Tropical Fish Forums

[Indiaqualover]

I'm getting back to the hobby after a 1.5 year break setting up my new home. I have a 400 litre tank. I want stock it with Haps or Peacocks or both. I have been trying to research on the tank setup. It's been throwing up a lot of confusion. Here are my questions:

1. How many fish?

2. Tank setup ?

Substrate -I'm open to the idea of a part setup for Peacock and other half for Haps. I have been researching and found sandy substrate for peacocks and rocky for Haps. Need correct guidance here.

Open Space - How much open space in the tank. I don't want the fish to be hiding all the time as I found with mbunas in the past.

Lighting - Need guidance here too.

Thanks in advance for help. Will follow up with more questions.

Prakash

[Ciklido]

Hey there old timer!

wow that is a big tank, its twice the tank I have, 105 gallons is a good home for maybe two or three peacocks. I assume lake tanganyka?

If you want a mix then yeah you will need a suitable place for each type, but I would not suggest containing too many fish of each if you are going to split it up. It would be easier to have just haps with open set-up or more peacocks with a strictly rockier set-up. Mixing them is more tricky in getting them the correct landscape.

As for light I believe lowto med blue lighting is best but yep thats my two cents!
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Get attached, love everything now, then, suffer when it comes to an end, for it will bring great meaning to one's existence. JR

[Indiaqualover]

Wow... That took sometime to come . I decided to go with a peacock and malawi blue dolphin combination. All male setup is what I have gone with. It's getting close to 2 months now since setup. I went for a rocky setup with crushed shell substrate. Little bit of fine sand in the front to entice the peacocks to come out and display.

On another note, I feel sad this forum has died down. I'm stepping into my 10th year of fish keeping. My transformation from a fish killer to fish keeper happened through this forum. I know I'm still not perfect but getting there.

Here is the stocking

Dragon blood peacock 4
Malawi Blue Dolphin 4

Hope to add more males as I progress.

Thanks
Prakash

[Ciklido]

Wow those blood peacocks are beautiful, and also the blue malawis, are you sure you can house more than 8?

How big are they currently? I'm sure they get to considerably big sizes! especially the blue malawis.

Haha fish killer to a fish keeper, I would be considered a fish eater then lol I love sushi, but another note, I'm glad you replied!

I think it is quite possible to bring back the crowds back to this website, the problem is that it will take time and dedication. As we exit the recession, more and more youngsters (like me) are sure to get into a hobby like this, resources and money are more stable now. Also I think that if we start with say one person that actively replies to other member's posts, then the popularity will increase, it just takes one dedicated person with charisma and knowledge! =)I hope to see pictures of your set-up, perhaps after I finish my exams you can help me plan out my 55 gallon empty tank.
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Get attached, love everything now, then, suffer when it comes to an end, for it will bring great meaning to one's existence. JR

[Indiaqualover]

Yeah.. the recession does suck a lot out of you. Here in India, I had a very different issue. We were moving homes and there was water shortage. Now with this 400 litre setup, there is tremendous excitement in the apartment complex I live in. There are people who own larger apartments who want similar tanks setup.

On your question about the size of the fish, you are right, the dolphins get real big. They are right now about 6 - 7 cms long and the peacocks are the same too. But, over the last week or so, I'm seeing some aggression in the tank, I was visiting the African Cichlid Hub and KG Tropical Websites for more support. They had some interesting suggestions to curb aggression which includes re arranging the tank and also crowd it with more fish (keep off the ladies though ) ... I'm thinking of introducing some of the peaceful mbuna as well like Yellow Labs.

I have an open tank with just a partial glass cover to let the light through and it improves gas exchange at the top. Also when it comes to water changes, I play the A game - Every Friday evening (50% off and 50% in). Our tap water is free off chlorine and hard which keeps the cichlid in great health. Feeding is twice a day and a day without feeding once in 2 days. Mainly spirulina pellets and a colour enhancing pellet based on ocean krill and spirulina. I also provide them with mashed peas, finely chopped spinach and boiled mashed carrots once every week to keep their food tract in good health.

The key is absolute discipline when it comes to tank maintenance and feeding. You should be OK.

55 gallons is good space, make sure you put about 10 cms of fine sand if you want to house African cichlids. They actually eat the sand for aiding digestion. Please do your research when it comes to compatibility but in my opinion its a hobby and you might need a little trial and error to get there. Like I said even I've not got there yet and tend to try out all kinds of combinations in my excitement at times. Works some times though. Another piece of advice if you want to mix mbuna and peacocks, do so but give the peacocks a size advantage. Make sure your scaping is done in such a way that you have both rocks for the mbuna and sandy floors for the peacocks.

Lets hope this revives more conversation. About 3 years back it would have because a couple of things I have said above may not be agreeable to all.