My nominee for the worst stocking choice would be the customer who put 5 juvenile African and South American cichlids into a 10 gallon, and who proceeded to cuss me out because I wouldn't sell him more
Exelente video. Yo tengo un 450 litros con: - Champsocromis Caureleus - Aristochromis Christy - Fossochromis Rostratus x 2 - Venustus - Fuscolineatus - Fryeri - Protomela - Buccochromis Rhoadesi - Synodontis x 2 Creen que puedo meter alguna cosa mas? el mas grande tiene 25-30 cm y el mas pequeño 8-10 cm. Gracias!
I would say no, and once some of those predator haps get huge your tank will be too small for them, unfortunately. Your bucco gets around 16”. Good question though - thank you for asking!
You're the one who knows a lot of info to help tank owners. I had about 15 African cichlids of diff. types in my 125gal tank the only thing I really didn't like about that tank is it seemed too skinny, long yes but not wide like my 75gal. But I felt the 75gal was too small for my inmates, so I put my two Oscars in it and those were my fav. pets, the female would interact with me. The tank was by my sofa and if I didn't pay attention to her, she would spit gravel on the sides at me. Oh, I do miss my fish, like I said before I like to spend my free time watching YT, haha. Nah love your channel. And now I still want another tank.
I thought the 125 was the same width as a 75? Not so? I agree though. I almost bought a 125 to save a little room, but I wanted the full 2 ft width. Polly, I actually laughed out loud when you called them inmates and your Oscar story. You need a tank, Polly!
@@CichlidCharmer You know I never measured the 2 tanks, but it seemed skinnier, even my 65gal tank seemed fatter, oh well thanks, I remember my son's fishing the Oscars of course with no hooks but with line and bait. Crazy fish lover here!
Looks like you have a nice big house. Congratulations. But there are a lot of people out there, some of whom live in apartments, who simply don't have room for anything bigger than a 55 gallon tank, if that. The message I get from this video is that those people shouldn't keep Cichlids - maybe they should just stick to Platies?
Good point. I'm not trying to boast that my house is large enough to keep bigger tanks. I simply feel that these particular fish need more than four feet of swimming space. Just like if you want an oscar -- if you can't have more than a 55, don't get an oscar, either. There are plenty of fish out there that would be fine in a 55 or even smaller, but yes, I feel that if you live in a home that only allows for a 55 gallon tank, then peacocks and haps would be better off saved for someone with a larger tank. However, mbuna, which are also African cichlids, most of them would be fine in a 55. There are also plenty of dwarf cichlids that would be fine in a 20 gallon tank. If you look around on the web, you'll find people who think a 75 is just fine for peacocks and haps. I'm just not one of them. Thank you for expressing your concern!
@@CichlidCharmer OK, that makes sense. I have a 55 gallon mbuna tank, but no room for a bigger one. I also don't like the look of an over-crowded tank. Nice video.
I have a 60 gallon taller tank set with a sand substrate and minimal dragon stone decor. I want have two peacocks currently and was wondering how many more I can put in there without overdoing it. I know the tank should be bigger but I live in a double wide mobile home and am leery about too much weight on the floor. I do have my setup running across the floor joists. Thank you if you have the time to answer.
Nice 👍 so I would stick to peas/haps no larger than 6” at maturity if I were you. Or better yet.. that’s a great size tank for mbuna. Have you looked into them?
Technically, yes. However, I really wouldn't put peacocks in less than six feet across. Just the way I feel about if for swimming space, plus extra room to evade each other. Peacocks are a-holes. If I had a 330 liter, I'd choose mbuna or maybe some smaller Victorians.
Like you, I’ve heard a lot of different opinions. I’m not sure there’s a magic solution and things can change quickly depending on any specific fish. If you think Peacocks are hard to manage, Mbuna are way worse in my experience! Are both of your tanks 240 acrylic? I’d like to see someone breakdown how to take care of acrylic tanks. I’ve seen a lot of different opinions. Some had them fail completely and leak, scratches, etc. I would love to try one but something always stops me. Maybe it’s my incompetence level.
