First casualty on a new setup

[DJRansome]

I also do not agree with your LFS employee. What are your test results for pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate after 10 days with 4 fish?

What is your goal? If you want an all-male Malawi tank I would use the 90G...not because of the gallons but because of the footprint...48"x18". I like 12 individuals that mature at or less than six inches for all-male in 48x18.

It is true you can do 15 Malawi in a 55G, but IMO only if you are doing mixed gender, think in terms of 3 species with 1m:4f of each.

Know that with all male you want no two fish to look alike. It is hard to get 12 peacocks that look nothing alike...once you have a red, a blue and a yellow...someone is going to look alike. (The "red" category includes red, pink and orange...choose one.) I would add some small, peaceful haps like Placidochromis electra for example.

Also know that all-male takes around 2 years of tinkering before you get a stable mix with most fish colored up. In the meantime you need a rehoming plan and one or more holding tanks for temp housing of trouble makers overnight until you can take to their new home the next day. You may find your OB peacocks more aggressive than you like with your other haps and peacocks to get them to color well.

Post pics of your unidentified peacocks for next steps in stocking.

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

What size are the 4 you have now? And without knowing the exact species you have (all 4), it's hard to advise.

They are 4 inches.

 

[duanes]

Although its been decades since I've kept these rift lake type Africans, even back then i considered a 55 or even 75 gal as only growout tanks, for juvies.
I would consider a 6 ft (100 gal+) minimal for adults (especially multiple males).
And I wonder if putting 4 adults(?) in a 55, initially overwhelmed the amount of seasoned media

 

[Stephen St.Clair]

When keeping African Rift Cichlids stability is temporary, no matter if you're dealing with Mbuna, Peacocks or Haps.
Enjoy those periods of time when relative tranquility has been achieved.
Sooner or later the Cichlid hierarchy will change up, a bully will emerge and chaos will result.
I have found this to be true in all male set ups as well as in mixed tanks.
IMO the 90 gal. tank will give you a better chance of success. Just don't expect an easy go of it. Get ready for rehoming challenges, maintaining a spare tank for emergencies, you might even need to euthanize hyper aggressive fish when no other option is available.
I kept African Cichlids for several years & still have a couple I couldn't rehome. It was a great learning experience. It taught me to keep a peaceful community tank. Lol.

 

[Danny 1018]

I also do not agree with your LFS employee. What are your test results for pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate after 10 days with 4 fish?

What is your goal? If you want an all-male Malawi tank I would use the 90G...not because of the gallons but because of the footprint...48"x18". I like 12 individuals that mature at or less than six inches for all-male in 48x18.

It is true you can do 15 Malawi in a 55G, but IMO only if you are doing mixed gender, think in terms of 3 species with 1m:4f of each.

Know that with all male you want no two fish to look alike. It is hard to get 12 peacocks that look nothing alike...once you have a red, a blue and a yellow...someone is going to look alike. (The "red" category includes red, pink and orange...choose one.) I would add some small, peaceful haps like Placidochromis electra for example.

Also know that all-male takes around 2 years of tinkering before you get a stable mix with most fish colored up. In the meantime you need a rehoming plan and one or more holding tanks for temp housing of trouble makers overnight until you can take to their new home the next day. You may find your OB peacocks more aggressive than you like with your other haps and peacocks to get them to color well.

Post pics of your unidentified peacocks for next steps in stocking.

pH is about 7.5-7.6
ammonia is 0
nitrite is 0.25 (a bit surprised since I seeded with a bag of bio media from the 36 gallon fancy goldfish tank that has 2 large goldfish)
nitrate is between 0 and 5ppm (API test kit chart )

Tank was also dosed with Seachem Stability upon adding the 4 peacocks.

Goal is to have active and colorful fish (4-6 inches at maturity) without getting into saltwater fish.

Thank you for your help! Pictures posted below.

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

pH is about 7.5-7.6
ammonia is 0
nitrite is 0.25 (a bit surprised since I seeded with a bag of bio media from the 36 gallon fancy goldfish tank that has 2 large goldfish)
nitrate is between 0 and 5ppm (API test kit chart )

Tank was also dosed with Seachem Stability upon adding the 4 peacocks.

Goal is to have active and colorful fish (4-6 inches at maturity) without getting into saltwater fish.

Thank you for your help! Pictures posted below.

View attachment 1531652

View attachment 1531653

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View attachment 1531655

I would seriously reccomend doing a water change. Your nitrites shouldn't be at 0.25.

 

[Danny 1018]

When keeping African Rift Cichlids stability is temporary, no matter if you're dealing with Mbuna, Peacocks or Haps.
Enjoy those periods of time when relative tranquility has been achieved.
Sooner or later the Cichlid hierarchy will change up, a bully will emerge and chaos will result.
I have found this to be true in all male set ups as well as in mixed tanks.
IMO the 90 gal. tank will give you a better chance of success. Just don't expect an easy go of it. Get ready for rehoming challenges, maintaining a spare tank for emergencies, you might even need to euthanize hyper aggressive fish when no other option is available.
I kept African Cichlids for several years & still have a couple I couldn't rehome. It was a great learning experience. It taught me to keep a peaceful community tank. Lol.

Unfortunately, big box stores are in my area, I have to drive 35 miles or 75 miles to a LFS that carries a decent selection of African cichlids.
It would be time consuming to drive back to the LFS to give away the fish... and I would prefer not to euthanize any hyper aggressive fish.

 

[Danny 1018]

I would seriously reccomend doing a water change. Your nitrites shouldn't be at 0.25.

Agree. Wil get to it later today....a 65 percent change will be done.

 

[Stephen St.Clair]

I'm not endorsing euthanizing hyperactive Cichlids. I'm not even endorsing euthanizing a killer Cichlid.
When keeping African Cichlids it's about making adjustments, which lead to a relatively peaceful stalemate.
Sometimes when trying to deal with a killer and no viable option is available
euthanization might be the best solution.

 

[DJRansome]

Why not order online for quality and selection? Then you can put the fish on Facebook Marketplace (or local hobbyist/fish club) asking for a new home. Whether Malawi haps, mbuna or peacocks...or even Victoria or Tanganyika...rehoming is a feature of the hobby.

I would probably rather drive 75 miles than provide extra tanks but it is definitely an option.

In the 90G you could do the #1 and #2 most peaceful mbuna (yellow labs and acei) and extra males might be tolerated. Meets your colorful objective.

Or in the 55G you could do a peacock species tank with a small, peaceful peacock like kandeense and extra males will likely be tolerated. But drab females.