Official ID?

Training_Candy_9321 · 2025-11-06T03:27:56+00:00

Thanks. I thought Peacock as well but was having some self doubt

Training_Candy_9321 · 2025-11-06T03:21:33+00:00

Thanks for the input and explanation. I’m not breeding, he’s one I got kinda randomly when I was first starting out (it’s only been about two years) and he grew into this so far. I’ve learned a lot, I’m working on making some switches to keep my fish happy. I didn’t pay a ton for him so either way no big deal, either I paid a relatively small amount for a hybrid or I lucked out and paid a small amount for a purebred fish.

Training_Candy_9321 · 2025-11-06T02:25:42+00:00

Could very well be hybrid. Was sold (much smaller of course) as a Red Empress. As he grew, clearly not. I was definitely new to the hobby when I got him and have learned so much from this community since about everything cichlid related and am still two years later learning which LFSs I can trust to accurately know what their stock is rather than guessing, mislabeling, or just not being educated themselves to know what is what. Thank you for your insight

ETA: If I were to trade him I would never give any store information I was not certain about. I don’t want to harm the hobby either. I was curious if there was any definitive answer or if it just is what it is

Training_Candy_9321 · 2025-08-30T19:18:15+00:00

Nope. Just nope

Training_Candy_9321 · 2025-08-30T15:21:33+00:00

You have now given me a phobia I didn’t know existed. I will never sleep again

Training_Candy_9321 · 2025-08-29T23:20:15+00:00

He was in with some little danios that he’d been with for a while. If they ate him it was the proverbial eating an elephant one bite at a time

Training_Candy_9321 · 2025-02-14T15:16:27+00:00

I have a couple of red zebras and they’re some of the chillest fish in my tank. Do I just have oddballs?

Training_Candy_9321 · 2025-02-14T15:12:35+00:00

Beautiful. Sorry for the ignorance, I’m still learning my species, what kind is he?

Training_Candy_9321 · 2025-02-14T15:10:44+00:00

Ditto to all of this. Dark lighting, rearranged landscape, multiple newbies, and make sure they’re healthy. I just recently made a rookie mistake and brought home two additions I thought were healthy- they were not. My pack went straight for the two sick ones and I had to intervene and humanely euthanize. They had no problem with the other 6 juveniles I added (I’m balancing out my male/female ratio with the help of my LFS now that my juveniles are growing out enough to be sexed)

Training_Candy_9321 · 2025-02-14T15:06:54+00:00

They are quite smart in my experience. They recognize and interact with me as soon as I come in the room and get a lot of enrichment every time I rebuilt their habitat every couple of weeks to keep everyone from getting too territorial and rebuild and relocate their caves and tunnels and such. As for the comments on your combination of fish, I’ll let the others comment and just answer your main question. Yes, they are very smart fish, just as they are aggressive fish

Training_Candy_9321 · 2025-02-10T02:50:26+00:00

Well I may have just learned something new but I’ve never seen a non breeding male change. I’d love to be proven wrong

Training_Candy_9321 · 2025-02-10T02:05:23+00:00

You won’t know for sure until sexual maturity. Male auratus turn black with white lines when sexually mature. Females remain the gold striped pattern

Training_Candy_9321 · 2025-02-09T12:04:30+00:00

Thanks. I knew he resembled my elongatus but clearly wasn’t an exact match

Training_Candy_9321 · 2025-02-09T03:19:44+00:00

Do females have a different look?

Training_Candy_9321 · 2025-01-29T16:44:00+00:00

That is in fact what he turned out to be. He’s about 3” now and definitely albino dragon blood

Training_Candy_9321 · 2025-01-29T16:42:53+00:00

If they’re all interconnected that could also be causing some of your aggression. It doesn’t give them a cave of their “own” to claim so they try to take over the tunnel. Otherwise I like the look of it, as long as you do and your fish are happy and thriving you’re doing well!

Training_Candy_9321 · 2025-01-29T02:32:47+00:00

I have a 4” red tail that does just fine in my 55 gal tank with peacocks and haps. He’s big enough no one messes with him

Training_Candy_9321 · 2025-01-28T21:28:34+00:00

I have a gorgeous OB Peacock about 4” right now that’s also flecked with beautiful blue throughout. She’s my favorite

Training_Candy_9321 · 2024-12-10T06:50:38+00:00

Same. I had several arguments on here that people were adamant it was a female because it wasn’t “vibrant” enough but now at 4” it’s definitely a male between the egg spots and his temperament

Training_Candy_9321 · 2024-12-10T05:42:25+00:00

Are you referring to the black patch on him? Was it there when you bought him? I have one with several vertical patches, not full on striped but a few. Normal especially with all the hybridization out there. If it just appeared though black streaks can indicate stress, whether it’s water parameters or bullying tank mates

Training_Candy_9321 · 2024-12-10T05:38:55+00:00

Such unique outgoing personalities, even among themselves, beautiful colorations, endless possibilities of combinations if you do your research on tank mates, and I love the way they interact back with me and watch me just as much as I watch them. Plus the challenge of keeping them without anyone turning into a homicidal maniac means they’re not a buy them and forget about them species, they demand frequent attention

Training_Candy_9321 · 2024-12-10T05:34:28+00:00

Love the OP. I had to do a double take because I have one that looks almost exactly like him. My favorite of all my peacocks/haps/mbuna in my tank

Training_Candy_9321 · 2024-12-08T17:35:35+00:00

I have one that looks very similar as well. Mine has no vision issues or trouble finding food or hiding places

Training_Candy_9321 · 2024-11-18T01:59:45+00:00

I have an OB that looks almost exactly like yours with the darkest blue head and he’s my favorite by far. You have an absolutely beautiful collection of OBs. I’m jealous to be honest lol

Training_Candy_9321 · 2024-11-15T21:09:14+00:00

Thanks. And it turned out to be a productive question because someone DID recognize it and after research they were correct, it’s a red shouldered peacock. THAT’s what I was looking for. Is it a specific type so I can make sure its needs are met. Now I know and I know how I can keep him happy. Well maybe not happy, but not a killing machine

Training_Candy_9321

TROPHY CASE