Oh I know about mbuna and their temperament. Dangerous little fellas. My other tank is a 180 acrylic. So I researched how to avoid scratching acrylic, but I never heard about what using glass cleaner on acrylic will do. Also even the best acrylic scrubber will scratch the tank if you press too hard. My 240 came first and it is scratched up. I learned a lot on that one, so my 180 has no scratches at all. I actually did a video on how to take care of acrylic: ACRYLIC AQUARIUMS | How To Keep Scratches To a MINIMUM! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-XO5yyVZ9Ggo.html Thanks for watching and your thoughts!
Do you use Purigen or Chemi blue pure by chance in your filters? If so, would you keep it in the top tray under the filter pad? Your tanks and fish are absolutely stunning!! Love your videos!
I do not. I’ve used them before but they didn’t make it any more clear than it already is. If you use it, it’s the last thing your water touches. Top or bottom depending on the type of filter you have. An Fx6 would have it on the bottom tray. Thank you!&&
I found my 75 gallon was way too small. I ordered my 118 gallon shortly after.... I have around 22 fish in there. Not overcrowded, just enough. Minimal aggression now hierachy is in place..... and nothing annoys me more than overstocking
@@calebhuneycutt186 for acrylic, fishtanksdirect.com. For glass, check out custom aquariums and glass cages. I haven’t used the last two, but I have heard good things.
What a great helpful video. Hopefully this catches fire on searches🙏🔥 You know, I don’t care what they say about you even if it is true, I like you Dave! 🙃 I’m just kidding. I’ve never heard anything but really positive things, brother. Anyway, surprisingly my overstock method or so I thought fits under your requirements with 23 fish after switching three Victorians over to the big boy, with only two going over 10 inches and one of them is a catfish.
Funny, Steve! I know it’s not all good things you’re hearing 😂yeah that’s funny you’re stocked at the same level as I was recommending. Good to see you here again, bro
@@CichlidCharmer lol you know I’ve never heard of anything negative! 25 really is the number though. I’m getting ready to rehome some peacocks and my wuddy strain from Thailand. It’s some dude name wuddy known for his coloration of peacocks. I believe it has to do with the water, hardness and minerals in the breeding. Tanks but they normally sell them on bidding sites. I got lucky and found some other dude with proper paperwork and was able to get one. And all of my time with African cichlids and fish I’ve never had a Fish keep all of the other fish on one side of the tank. This 6 inch peacock has got every single other 22 fish on the right side . It started when I moved over the three Victorians. Extremely disappointed in myself because I’m pretty sure I caused this issue. By the way, a month or so into those plants and the Victorians have left them alone. I think plants might work with certain species / fish ratio Sorry for the long text. Take care, Dave!
@@Parkbenchaquatics so you’ve experienced the corralling as well now. It is hard not to add new fish once you’re at a pretty good level and you have a peaceful tank. Of course the same thing can happen when you remove fish too. These guys aren’t the ideal fish for captivity, so we do what we can. You sure have some nice fish.
Yeah, I appreciate the kind words and yes I’ve been experiencing it but I’ve been dealing with a pretty good using all of our methods we’ve talked about. The Victorian’s haven’t been bothered by any fish at all but since adding these three much smaller fish, the four top fish are having a battle for boss. But the Victorians altogether only five Victorians they were killing each other so somethings Gotta give now I’ve tried
New to the hobby the last couple months. Just discovered your channel you will definitely be on my too watch list! Kind of an irrelevant question but what material do you use for your backdrop ? Looking for something similar. Having a hard time finding something quality at a good price. I'm looking for my 90gal South american tank.
Thank you, and welcome to the adventure of fish keeping! You vacant paint the back or use a film. I used this film: rabbitgoo Total Blackout Window Film Privacy Room Darkening Window Tint for Home, 100% Light Blocking Black Window Cover, Removable Static Cling Glass Window Sun Blocker 35.4" x 118" a.co/d/bLSG33N
Just got my tank cycled again after 2 weeks smh. Had a heater malfunction and wiped out 19 out 24 fish and crashed my cycle. Thought i knew it all but lesson learned, i bought an inkbird temp control for the heaters. Just added 2 more the other day. But ill restock to 20 peacock and haps.
