Keeping Haps and Peacock Malawi Cichlids
A Practical Guide
By Pet Aqua, Chatham, Kent
There's something truly special about a Malawi cichlid tank. When the lights come on and a group of vibrant males flare their colours over open sand, it's hard to tear yourself away. Of all the fish from Lake Malawi, the Haps and Peacocks are the ones that most often steal the show — calm, graceful swimmers that glow with electric blues, sunset oranges, strawberry reds and golden yellows.
If you're thinking about setting up a Hap and Peacock tank, or you're already on the journey, this guide will walk you through the essentials. We've kept it practical and honest — these are the same tips we give every customer who walks through our doors in Chatham.
What Are Haps and Peacocks?
Lake Malawi is home to hundreds of cichlid species, and they broadly fall into a few groups based on where they live and how they behave. The two we're focusing on here are:
Peacocks (Aulonocara species) — Medium-sized cichlids famous for the dazzling colour of their males. They're relatively peaceful, spend their time sifting sand for food, and come in a huge range of line-bred colours, from the classic Blue Peacock to the vivid Strawberry and Tangerine varieties.
Haps (Haplochromine cichlids) — A broader group that ranges from peaceful, open-water swimmers to larger predatory species. Many grow bigger than peacocks and bring a different body shape and swimming style to the tank.
The great news is that Haps and Peacocks generally mix well together. They share similar water requirements, similar diets, and a calmer temperament than their more boisterous cousins, the mbuna. This makes a mixed Hap and Peacock display one of the most popular and rewarding setups in the hobby — a tank full of colour, movement and character without the constant chaos.
Tank Size: Go Big, Go Bigger
Here's a rule we always stress to our customers: start with at least a 200 litre tank, but larger is always better.
Haps and Peacocks are active swimmers that need open space. A larger tank gives males room to establish territories without constantly clashing, and it gives you far more flexibility when it comes to stocking. A 200 litre aquarium is the sensible starting point, but if you have the space and budget for a 400 litre or larger tank, you — and your fish — will reap the benefits.
A longer tank is particularly valuable. Haps and Peacocks use the full length of the aquarium, and extra swimming room means less aggression and better colour from your males.
The Overstocking Rule: More Fish, Less Fighting
This is the bit that often surprises people new to Malawi cichlids. With most tropical fish, the advice is to keep stocking levels moderate. With Malawi cichlids, it's the opposite — you deliberately overstock.
The reason is aggression. Malawi cichlids are territorial by nature, and in a lightly stocked tank a dominant male will single out one or two fish and bully them relentlessly. By keeping a larger group, that aggression is spread so thinly across so many fish that no single individual takes the full brunt of it. Territories become harder to establish, and the constant activity stops hard boundaries from forming.
Our advice to customers is simple: always keep more than 10 fish, and never under 5. Anything less and you risk one bully dominating the tank. A larger, well-stocked group keeps everyone busy, everyone colouring up, and everyone far safer.
Filtration: Over-Spec It or Pay the Price
Overstocking only works if the water stays clean, and that means your filtration has to be up to the job. A crowded Malawi tank produces a significant biological load, and a filter that's perfectly adequate for a normal community tank simply won't cope.
When you're choosing filtration, think of it as a small treatment plant rather than a standard aquarium filter. We recommend over-specifying your filter — aim for a turnover rate well above what you'd normally consider for the tank size, and don't be afraid to run more than one filter or add a powerhead for extra circulation. Good mechanical and biological filtration, combined with regular water changes, is what keeps an overstocked Malawi tank healthy and the water crystal clear.
A good rule of thumb is to aim for a turnover of around 8 to 10 times the tank volume per hour. So for a 300 litre tank, you'd be looking at filtration capable of moving around 2,400 to 3,000 litres per hour. Strong aeration and surface movement help too, keeping oxygen levels high for these active fish.
Water Parameters: Hard and Alkaline
Lake Malawi is a vast, ancient rift lake with hard, alkaline, mineral-rich water. Your tap water in much of the south-east of England actually gets you a good part of the way there, which is one reason Malawi cichlids do so well in this part of the country.
