# Peacock Genders



## Superfly724 (Sep 16, 2007)

I've done quite a bit of research on Peacock Cichlids. I know quite a bit about them, but this is still a puzzle to me. Most females are brown or grey, and so I'm not sure if this fish is a female or not. I'm assuming it is, since there's no sign of it getting brighter or anything like that. 

Bottom line: Is this a female Peacock Cichlid?

P.S. There is no blue tint to this fish. That's the actinic lighting. (I hate it, I just don't have the cash to replace it). It's pretty much just a dull black with yellowish fins.
P.P.S. Anyone have any suggestions for good lighting that really displays the colors of Peacocks? I need straight pin bulbs, by the way. =)


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Any idea what kind of peacock? Is it alone in the tank? Some males won't "color up" in the presence of other males, even other species. Most peacocks females are brown striped.


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## Superfly724 (Sep 16, 2007)

No idea what kind it is. There are many more fish in that tank. You can actually see one in the picture, right below the main fish, just barely sticking his head out. That would make sense, though. I have a medium sized Peacock that has a tint of blue, but is more grey than anything, despite the fact that he's about the same size as the other colorful one. The thing is, I've seen some really colorful all-male tanks (which is what I'm going for). Are they going to stay like this forever? 

By the way, emc7, a couple months ago you told me about a store called Marine Fish and Reef on the Eastern side of Cobb County in Marietta. I went there today and I think I've fallen in love. Best fish store I've ever been to by far. Their Peacocks are absolutely beautiful.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I have trouble sexing peacocks myself. Some fish color up no problems, others you have to pull one male at a time to find the next male and you can get 10 males out of 10 fry. I can't tell from the pick if its even an aulonocara . Maybe ikevi (kevin) on the aaaa forum could tell.

Here's the link to the local stores, http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...4.01738,-84.357147&spn=0.471246,0.841827&z=10 we try to keep it updated. There were quite a few closed this year, but there are a few new ones I haven't been to yet. 

BTW the next meeting is this Sunday, Jan 3 @ athen's pizza. Last month, someone was handing out red peacock fry.


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## Superfly724 (Sep 16, 2007)

There's a good chance it probably isn't even an Aulonocara. I picked it up out of a randomly assorted Peacock tank at Optimum Aquarium. It gets chased around even by the tiny little guys. You can kind of see some white wound marks on its side. The only fish I have that gets beat up now. I'm planning on getting rid of it no matter what, anyways. I was just making a final effort to see if it was worth keeping. 

Thanks again for all your help. I'll probably be joining the AAAA pretty soon. I'm looking forward to the Spring auction.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

One thing i like about Marine fish is they will take fish in (and sometimes give store credit). I have a few assorted Mbuna to go. Is your tank all peacocks? Those are probably bite marks on the side. Add more hiding places. Let a big plastic plant float until you can get the fish out of the tank. The red fins are similar to my Copadichromis borleyi (female). I just use daylight bulbs from Lowes. Whether you can depends on your fixture. The purplish "aquarium bulbs" bring out reds, but not blues. The "moonlight" bulbs make the whole tank blue and any blue color invisible.


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## Superfly724 (Sep 16, 2007)

Yeah, that's good that they do that. I have 3 Red Zebras that are in another tank that need to go back to a store ASAP. Then I'll be removing this fish, whatever it is, and the second OB Peacock so that he doesn't fight with the first one. There is one Labidochromis caeruleus in there also, but I've never seen him get in a fight with any other Cichlid. There are also 2 Synodontis and a Pleco, but they only come out when the lights are off.

Out of curiousity, what will the floating plant do?

Yeah, I really dislike the actinic bulbs I have in there. There's one actinic bulb (It came with the light fixture, since I bought it off Craigslist) and one 50/50 half daylight, half actinic. I really don't like either of them, and I'm trying to get them replaced with daylight bulbs. It's just taking a while since I'm pretty young, and my job really isn't paying me enough. Though, I love what I do so it's hard to let it go.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

The males claim the bottom of the tank as territory and chase other fish away, but they don't care about the top of the tank. A picked-on fish or holding mother will hide up near the water line. A floating plant or log will shield it from other fish's line-of-sight. For many of these fish, its out-of-sight-out-of-mind, so it will stop taking new damage while it heals.


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## Superfly724 (Sep 16, 2007)

Alright. Thanks for the information. I'll try that one and see if it helps out.


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