5 African Cichlid Peacocks - Stock Your Tank with These 5 Fish!

There are a lot of varieties of African Cichlids but certainly "Peacocks" continue to be a favorite for many of us. What inspired this video is that I'm often asked about stocking a medium sized cichlid tank, like a 60 gallon. The question is usually something like this, "I just got a 60 gallon tank and want African Cichlids. What do you suggest?"
Well, there are many choices, but with a tank that size I always end up recommending Peacocks, or those African cichlids in the "Aulonocara" family. Why? Well, apart from being beautiful, they tend to get along fairly well (but like all cichlids, they do have their moments of aggressive behavior) and they don't get so large, like some haps, and end up forcing you to either get a larger tank or re-home the fish.
Here, in this video, I talk about what would be my five fish recommendations.
Fish featured in this video include:
Lemon Jake Peacock (Aulonocara freibergi)
Flavescent peacock (Aulonocara stuartgranti), also known as Grant's peacock
Ruby Red Peacock "Roter Kaiser" (Aulonocara Rubescens)
Yellow Benga Sunshine Peacock (Auloncara baenschi)
Blue Neon Peacock (Aulonocara Stuartgranti Hai Reef)
Bi-Color 500 Peacock (Aulonocara maulana)
Some fish vendors mentioned in this video include:
Trevor O'Shea and The Wonder of Cichlids
Imperial Tropicals
The Cichlid Shack
Live Fish Direct
Thank you for stopping by and please be sure to let me know in the comments below what your favorite peacocks are.
Don't forget to sub, rate and hit that bell and join the awesome "Convo Gang" - We all learn from each other!
Do you, like me, enjoy looking at pretty fish? I post a lot of them on my Instagram page. You can follow me at: ben.o.cichlid.
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Thank you Phil "Mr, Chips" Griffiths for the video logo at the end.
Opening Music, a clip from "Name" performed by the Goo Goo Dolls.
If you've read this far ... you know what I think ... YOU ROCK!

[@FishyBizzAquatics]

Stunning colors Ben! Great Fish!!!

[@gregnot-tellingu5702]

Wow Ben. Another great and informative video. Thank you! 😊

[@adamc7918]

Enjoyed as always ben

[@mitchellportee150]

Planning on doing a 120 gallon peacock tank . thanks for the picks for stocking it

[@sdawgfyou]

Love ur music taste subscribed on the intro brother. Lool great informative video as well.

[@hoffaoudi1121]

Great Looking Peacocks...✌

[@lou9294]

Awesome video man the fish are looking beautiful

[@BenOchart]

Hey Lou, thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it.

[@FridayFishFacts]

Your tank looks amazing

[@cathywilliams5149]

Ben i agree i have most of the Peacocks you are talking about thinks for the in info.

[@wearefishlover]

Nice list

[@nicholasmartinez8204]

Beautiful fish

[@BoiseTropicalFish]

Nice!

[@krisi.2011]

I love star sapphire cichlids, yellow blazes the ngars flametales and those multi colour ob peacocks. Also really like the white lip there beautiful looking and super friendly !!!!

[@mbcville100]

Ben, I was comparing this video to some of your older ones. Really appreciate that you don't do a 2 minute intro anymore.

[@BenOchart]

Thanks Michael, I appreciate the input.

[@danielbarbee7712]

Over the years we all have had many breath takers. Watching them change is always fun. Right now I have an otter point Jacob that will flex on his tankmates ( frontosa and shellies) that is a show stopper when he does it. Always was against OB's but a girl friend talked me into one. Hands down amazing wht,blue,orange best looking one I have ever seen. After three years cat got it. Always like a stud ahli . Oh, lastly a dark sulfer head bright yellow nose and dorsal fin. Had one with nose and dorsal yellow and tips on tail that were yellow and huge yellow egg spots. Even after years he was still small like some of the deeper cave type blue neons.

[@BenOchart]

Otter Points can be stunning and quite territorial. I had one that circled a rock and wouldn’t let anyone near it. A show stopper.

[@GSP-76]

Hey Ben...I got 3 fish coming today for the 220g tank, including a adult red empress. I can't wait.

[@BenOchart]

An adult male Red Empress is amazing.

[@brookecousineau5993]

Hello Ben, great choice in peacocks.I have a Turkis which has a very unique color, and also a Green Face which I can't wait to color up.

[@christopherflores9273]

Hi Ben! I love all your videos. Those top 5, actually 6 peacocks that you mentioned are stunning fish especially the Blue Neon. What do you think of the Red Top Lwanda?

