Strawberry Peacock Cichlid 5cm

Strawberry Peacock Cichlid

For the aquarists looking for a large growing, immensely colourful, and downright stunning fish, the Strawberry Peacock Cichlid would be the perfect option. When it comes to selectively bred African Peacock Cichlids, the Strawberry Peacock is always one of the top contenders because of how immensely vibrant and stunning it is. With a large enough tank, these fish are quite easy to keep and their beauty along with ease of care makes them a fantastic display tank consideration. 

The Strawberry Peacock gets its name from the vibrant red and pink patterning it develops, these are fish that really do get brighter with age as well. The base colour of these peacocks is actually a solid pearl white which is overlaid with a beautiful strawberry-like pink which is most concentrated around the front half of the fish. Across the whole body, there is also a stunning powder blue sheen which provides just enough additional contrast. The Strawberry Peacock is a man-made strain that is created through selective breeding which makes them very well suited to captive conditions. Towards the tail end, it starts to break up almost forming a spot-like pattern. These fish do get fairly large, they max out at 17 cm and African Peacocks in general are commonly known to be semi-aggressive fish. They however only display aggression when it comes to territory, social hierarchy, and breeding. 

Trying to find the males and females in African Peacocks is fairly easy. The easiest method is to look at the egg spots on the ventral fin of the fish. Males will have lots whereas females will have little to none, another common method is to look at the tips of the dorsal and ventral fin. In males, these tend to be more pointed whereas in females they are rounded. The wild habitat of African Peacock Cichlids is Lake Malawi.

Tank Recommendations for your Strawberry Peacock 

The Strawberry Peacock is a very active fish that needs a tank that is at least 470 litres and around 4 feet minimum length. The main consideration for these fish is actually the aquarium environment itself. Since Strawberry Peacock Cichlids can be aggressive to one another, it is best to have a lot of visual breaks in the tank.

These fish also need a higher PH of around 8.0, this can be maintained through the use of crushed coral or aragonite sand and conditioning salts. To also make the colours pop on the Strawberry Peacocks, keeping them on a dark background would also be great. 

Suitable Tank Buddies

The Strawberry Peacock is fairly peaceful and can be kept with other colour variations of the peacock species. Overstocking peacocks in aquariums is common to avoid aggression or territorial behaviour, however, this can lead to more water changes and maintenance. This can be avoided by keeping minimal fish in a large aquarium with lots of visual breaks. Consideration can be made to keep them with peaceful Mbunas and Haps. 

Usually Compatible

Other African Peacocks like Dragon Bloods or Neon Blues and other common species such as Electric Yellow Labs.

Sometimes Compatible

Larger Haps such as Venustus, Fuscodichromis and small African Cichlids such as Julidochromis.

Rarely Compatible

Shrimp and nano aquarium fish like Neon Tetras, and Ember Tetras, and also very aggressive South American Cichlids such as Oscars and Jaguar Cichlids.

Feeding your Strawberry Peacock Cichlid

Strawberry Peacocks like other peacock cichlids are very easy to feed. It is an opportunistic feeder and will readily eat a wide range of foods being both dry, fresh, and frozen. Their diet should contain good quality African Cichlid pellets with high contents of spirulina or greens. Feeding these fish once a day will be perfectly fine.