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Sunshine Peacock

Aulonocara stuartgranti "Maleri" Family: Cichlidae

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Aulonocara stuartgranti "Maleri" (inbred) Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy David Brough

   The Sunshine Peacock is not only a bright pretty fish, it is easy to care for too!

   A moderately sized Peacock, the Sunshine Peacock reaches only about 5 inches (13 cm). This is one of the varieties of the Flavescent Peacock. Besides their brilliant coloring the Sunshine Peacocks quickly adapt to the aquarium, thus making them a desirable pet. Provide open space for swimming and a lot of caves in which to hide, sleep, or breed. Water changes that are frequent also help in keeping this cichlid. They will eat a meaty diet and have an almost puppy like excitability when being fed, thus adding to their appeal.

   The fish pictured above is captive bred and has a more orangish coloration than pure breeds. Due extensive inbreeding, captive bred fish also tend to have more blue than the pure breeds. The fish shown here has lots of blue in its dorsal fin while pure breeds just have an ice blue edging on the top of that fin. Also this variety was intentionally bred to enhance their orange color. Like all Peacocks however, this fish may be so inbred that true strains are hard to find unless wild caught (and they are not currenty being collected) or from a reputable dealer.

   Be careful not to confused this fish with the Nkhomo-benga Peacock Aulonocara baenschi. Though both these peacocks both have a strong yellow body coloring, the Nkhono-benga Peacock will have solid bright blues on the head.

For more Information on keeping this fish see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Freshwater Aquarium

Distribution:
   The Sunshine Peacock is a variety of the Flavescent Peacock and is found at the Maleri Islands in Lake Malawi, Africa. The Flavescent Peacock or Grant's Peacock Cichlid were described by Meyer and Riehl in 1985 and are endemic to Lake Malawi, Africa. Flavescent Peacocks inhabit deeper waters than other Malawi cichlids and have special sensory pores on the jaws that help them to find crustaceans in the sand.
   There are 23 Aulonocara species, though other subspecies exist.

Status:
   This species is listed on the IUCN Red List, but with the status of 'LC', meaning 'Least Concern'.

Description:
   The body of the male Sunshine Peacock is bright yellow with faded darker vertical bars, and with ice blue lines in-between towards the back. Behind the head forward, the lines are yellow. The dorsal fin is yellow with ice blue edging on the top and a few “squiggly” lines at the back end. This pattern at the back of the dorsal is repeated on the tail fin. The area below the eye is a mix of ice blue metallic and yellow, but the blue is not solid. The anal fin is yellow and the pelvic fins are yellow with a very fine trim of ice blue on the front edge. Orange versions of this fish are captive bred colorforms All females are quite drab and much smaller with dark vertical bars that are sitting on a background body color that is browish-beige. This fish may live 6 to 10 years.
   All cichlids share a common feature that some saltwater fish such as wrasses and parrotfish have and that is a well-developed pharyngeal set of teeth that are in the throat, along with their regular teeth. Cichlids have spiny rays in the back parts of the anal, dorsal, pectoral, and pelvic fins to help discourage predators. The front part of these fins are soft and perfect for precise positions and effortless movements in the water as opposed to fast swimming.
   Cichlids have one nostril on each side while other fish have 2 sets. To sense “smells” in the water, they suck water in and expel the water right back out after being “sampled” for a short or longer time, depending on how much the cichlid needs to “smell” the water. This feature is shared by saltwater damselfish and cichlids are thought to be closely related.

   Only a few other variations of Flavescent Peacock are described below. You can discern by the descriptions that there are variations in color that have formed naturally in the wild. These are all males that were wild caught in Lake Malawi and categorized by location, and some have female descriptions as well:

• Aulonocara stuartgranti “MBenji”: This Flavescent Peacock variation has a deep blue coloring on the entire body and fin areas. This blue is almost a sheen that covers the head and dorsal fin with faint darker vertical bars. They have a white edge at the top of the dorsal fin and at the tips of the tailfin. The “Mbenji” does not have the “egg spots” on the anal fin like other peacocks. Tends to be very peaceful compared to others. They can get to 5.5” to 7” This one is better in a tank by itself as it is easily pushed around and the last to eat.
• Aulonocara stuartgranti "Cobue": This Flavescent Peacock gets to just under 5”. They are blue as well, but the area on the top 1/3 (just below the back under the dorsal is a little less “shiny”. The darker vertical bars along the body are a little more visible with a slightly duller coloring in-between, yet still “under” the blue body. The top fin is blue and the back fin is a brown/red with blue dots and irregular lines. The anal fin is blue with several yellow “egg spots”. The pectoral fins are almost a burnt orange color with black/white trimming.
• Aulonocara stuartgranti "Mdoka": This Flavescent Peacock is mostly an orange/yellow in the body with small vertical electric blue specks thoughout the body. The top fin is blue with white edging and near the back of the dorsal is a yellow patch that seems to “match” the tailfin that is yellow with irregular blue horizontal lines. The face is blue as well as the anal fin, though the anal fin has a few orange/yellow eggs spots. There is an over sheen to the blue coloring that almost makes it look “metallic.”
• Aulonocara stuartgranti "Ngara": Often referred to as the Flametail Peacock, this Flavescent Peacock is basically the same as “Mdoka” except there is more blue near the top part of the fish and orange/yellow at the belly. The tailfin has a little more orange/yellow with the back of the tailfin “edged” in a black/grey band with no orange/yellow coloring. The anal fin has less blue, and only in the top 1/2 of the anal fin.
• Aulonocara stuartgranti "Nkata bay": This Flavescent Peacock is honestly the drabbest, with more of a “dull lavender” body, dark vertical bars and only the nose being bluer. The dorsal fin is a plain blue with spots of orange/yellow at the very back. The tail fin is orange/yellow with horizontal lines and irregular lines in this plain blue. The anal fin is dark, an almost burnt red with beige/yellow egg spots. The pelvic fins are a green/gold with white trim on the front part of the fins.
• Aulonocara Stuartgranti "Chipoka": This Flavescent Peacock is bright orange, and sometimes reddish with faded darker vertical bars. The dorsal fins are bright orange or reddish, with an ice blue edging on the top and blue “squiggly” lines at the back end. The blue pattern at the back of the dorsal is repeated on the anal fin and the tail fin. The area below the eye has some ice blue metallic coloring, but the blue is not solid. The anal fins and pelvic fins are also orange or reddish and the pelvic fins have a very fine trim of ice blue on the front edge. All females are quite drab and much smaller with dark vertical bars that are sitting on a background body color that is more browish. This fish may live 6 to 10 years. With extensive inbreeding carried out in Germany, in-line bred fish have been developed into two color forms, today's popular German Red Peacock and Rubin Red Peacock.
• Aulonocara Stuartgranti "Maulana": This fish is also known as the Maulana Bicolor Peacock or Maulana Bi-Color 500. This Flavescent Peacock has a blue body with a wide band of yellow just behind the head that extends into its pectoral fins. There is a wide band of yellow just behind the head that extends into the pectoral fins and there is some yellow in the tail as well. The dorsal, anal, and pectoral fins are edged in white. The females are a quite drab maroonish color with no apparent (or very slightly apparent) darker verical bars.