Oh man that’s awful! So sad for the fish and for you., Dennis. You know I never worried about heater malfunctions and somehow never had one my entire life. But now I love those ink birds. I have the green ones that sound an alarm if the temp drops or rises too high. Good to see you here!
@@CichlidCharmer thanks brother. My red fin borleyi caught popeye 3 weeks prior to this incident and just joined the survivors in the 125. Left still vaguely hazy but he's doing great and doing a lot better now that he out of quarantine lol. So I now have 2 peacocks and 4 haps and the feather fin catfish survived also. Just waiting to order more next week and get this flowing again. I might do a small water change tomorrow because while I waited for tank to recycle, it built up a lot of bio film.
@@CichlidCharmer but yea I thought I was all good until I woke up a Sunday morning to a bacteria bloom and the glass being very very warm! My venustus, catfish, red ndiwe, iceberg fryeri, survived. I added a platinum raspberry ob, ruby red and put the red fin borleyi back in.
@@dennispeleg7843 as sad as that is about your loss, I would still be super excited to order more fish. That’s the bum deal part of having a fully stocked tank - no new fish boxes arriving from UPS!
I am rocking about 100 Mbuna in a 100 gallon tank. Overstocked but I run a sump filtration so no water quality issues. There is about 10 species in there and they all breed with each other. I strip 5-6 fish per week. I can understand your dislike for highstock, but these psychotic nutbags act like aggresive drunks and the dispersion of aggresion helps.
It could be any number of things. First is he being harassed? Have you tried something they love like krill? Does he have a sunken belly? Is he listless?
@@CichlidCharmer no sunken belly... Looks ok but not eating anything... I haven't tried krill but i think i should try it.. He's already separated from others...
I have a 61” L x 17.7” D x 20” H fish tank 93.9 us gallons Wondering what fluval pump to use fx4 or fx6 and how many chichlids could I put in it please Iam just starting up
I would choose the fx6 over the fx4. It has an extra tray. The fx4 seems very limiting for media. You know, stocking that sized tank I would stick to smaller Africans. It would be a great mbuna tank. Otherwise peacocks mostly and smaller haps would work. Probably around 15 or so peas and haps 6” or less. Add 5-6 at a time and play it by ear. It’s more about the right mix rather than stuffing them in. Peas are jerks though - be warned!
To me it makes sense what you are saying. I got about 15 mbunas in my 75g African chiclid tank. I guess I'll keep it in that range. Most of them are just juveniles right now. My damn male Auratus got too aggressive. I have him in the hospital tank. Trying to find a home for him 😢😅
@@CichlidCharmer Yeah. He had all the fish on one side of the tank 🤦. That's my fault though for not researching enough before getting an Auratus. They have a nasty reputation.
I avoided the Auratus, Demasoni and Johanni trio. These 3 I've found super aggro. My current 100 gal has Electric Yellow, Maingano , Kingsizei , Red Zebra Pulu Pt- , OB Marble Zebra, Cobalt Blue, Yellow Tail Acei, Strawberry Peacok, Chewere, Electric Blue and 8 Lionheads which i mixed to test and they are fine.
@@perjyboy that’s quite a mix. I can tell that you are on top of things and probably watch them a lot to make sure no one has let their inner serial killer loose 🤪
Hi I see the fishes at the pet store looking happy and colorful even when theres 200 of them in a not very large tank.. Is it because they have no decoration so theres no teritorial fhighting? I was thinking doing the same with my tank..
Not sure if you’re exaggerating about the 200 in a small tank, but it could be that they are juvies. They don’t usually get crazy until maturity. Although that isn’t always the case. But yes, sometimes having less decor and more fish can spread out aggression. I just don’t think it’s the way to go.
You could really keep a lot if you wanted to highly stock it. That’s a lot of water volume in your sump which is awesome. I still wouldn’t want more than 5 or maybe 6” fish since your 125 is only 4’ long. The usual specs for a 125 include 6’ length. I would just add five or so at a time until you are happy with it and your fish seem happy. Just keep in mind it will seem much more close quarters once they are full grown from juvie size. If it were my tank I would still aim for about 15 or maybe 20 with that extra height and depth from a 75 gallon.