The key parameters to aim for are:
pH: 7.8 to 8.6
General Hardness (GH): 10 to 20 dGH
Temperature: 24 to 28°C (75 to 82°F)
If your water is on the softer side, you can buffer it up using calcareous decor and substrate — crushed coral or aragonite sand, limestone or ocean rock — which dissolves slowly to hold the minerals and pH high. Crucially, do the opposite of a soft-water tank: no peat, no botanicals, no reverse osmosis water chasing a low pH. Stability is what matters most, so keep your parameters consistent and avoid sudden swings.
Regular water changes are essential. With dense stocking, aim for around 20 to 30% every week to keep nitrates low and water quality high. Malawi cichlids thrive on frequent, large-scale water changes — just make sure the new water is matched for temperature, pH and hardness.
Tank Setup: Open Sand with Rockwork
Unlike mbuna, which love dense rock piles and caves, Haps and Peacocks prefer a more open layout. They need swimming room over sand, with rockwork used to break up sightlines and provide the occasional hiding spot rather than filling the whole tank.
A fine sandy substrate is ideal — peacocks in particular are natural sand-sifters, and they'll spend hours picking through the substrate looking for morsels. Arrange rocks in clusters along the back and sides, leaving the front and centre open for swimming. This gives males space to display and claim small territories without feeling cramped.
Diet: Quality and Variety
Haps and Peacocks are omnivores. In the wild, peacocks sift sand for small invertebrates, while many haps hunt smaller fish in open water. In the aquarium, they'll do well on a varied diet of high-quality cichlid pellets and flakes, supplemented with frozen foods such as brine shrimp, mysis and bloodworms.
A good-quality pellet containing spirulina or vegetable matter helps keep their digestion healthy and their colours vivid. Feed small amounts a couple of times a day rather than one large meal, and keep an eye on uneaten food — in an overstocked tank, waste builds up fast.
Adding New Fish: The Strawberry and Tangerine Tip
One of the most useful pieces of advice we give customers is about adding certain fish to an established tank.
Bright, solid-coloured varieties like Strawberry Peacocks and Tangerine Peacocks can attract unwanted attention when introduced to an existing group. The other fish often make a beeline for them — a flash of new colour can trigger territorial interest, and a single new fish can quickly become the focus of the whole tank.
Our tip: when adding Strawberry or Tangerine peacocks, add at least three at a time. This spreads the attention across several new arrivals rather than concentrating it on one poor fish, and gives them a much better chance of settling in safely. It's a small thing that makes a big difference.
The same principle applies to any new addition, really — adding a small group is always less stressful for the fish than adding a single individual.
Our Fish: Hand-Selected for Quality and Colour
We're fussy about our Malawi cichlids — and we think you should be too.
Rather than simply ordering in whatever arrives, Simon visits the wholesaler in person and hand-catches every one of our Malawis. He's selecting specifically for quality and colour, picking out the fish with the brightest, cleanest colouration and the best condition. It means a bit more time and effort on our part, but it's why our customers keep coming back — the difference in colour and vitality really shows in the tank.
When you buy Malawi cichlids from Pet Aqua, you're getting fish that have been chosen with care, not just boxed up at random.
A Quick Summary
If you take away nothing else from this guide, remember these key points:
Tank size: At least 200 litres, but larger is better.
Stocking: Always keep more than 10 fish, never under 5, to spread aggression.
Filtration: Over-spec it — your filter needs to handle an overstocked aquarium.
Water: Hard and alkaline, pH 7.8 to 8.6, 24 to 28°C, with regular water changes.
Adding Strawberry or Tangerine peacocks: Add at least three at a time so the existing fish don't single them out.
Layout: Open sandy swimming space with rockwork for cover and territory markers.
Come and See Us
Keeping Haps and Peacocks is one of the most rewarding things you can do in this hobby. A well-set-up Malawi tank is a living jewel — full of colour, movement and personality — and with the right setup it's surprisingly straightforward to maintain.
If you're planning a Hap and Peacock tank, or you're looking to add to an existing one, pop in and see us at Pet Aqua in Chatham, Kent. We'll happily talk you through your options, help you choose the right fish, and make sure your setup is ready to give them the best possible home.
We've got the fish — we've got the advice — and we'd love to help you build a Malawi tank you'll be proud of.