peacock cichlid

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JayK1320

JayK1320

Candiru
MFK Member
Feb 22, 2008
501
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48
42
Boston, MA
I picked up a peacock cichlid the other day and am thinking of getting another...I am not even sure if they belong in this group? Online it says they are not in the wild so would this belong in the hybrid section? But it also says they are african...so I am confused.

I tried posting in the main cichlid forum but got no response. Does anyone have these? Like them, dislike them? They seem pretty cool to me...a store right near me has some OB younglings and I have a baby red. I am just looking for some input if they are a decent fish or not. I dont want to buy a bunch and then be dissapointed.
 
They get very colorfull, they come from lake malawi, they are found in the wild in Africa. There are normal ones as well as hybrids in the hobby. They are easy to breed, grow roughly 6 inches and have some amazing colors if you are good at picking them out. I had a show tank awhlie ago of peacocks, I think there are pics of them in my gallery somewhere. They are pretty easy to take car of and the tank size depends on how many you want to keep. They usually eat pellets, frozen foods, krill, ghost shrimp, etc. If breeding them and you have different types of peacocks, they do tend to interbreed alot. OB is also a hybrid. This is the correct section to post in =] Oh and I LOVE them.
 
perfect thanks so much! I knew someone would come through haha.

So I got a Red Peacock, and the LFS says they have some strawberry red? Are these the same thing? I am planning to get look this afternoon. They said they have some young stawberries and young OB, going to be a tough choice...

What about decor for these fish? They are pretty open swimers right? Do they need caves or hiding spots or anything?
 
They are mostly open swimmers, but will definitely need some rock caves. Ask your LFS if they know what the scientific name of the fish are and google them. They are probably different if the same store is referring to them as different things, but you never know. Also adults need to be housed in a 55+ gallon at minimum (75 recommended). You can house quite a few in a 75, probably around 12. Why not get an OB and strawberry both?
 
What size tank do you have? You may be able to do a group, and if you like the one, more will look even better.
 
I have a 55g. Right now I have the one red one and i just got another, its pretty plain color right now. It shows stripes that seem to be black, but its mostly silver and shows little color. From what I understand females so little color, so I am guessing thats what it is...I dont have pics yet, but I will this weekend I will post up and we can all see...

How many do you think you can fit in a 55g? I would think at least 4-5 maybe? They only grow to 6" from what i read online...
 
I was told by my local store to keep 20 in a 55 to cut down on aggression, but I thought that seemed a little much and have gotten by just fine with 10. They're still growing so we'll see how it goes.
 
5 - 10 w/upgrade plans...
 
Muske;1646013; said:
5 - 10 w/upgrade plans...
Click to expand...
So you think 5 will be okay in a 55g for life? 10 def need to upgrade? I got just the two right now and in about 3 months I am going to want to grab a few more and I am wondering if I should go 2, 3 or 4 more? I do plan to upgrade but it might not be for a year or more so I want to plan for them staying in the 55g for at least 2 years maybe?

I really like these fish so far...I am glad I stumbled on it :headbang2
 
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