Who Gives A Fish Forums

Hi all,

I've been setting up my first Malawi Cichlid tank and I'm finally ready to fill it up and start my fishless cycle. I need some advice on the livestock - I'm thinking of stocking around 20 to keep aggression low, and I'll have two filters. Here's the list of cichlids I'm considering so far:


3x Electric Yellow Cichlid
3x Red Peacock
3x Friebeg Cichlid
3x Marble Peacock


I'm new to cichlids, so I want to make sure these fish are compatible and the amount is okay. Any advice would be great.

My tank setup is as follows:


Tank: 200L - 100 x 40 x 55 cm
Lighting: 1 x Power-Glo Fluorescent Tube 30W T8, 1 x Aqua-Glo Fluorescent Tube 30W T8 + LED moonlights
Filteration: Eheim Professional 2 2028 External Filter + Eheim Professional 3 2075 External Filter
Circulation Pump: Hydor Koflakeia 900 l/h
Heater: Hydor ETH External Heater 200W + 250W internal heater (backup)
Substrate: Premium Silica Sand
Background: 3D Rock background

I'll post a picture of the tank below.

I've had some awesome Malawi cichlids in the past, they were my favourite fish to keep. I gotta say though, I'm a bit concerned about your tank size for those peacocks, mate. You're planning on keeping six of them and they can grow up to 6 inches or more, they'll definitely have some issues with aggression in a tank that small. To be honest, peacocks need a lot more space to thrive, I'd say at least a 400L tank, around 5ft long, would be a better fit for them. For a tank your size, you might want to consider keeping mbuna instead.

Thanks for your input bradyk, I appreciate your honesty. I was worried the tank might be a bit small for the peacocks, I'll look into some Mbuna instead. Could you suggest a few species that would be suitable for my tank, I'm still looking to stock around 20 but I want to make sure I'm choosing the right fish.

Yea mate, there's heaps of mbunas to choose from, you could even have one peacock in there. When you say Marble peacock, do you mean the OB peacock? I've got one of them, they're great.

When they get big, they can be very territorial, that's why you shouldn't put many peacocks in a small tank. I've had a few mbunas in my time, I'll name you some of the ones I've had, I use the common names too. Blue cobalt, yellow tail acei - they're the boss fish, yellow lab, demasoni, and there's also the OB zebra mbuna, looks like the OB peacock, the one you call Marble peacock.

You should try a synodontis catfish, they're fine with cichlids and are a nice catfish. Bristlenose pleco's are good too. I could go on all day, but you should go down to your local fish store and see what ones they keep. Just remember to do some research on any of the fish before you buy.

When you get some fish, post the names on here and some pics for me to see them.

Thanks for your help mate, I checked them cichlids you mentioned and I love the look of them. They're actually the ones I wanted in the first place.

I've decided on the following:

Blue cobalt
Yellow tail acei (boss fish)
Yellow lab
Demasoni

Could you help me with the numbers? I've heard it's best to have 1 male for every 5-6 females, is that right? Would that work in my tank or do I need to adjust?

I filled the tank up yesterday and the water is quite cloudy as expected. I was wondering if anyone has used API Accu Clear to clear up the cloudiness in their tank, I'd love to hear about your experiences with it.

Your tank is absolutely fantastic, I must say. The setup looks perfect for a Malawi Cichlid environment.

Thanks for that, cloudiness has cleared up now and I can start the cycle.

Your tank looks great, but maybe it's a tad small, like others have mentioned. I love the setup, by the way. Where did you get that background from? I think saulosi would be a better choice than labs and demasoni, they seem less aggressive to me.

slyzen wrote: ↑Sun Apr 02, 2023 1:53 pm Your tank looks great, but maybe it's a tad small, like others have mentioned. I love the setup, by the way. Where did you get that background from? I think saulosi would be a better choice than labs and demasoni, they seem less aggressive to me.

Well now I feel like I'm back to square one with the live stock. I did a lot of research on tank size requirements before I started this project and everywhere I read said a 200L tank is the smallest for keeping cichlids. I'm a bit gutted to be honest, but I want to do what's best for the fish.

I've had a look at the cichlids you suggested, they do look really nice. I'm thinking maybe I can mix and match some of them. Could you suggest any others that might be suitable for my tank?