[@darrellburks410]

Good stuff

[@marktraver5734]

Beautiful

[@litoloco4fish]

Ben nice video!!! I love the Sunshines, Lemon Jakes, man all the flavors are amazingly lit...so nice and inspiring

[@TheCichlidShack]

Ngara flametail and red top Lwanda has to be in the mix. Dont forget The Phoenix is a must have lol.. All great peacocks

[@BenOchart]

Now you're teasing me James, LOL. You know I'd have a Phoenix if they had been in stock. I'm coming for one soon! I have a Mdoka Orange flametail in there, but they take 20 years to color up, LOL!

[@123bizzyboy]

Absolutely have to have the Lwanda on there

[@marktraver5734]

Hi Ben I love them

[@robertperagine419]

Great video Ben that black sand really makes the color pop on the cichlids does this sand keep that black color or does lose it after a while .

[@51inches]

HI BEN; GREAT VIDEO......ALL YOUR FISH ARE BEAUTIFUL....ALL THE PLACES THAT YOU BOUGHT YOUR FISH. I HAVE ALSO BOUGHT FISH FROM THEM....THEY ALL SELL HIGH QUALITY FISH. ONE OF MY FAVORITE PEACOCKS IS THE LWANDA PEACOCK....

[@BenOchart]

I'm hearing Lwanda a lot. I had one but I had to get rid of him because he was a bully. Do you every buy from Las Vegas Cichlids?

[@51inches]

@@BenOchart YES BEN I DO BUY FROM LAS VEGAS CICHLIDS....HE CONVERTED A 3 CAR GARAGE INTO A FISH ROOM. HIS NAME IS FRED. A REAL NICE GUY..HE HAS AT LEAST 100 TANKS.....HE GETS SHIPMENTS IN ALL THE TIME FOR DIFFERENT FISH...AND BREEDS HIS OWN.

[@cichlidguru1163]

5 and 1 bouns beautiful peacocks

[@orodz38041]

For me all Peacocks are beauty. My favorite ciclids

[@rileybooth1272]

Currently my favorite cichlid is my Jalo reef but my favorite peacock atm has got to be Walteri

[@susanbriggs862]

Beautiful tank. Love the "plants" . Ruby reds my favorite along with lemon jakes. I've had good luck with Imperial Tropicals also. They have some quality fish.

[@BenOchart]

I get a lot of comments on the plants. They are from Elite Cichlids. Ruby Reds and Lemon Jakes are spectacular peacocks in my mind.

[@nanaadu3461]

Hello Ben what lighting color are you using ? I have a black sand but my white light don’t help with the color

[@donaldsilveri2743]

I'm looking for a red top lawanda with yellow blue red on them who do you reccomend

[@samperson8787]

I have peacocks haps and mbunas. I have northfin pellets as well as xtreme aquatic food flakes. Will these foods suffice for mbunas?

[@rickylgovier7016]

Afternoon Ben I have just brought Frontsas, my tank is 6/2.5/2 I have a fx6 running on it and a internal filter and wave 20,000 ph wave maker, I have googled the care and feeding of Frontsas, all I find is they don’t do well will heaps of current, I have put the wave maker right at the top of the tank too make water movement , do you think that’s okay? Or turn it off I am not sure 🤔 what is the best for my Frontsas. Kind regards Ricky g from Australia 🇦🇺

[@chrisg8100]

Are those real plants and if so what do you have in there?

[@JordanWilson2209]

Hey Ben great video ^^ was wondering what sand you use ? Been struggling for ages to find a black sand that’s not grey or gravel. Thanks !

[@BenOchart]

The black sand tank I had in Calif was Petco Imaginarium black

[@JordanWilson2209]

@@BenOchart much appreciated thanks !

[@mikevazquez4207]

Hey Ben what size tank is that in the back ground ?

[@raycooper2287]

I have a peacock that is black..changes to silver at times, don't know what kind he is?

[@nirmalthilakan3146]

Hi ben ... can u guide me with below I have tap water with ph level of 8.8, is it possible for me to hv peacocks in my tank..?

[@tobiasgriffin2289]

I lost my red fin Gora li spelling? To Ich. Was my favorite so far.

[@dcpiper3]

Can you tell me the name of where you get your fish or a link?

[@norazman4919]

👍 👍 👍

[@rochesterlewis9471]

What size is that tank and the stocking numbers ?

[@jerrymartin4047]

Ben, I have been watching a ton of your you tube posts and also zenzo, Korey, & John. The thing I have noticed is most on their tanks run multiple canisters on a tank. I have a single Aqua top CF 500UV and the largest sponge filter on my 125 and no issues with ammonia or nitrites. The canister I have is rated for 525 gph. So I probably only turning the water over 3-4 times and hour. I do 30% changes twice a week. I do have times where water gets cloudy from detritus as I have oraganite substrate. Why and should I have a 2nd filter?

