get 6 confirmed males a year later. I don't see an advantage either way starting with peacocks...they are not less aggressive than the haps...depending on the species of course. I would say it is rare to get every fish to color well in all male. 80% colored males is a good result. And it takes tinkering (and extra tanks) over a period of 2 years (or so) to get fish that are happy enough being together that 80% of them color well.
 
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