The Peacock Cichlid (Aulonocara baenschi) is a beautiful african cichlid endemic to Malawi Lake in Africa. The species has a much calmer behavior compared to other fish of its genus and, therefore, is indicated for all hobbiests levels.
Below, check out a complete Yellow Peacock Cichlid care guide. Learn about water parameters, food and feeding, appearance, behavior, tank mates, reproduction and aquarium setup.
Peacock Cichlid – Care Guide
Technical Details
Name: Peacock Cichlid, Yellow Peacock Cichlid, Sunshine Peacock, Nnkhomo Benga Peacock, Benga Peacock, New Yellow Regal Peacock, Baensch’s Peacock;
Scientific Name: Aulonocara baenschi (Meyer & Riehl, 1985);
Family: Cichlidae;
Species Origin: Africa (Malawi Lake);
Length: Up to 5inches;
Life Span: 6 – 12 years;
Care Level: Easy;
Water Parameters
pH: 7.2 – 8.2;
Water Hardness: 10 – 15;
Temperature: Must be kept between 4 – 22°C;
Distribution / Habitat
The Yellow Peacock Cichlid is endemic to Malawi Lake in Africa and is commonly found on the Maleri, Chipoka, Nkhomo islands and near Benga and Usisya.
The species usually lives in shallow waters about 4 to 6 meters deep, but can also be found in deeper places, ranging between 10 and 16 meters.
Many specimens prefer to live permanently in caves, while others like to live in large schools. In general, males are territorial and like to live around caves, while females swim in groups and move a little further away from them.
The Peacock Cichlid has special sensory pores on its jaws that help it locate invertebrates in the substrate. He likes to sift through the substrate to look for prey. As soon as it finds a possible food, the Peacock sifts the substrate in its gills while retaining the piece of food in his mouth.
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Description
The Peacock Cichlid can reach up to 13 cm (centimeter) in length, although the male can reach up to 15 cm and take about 2 years to reach all its beautiful colors. With proper care, this fish can live up to 10 years;
Males are mostly yellow with a blue tinge to different areas of the body, some being mostly blue with yellow tinge. In addition, the Peacock Cichlid has a forehead, curved nose and large eyes.
Females are light grey/silver with brown vertical bands along the body, with the dorsal, anal and caudal fins being ice blue or light brown depending on the region in which it was found. Females also seem to have a faint yellow spot on the front of the body.
Foods and Feeding
Omnivorous. In nature, the Peacock Cichlid feeds on a huge variety of foods, but loves to eat invertebrates that live at the bottom of the lake.
In an fish tank, you can provide a protein-based diet; including pellet food, frozen or freeze-dried daphnia, as well as bloodworms and brine shrimp. Avoid feeding tubifex to the Peacock, as this type of food contributes to the emergence of the famous disease known as “Malawi Bloat”.
The Peacock Cichlid should eat every day when it is still a young fish, but 5 to 6 times a week when it reaches the adult stage, unless it’s breeding. Avoid pouring large amounts of food at once, as this helps to keep the water in good quality for longer.
Temperament / Behavior
The Peacock Cichlid is a fish that can be kept either alone or in groups made up of one male and six or more females. However, the aquarium will need to be at least 100 gallons to all the fish.
Generally speaking, males tend to be peaceful with females, but they are extremely aggressive when they’re in the company of other males.
Tank Mates
As I mentioned before, you can keep a good group of these fish in an aquarium, as long as there is only one male and several females. However, the Peacock can coexist with other Malawi Lake cichlids that are similar in size and temperament.
I would avoid adding the famous Mbunas, as they are very aggressive animals and can bring problems to a Peacock tank. In addition, you should also avoid other species of Aulonocara so that there is no hybridization.
Good tank mates for Peacock Cichlid includes Copadichromis and Placidochromis genera, and the fish Otopharynx lithobates and Yellow Lab Cichlid.
Sexual Differences
The males of the Peacock Cichlid are more colorful with the back of the dorsal and anal fins more distinct. Females have dull colors with darker vertical bars and rounded dorsal and anal fins.
Reproduction
The Peacock Cichlid reproduction is relatively easy, as parents take care of their fry all the time. However, for successful breeding you will need a minimum 40 gallon tank and add 6 females with one male. Males are usually quite incisive with females, so it’s interesting to put a good number of females so you can “spread” this aggressiveness among all of them.
It’s quite difficult to witness the spawning of these fish because they do it secretly in caves around the aquarium. In addition, they are mount brooders. What happens in this case is that the females lay the eggs and then take them back with their mouths. Then they stimulate the male’s anal fin to cause him to release sperm, absorbing the fluid to fertilize the eggs.
A single female can carry up to 40 eggs in her mouth. When the fry are old, she will release them so they can feed on their own. As with other Peacock Cichlids, this process can take up to 21 days. During this time, the female may feed very little or not at all.
Aquarium Setup
The Peacock Cichlid aquarium must have at least 40 gallons for a single fish. However, if you want to keep this fish in a group or with other fish of different species, the aquarium will need to be at least 100 gallons.
Decorating the tank can be done using rocks of different sizes, but be sure to assemble them in such a way that they create hiding places and resting areas for the fish. Also, leave some open space at both the front and bottom of the tank so that the fish can swim freely.
Add a substratee with smoother rocks to hide and delimit territories. Avoid sharp rocks, as the Peacock Cichlid can stick its eyes out on them.
References
Maréchal, C., 1991. Aulonocara. p. 11-17. In J. Daget, J.-P. Gosse, G.G. Teugels and D.F.E. Thys van den Audenaerde (eds.) Check-list of the freshwater fishes of Africa (CLOFFA). ISNB, Brussels; MRAC, Tervuren; and ORSTOM, Paris. Vol. 4. (Ref. 4975);
Aulonocara baenschi (Meyer & Riehl, 1985) Nkhomo-benga peacock, Fishbase.org;
Glen S. Axelrod, Brian M. Scott, Neal Pronek, Encyclopedia Of Exotic Tropical Fishes For Freshwater Aquariums, TFH Publications, 2005;
George Zurlo, David Schleser, Cichlids (Complete Pet Owner’s Manual), Barron’s Educational Series, 2005;