[@BenOchart]

Well, mostly redundancy. So if you're working on that canister or if the canister fails you have a back-up. Also, if you're getting detritus floating around,, a hang on back with some floss in it could help polish that water.

[@lakemalawifishkeeping2599]

How many peacocks would u keep in total 4 a 75g

[@flyby420]

Just set my tank up for the first time in 10 years and I don’t know where to get fish online, anybody have a good link for me for juvenile cichlids?

[@paulanthonynelson2733]

Hi Ben, can you please tell me the name of the black and gold bottom feeder that is in this tank with your peacocks?

[@BenOchart]

I believe I had three Clown loaches in the tank you’re referring to.

[@paulanthonynelson2733]

@@BenOchart yes thats them, thanks Ben!

[@ravanmaharajjemesebond0073]

Hi sir

[@marktraver5734]

I have yellow and black

[@dewaltgrainger2923]

What is the spotted blue fish that swims by at 4.24?

[@dewaltgrainger2923]

and again at 3.39?

[@fubardad8892]

Ben... in mid 2021 would you first 5 be the same or any different?

[@BenOchart]

Different. It changes every few months🤣🤣🤣

[@Withtychannel]

My favorites are whichever is showing th most color it’s hard not to like em all

[@BenOchart]

Yup. Right now I'm nuts over that sand diver in my 60. Everyday I see new shades of color. He's going to steal away the spot light from the red cap in that tank.

[@thebestmanlenny7362]

@Ben Ochart how can I load my video on this page to show you my african tank. Also I love your fish your tanks are amazing. 💪🏽

[@thebestmanlenny7362]

@ Ben Ochart the guy you purchase your Lemon Jake's from will her ship to New Jersey

[@Paul-cq2we]

So sad! Somehow you managed to exclude the free fish you had in the tank that were my favorites and always have been. The Sulfur Head, the Mdoka White Lips, and the Star Sapphire!

[@BenOchart]

Don't be sad, those three are total Rock Stars, I just kept it limited to fairly common peacocks. Now I have to do another video that includes those three 😉

[@Chasebijoy]

what diffuser are you using in the tank?

[@BenOchart]

I'm not familiar with "diffuser"...do you mean lights or powerhead?

[@marktraver5734]

Strawberry Peacock

[@ThisMarcuss]

How did you get your sand even?

[@BenOchart]

I used to rake it, but not anymore. Now, because of the powerheads mostly, its very much not even.

[@robertstarner8083]

Love your videos Ben but I’m having trouble viewing your latest, ie starting and stopping.....

[@BenOchart]

I'm sorry that you're running into that. I don't know what to do at my end since it's not showing up as an issue?

[@shaun9107]

Will your fish grow any bigger in your tank ?

[@BenOchart]

Yes. Some much bigger, twice to three times the size they are now.

[@123bizzyboy]

Ohhhh NO Ben , tell me you didn't pass on the LWANDA !!! I think if there is a list of one or two you can't pass on a Lwanda (amazing) Peacock !!!! 😮😩

[@BenOchart]

I once had an amazing Lwanda. I did limit this video to fish I currently have on hand. Unfortunately the Lwanda I had was a real bully and I was left with no choice but to give him away. I might try another someday.

[@123bizzyboy]

@@BenOchart Funny you say that. Mine is as well. Been in TO tank a couple times. Is kind of the guy in my 125 with the exception of my Livingstoni. Almost like I have no real tank boss because different fish have other fish in check. Livingstoni kept in check by my big Frontosa and Borleyi.

[@123bizzyboy]

@@BenOchart But I will never be without a Lwanda. Plan is to breed my Protomelas Ornatus and once I do you aren't far so maybe I will send one your way down the road if you are interested.

[@kenlee6802]

is it some real plants you have in the tank ?

[@BenOchart]

Unfortunately African Cichlids destroy plants so I’ve gone with nice looking artificial plants from Elite Cichlids

[@russellturner579]

Make me sick i just had jalo ref deep water hap die and gisel going be getting me two more

[@jasonhillman7329]

Hello there sir I’ve been watching your KZbin channel for a while learnt a lot thx for that I’ve just recently started my own channel if you wanna check it out got some videos of cichlids on there even if wanna give me any ideas or advice much appreciated thanks

[@BenOchart]

I will Jason.

[@redterror2140]

all those fish look the same / similar

[@BenOchart]

LOL, yes, it's the same fish photoshopped five times. My secret is finally out. I only own one fish, LOL!

[@turnerdischinger6365]

Anyone else having problems with this particular video constantly stopping?

[@krisi.2011]

Nope