75 Gallon Tank First African Cichlid Tank

So I was gonna get a 37 gallon tank from work over the weekend but my beautiful, amazing, gorgeous, wonderful girlfriend decided that 37 gallons wasn't gonna cut it for our next tank seeing as we have the 55 already, so she bought me a new 75 gallon tank(the biggest tank I have had so far). She really is the best.
Anyway...since we got the bigger tank I decided to make it an African Cichlid tank. We got the tank and we got sand and rocks from Home Depot. I got an Aquaclear 110 for the filter so its over filtered as is but I'll probably add another one or maybe a smaller filter just to be safe. While picking out the filter and heater and what not we went ahead and looked at the Africans. We saw a really nice looking peacock cichlid that I would really like to pick up once the tank is cycled. Since this is my first time doing cichlids I would appreciate any and all suggestions as to which cichlids to look at and which to avoid. Thanks to you all for any help in advance.


This is the Peacock we want.

 

Wow, congrats on your new tank. Tip of the hat to the girlfriend, that's awesome.
First, you need to decide what kind of Africans you want. I would recommend a thorough search. here are a few things to keep in mind.
not recommended to mix africans from lakes. if you choose a fish from Lake MalawI for instance stay with Lake Malawi. if you choose Lake Tanganyikan stay with that lake.
I do not recommend mixing species, So, if you really want that peacock, stay with Peacocks. Many what LFS call Assorted African Cichlids are Mbuna. Mbuna are much more aggressive than Peacocks. And yes, you can get these different species as Juvies and it will look like they are all fine and no problems. But it is just a matter of time. your Picture looks like an
OB Peacock. beautiful fish, and there are many more Peacock sub-species that will go well with them, but An Mbuna would eventually kill that fish.
So, google African Peacock Cichlids and African Mbuna Cichlids and African Haps and Tangs and Victorians to mention a few. once you zero in on what species, we can probably help you with more questions you may have.
good luck.

 

So I was gonna get a 37 gallon tank from work over the weekend but my beautiful, amazing, gorgeous, wonderful girlfriend decided that 37 gallons wasn't gonna cut it for our next tank seeing as we have the 55 already, so she bought me a new 75 gallon tank(the biggest tank I have had so far). She really is the best.
Anyway...since we got the bigger tank I decided to make it an African Cichlid tank. We got the tank and we got sand and rocks from Home Depot. I got an Aquaclear 110 for the filter so its over filtered as is but I'll probably add another one or maybe a smaller filter just to be safe. While picking out the filter and heater and what not we went ahead and looked at the Africans. We saw a really nice looking peacock cichlid that I would really like to pick up once the tank is cycled. Since this is my first time doing cichlids I would appreciate any and all suggestions as to which cichlids to look at and which to avoid. Thanks to you all for any help in advance.
View attachment 88048
This is the Peacock we want.

hello and congrats on deciding to go with a cichlid tank! i've had african cichlids for many years and they are (in my opinion) the prettyist and flashiest fresh water fish and so fulfilling to keep! first of all try and stay with cichlids from the same lake (malawi, tanganika, etc) mixing species from different lakes can be problematic. also cichlids are a fish that do better and are easier to keep when overcrowded due to their aggressive nature. NEVER add just one fish to a tank of cichlids! he will soon be torn up or worse! the best thing to do is add 3 or more fish at a time that way it's harder for fish to pick on one in particular newby. the more hiding places the better! for your 75 gal I would put quite a few cichlids in it and try to add them all at the same time. I went through a good handful of fish when I was new to cichlids and only added one at a time or only had 2 or 3 in my tank before learning this. I currently have 9 in my 46 gal bowfront. I added them all at once and they are doing great! temp needs to be between 75 f and 80 f and this particular fish needs a ph of 8.3. a good way to maintain a good ph is to add crushed coral to the substrate. if you don't want a test kit I recommend at least haveing a ph tester because maintining that ph level is very important. once your tank is started and has fish in it if you decide to add more add multiple fish at once like I previously said and you can also rearange the tank when you add them. this way territories are disturbed so the old fish don't have a territory to protect and keep other fish away from, instead everone is looking for a new home lol. hope this helps! i'm happy to answer anymore questions if I missed anything you want to know about

 

Done some research and decided to do a MalawI tank. So which other types of Cichlids would go with the OB peacock we are getting? Also, in regards to over stocking for Africans, how many do you fish do you think I could get in the 75? I was thinking 20-25. Does that sound good? Should I do more or less?

 

great choice! my tank is a malawI tank and I love it! as long as you stick with fish from lake malawI you should be pretty good. if possible choose your fish from a store where the owner/employees are knowledgable about cichlids and they can help you pick out fish that are from malawI and compatable. if you don't have the luxury of a knowledgable cichlid store than stick with strictly peacocks and that should workout for you. 20 should be good. go by how the fish are behaving, if they're picking on each other and beating eachother up then add more. good luck! i'm sure you'll enjoy your new malawI tank as much as I do mine! here's a pic of my tank

 

I never had experience with peacock cichlids, but hopefully I can watch as your tank becomes a wonderful african cichlid tank. Post pictures once you really start getting things going.

 

Thanks for all the help. I'll keep you posted on how things are going. Probably gonna add fish next weekend. Do you think 5 would be a good starting number or would a few more be better?

 

IMO, if you are getting Juvenile (1"-2.5") get as many as you can afford on the first trip. gives them a chance to grow up together. many will say not to do this because of the excessive bioload. like I said, its just my opinion, but I have just completed my 4th tank of Africans this way with no issues. with the larger tank you should be fine. ( of course, I need to say I do frequent water changes and maintenance. ( once a week, and if I feel it necessary I will do a quick one in the middle of the week)

 

Definitely gonna keep up on my water changes. Bought an Aqueon water changer pretty much just because of this tank. Its really gonna be cost that keeps me from getting too many to start. Probably won't be able to get more than 5-8(if I can talk my girlfriend into letting me spend that much on fish at one time).

 

the more fish the better!

 

Well added fish today! Here are some pics!

 

Let me know what you think.