@@CichlidCharmer ha ha I’m normally a day late so I was surprised to see you hadn’t posted anything so I thought I would give you the rundown lol. I was using an old phone as a way to store new videos and I left it in the reptile room next to the humidifier while I went on vacation and lost a small plant unboxing video and another small project I was working on because the phone got too moist haha
@@Parkbenchaquatics oh man I’m glad I’m not the only one doing things like that! My problem is that if some files are shared with me on Google drive, I can watch the videos there. However, if I download them, sometimes they only play audio. Weird.
@@CichlidCharmer I don’t use the greatest software but I’ve been using iMovie because I started making the videos on my laptop on adobe and Google Drive would make the video corrupt by the time I got to share it properly. So my video quality as far as editing has been down, especially on my shorts and my most frequent posts. It’s frustrating. Cichlid flakes for thought… I think you have the following for some type of live stream obviously time and logistics but if you were also worried about a spacer or a potential sidekick or what not, I wouldn’t call it a partner, considering our follower difference, but I’ll be willing to contribute in any way I could help in starting up something like that and maybe be a frequent counted o Guest or something of the sort. No rush no worries just keep it in mind 🤘
@@Parkbenchaquatics I feel your pain. I use Davinci Resolve, but my video card can’t handle it. I have to restart the program constantly. Plus I can’t even watch in 4K because it’s so old. I can make it 4k, but can’t see it while editing. Got a new card though, just waiting for me to install! Steve, we should exchange phone numbers so we could text if you are okay with that. It would be a lot more convenient. Then I can chat about the things you mentioned.
Hi , must first go at African cichlids males. Based on our high PH water where i live. I have a 108 gallon tank with two 110 top filters. Currently have six fish in my grow tank. I am hoing to introduce them soon to the big tank but how long should i wait to ad more fish. Aiming for aroung 20 in total. Thanks
Hi there. I just add about 5 max to the tank at a time and wait 2-4 weeks for your beneficial bacteria to catch up. I crashed my cycle by adding too many at once a few years ago.
Oh thank you! Actually it is an acrylic tank. It has a permanent partial lid with removable acrylic covers. You can get clips for rimless tanks that will hold glass or acrylic strips along the edge to keep fish from jumping out as easily. Not sure if these are any good, but something like these: Weilan 8mm Aquarium Fish Tank Glass Cover Clip Lid Support Holder Acrylic for Rimless Aquariums,12PCS a.co/d/2D5pwRd
@CichlidCharmer thanks! My rimless tank comes with glass lid and "clips" but very not user friendly as no where to hold the hassle lid when trying to remove it. Plus I don't fancy the condensation on glass lid so I went with the net and clips but not ideal either... so just wondering what others are using so I can rethink what works for me.
Yes it is. 75 minimum for 6” and under fish (in general) and 125 or 180 minimum for larger haps. I personally would not keep peacocks and haps in a 75, but many do.
@@CichlidCharmer I'm looking for a bigger fish to put in my 20 but don't want something uncomfortable for them. Thank you for the video and the help. I subscribed to your channel.
@@CichlidCharmer Thanks. I am planning on getting back into the hobby and I had a l Mbuna tank over 20 years ago. It was a 6’ foot tank. I am thinking Peacocks and Haps like you have. Are you happy with the height and depth?
I recently got a ~50(39in*16in*18in) gallon tank, currently I’ve stocked 14 peacocks and haps all of them are barely 2-2.5 inches.. do you think it is overstocked.. till now the aggression isn’t a major concern
Honestly I think that size tank is too small for peacocks and haps. It will work right now while they are small, but you will need a larger tank once they get larger. I would consider that tank too small and overstocked once they reach maturity.
@@bpthakshak2166 Oh definitely. At that size it's great, and they won't usually get too aggressive until they get larger. That isn't always the case though. I had a small terrorist Lake Victorian that was an utter nightmare as a juvie.
