90 gallon African stocking advice?

[dark_rain]

Current Occupants; 1 each of the following:
Jewel
Yellow Lab
Livingstoni
Red Top Hongi
Ice Blue Zebra
Sunshine Peacock
Red Empress
Zebra Hap
OB Peacock

Now I must say I'm generally trying to stay away from Mbuna as much as I can. What else should I add?

[sanny]

Ice blues in my experince are very aggressive. O.B peacocks could sometimes be very aggressive as well and you need to keep an eye on him but not all O.B peacocks are like this. The Acei family are very peaceful as well, you could try placidochromis milomo, or any of the placidochromis species as Ive found they are very placid (I think thats where the name comes from) most haps will thrive together but dont add any females because theyll fight over them and cause death. Another fish you should look at are the Borleyi kadango red fin. One of my favourites. Good luck

[bitterman]

Are you trying to do an all male tank? having 1 of each fish not always ideal. Trios or quads of each is better... if not planning all male tank. 1M and 3F is what I like... Decreases aggression.

These are so many possibilities...  You really need to research the different options. It's more upto what you want.... coloration and behaviours you are looking for.

Bruce

[sanny]

This theory only applys to tanganyikans but malawi cichlids are somewhat related and theyd all fight for females.

[dark_rain]

I buy my cichlids small, so it's often not possible to tell male from female. I'm *(Not)* going for an all male tank, just one that's pleasing to the eye. The Jewel is actually tank-boss right now and there isn't too much aggression currently. I generally only purchase from Big Als and Petsmart, so my choices aren't huge. I could buy a few more of each, but with my luck I'd somehow get three or four males.

An Acei is certainly one I'm interested in but so are other Peacocks. I missed out on my chance for a couple Borleyis but those and German Reds are definitely fish I'd like to add.

[bitterman]

An all male tank...  definitely makes sense...

If you are doing an all male tank do your research for example afras (I know they changed there name a bit ago) don't have a lot of colour without males and females.

Another thing to keep in mind is stocking levels. Every tank is different but more fish sometimes means less aggression but the need for a lot more water changes.

Bruce

[dark_rain]

my mistake/typo. I'm NOT going for an all male tank..I buy them small/young and just want it to look nice. I like a busy looking tank with nice color, however I do not want to over-stock to the point that the fish don't have enough swimming room (especially since I'm trying to go more so haps/peacock, and mostly leave the mbunas alone).

[sanny]

I started a new tank myself with juvie Malawi cichlids. Theres a lot of options out there but not all you see at big als. Some people order them online like the rarer species if your planning on having preditory fish. Its always best to buy juvies because you save money and your most likely going to find everything you want in that size. One fish everyone loves is a dimidiochromis compressiceps very hardy and a fast grower. I just ordered some placidochromis phinochilus tanzania from big als on innes if your looking to order some. $22-$25 each.

[dark_rain]

I'm not looking for predatory...just a lot of nice color. I don't mind some aggression, just don't want to see any of the peacocks get ripped apart. I may just look to get two to three more of each I currently have (minus the Livingstoni and Ice Blue) and keep my eyes open for other peacocks as well.

Would it be a bad idea to have more than 1 OB Peacock or Sunshine Peacock? Say 2 or 3 of each?

[sanny]

A buddy of mine has 5 o.b peacocks in his tank and they're doing great. Some o.bs could be quit aggressive and some are not. I use to have a nasty aggressive o.b in my tank and replaced him for another one and did fine, really depends on the o.b. Sunshine peacocks on the other hand are one of the calmest most peaceful peacocks out there. Very beautiful and striking colors. When I said preditory cichlids I ment the haplochromis species such as venustus, livingstoni, compressiceps, red empress list goes on and theyr'e very similar to the peacocks. Personally I'd stay away from mbunas (rock dwellers) because they live in caves and anything that enters there territory will get its ass kicked. Stay away from demasonis and kenyi mbunas they're very aggressive and will kill all your fish!

[fish finatic]

I had 7 ob peacock males together and never had a problem but they were raised together.

[dark_rain]

Alright. I think I will just slowly add more Peacocks and keep my eyes open for other interesting ones.