Size - Weight:
   The Sunshine Peacock reaches a length of only about 5 inches (13 cm)

Care and feeding:
   Though the Sunshine Peacock is an omnivore it will eat mostly meaty foods. It there are plants in the aquarium it won't touch them. In the wild they feed on a variety of live foods, especially small bottom dwelling invertebrates. In the aquarium provide them with a meaty diet; pellets, frozen and freeze-dried daphnia, bloodworms and brine shrimp are excellent choices. Avoid tubifex worms as they contribute to a disease called “Malawi bloat.” You can also use shrimp mixes (the European Shrimp Mix is cheaper than prepared foods and just as nutritious). Feed once a day when young and 5 to 6 times a week when adults unless they are breeding. Avoid the desire to feed this fish more often than it needs, as this will keep the water quality higher over a longer time.
   A 55 gallon aquarium is okay a single fish, but 100 gallons is suggested when keeping more than one. They do fine in either freshwater or brackish freshwater but need good water movement along with very strong and efficient filtration. Provide open space with plenty of swimming room on the bottom of the tank.They prefer subdued lighting. These guys will not damage plants as much as other cichlids
   Malawi Cichlids will deteriorate under poor water conditions. As these are messy fish, do water changes of 20 to 50% a week depending on bio load. Malawi bloat is a typical disease, along with other diseases that ail all freshwater fish.

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom:
   These fish will tend to swim in the bottom areas of the aquarium.

Acceptable Water Conditions:
   Crushed coral can help keep the PH up. However a higher PH means that ammonia is more lethal, so water changes are a must for these fish.
   Hardness: 6 - 10° dH
   Ph: 7.7 to 8.6
   Temp: 73 - 84° F (23 - 29° C)

Social Behaviors:
   The Sunshine Peacock is best kept alone in a 55 gallon tank, or as a group of one male and 2 females in a 100 gallon tank. They are peaceful toward those of the same species as long as it is not 2 males, unless tank is very large and can support different territories.
   This fish is best kept with their own kind as they are much more peaceful than other Malawi cichlids. If in a tank with mates that are unsuitable, they may be eaten (esp. the small females!) or will not get enough to eat. Mbunas are not good tankmates for the Sunshine Peacock. Try to not house with other Aulonocaras to prevent hybridization. Can be kept with Utakas that are similar in size, but avoid female Utakas that are similar in appearance to the Aulonocaras as they will cross breed. You can use dither fish such as Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia sp.) and/or Congo Tetras (Phenacogrammus interruptus) because sometimes they can be very shy fish.

Sexual Differences:
   Males are more colorful with the back part of their dorsal and anal fins being sharper. Females are drabber with darker vertical bars and rounded anal and dorsal fins.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   The Sunshine Peacock has been bred in captivity. Never house fry from different strains in the same tank, as it will be almost impossible to tell the fry and juveniles apart (until they grow). For the Sunshine Peacock, keep 2 females with one male for the best breeding success. The male will display an intense coloration to attract the females.
   All Cichlid parents tend to their young, making them easy to breed. They should have their own breeding tank as a couple guarding their babies can be a force to reckon with and this aggression is acted out on other tank mates. A 100 gallon tank is suggested.
   The Sunshine Peacocks are mouthbrooders. This is where the females will lay their eggs and then pick them up in their mouths, after which, they pick at the male’s anal fin to get him to produce “milt” or sperm. The female will then take this milt into her mouth and the eggs are fertilized at that time. She will carry them in her mouth until the fry are old enough to be able to feed on their own. With other Peacocks this takes around 21 days so it is assumed the same is true for this fish. She will nibble and eat next to nothing during this time
   Try and keep the different species blood lines pure. If this does not happen, pure strains can be lost permanently, unless more are wild caught, thus depleting our natural resources. See more information on breeding cichlids in Breeding Freshwater Fish.

Buy Peacock Cichlids From LiveAquaria.com

Availability:
  The Sunshine Peacock pure breeds are sometimes found online or in fish stores. Just be sure you know what you are looking for, because they may be just listed under “peacock” to the uneducated eye. They may be special ordered if you are willing to wait for them if they are out of season.

Author: Carrie McBirney and
Additional Information: Clarice Brough, CFS

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