Flavescent Peacock Breeding Guide

Breeding Aulonocara stuartgranti: maternal mouthbrooding, sexing by colour, a hard-water rockwork spawning setup and rearing the mouthbrooded brood.

Overview

Aulonocara stuartgranti is a peacock cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi, found in Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. All Aulonocara species are maternal mouthbrooders, and the genus is strongly sexually dichromatic even by haplochromine standards, which makes pairing and brood management straightforward in a suitable hard-water tank.

Sexing

The species is strongly dichromatic. Males develop intense colour, including a metallic blue face with yellow to orange flanks, while females stay drab brown. Only dominant males show full colour, so sexing is most reliable once males mature.

Conditioning

Peacocks are omnivores. A varied diet keeps broodstock in condition; like other Lake Malawi cichlids they should be kept on rich but balanced foods and clean, stable hard water within the lake's parameters.

Breeding Setup

Provide plenty of rocks and open sand. Lake Malawi cichlids thrive at pH 7.5-8.4 and 25-29 °C (77-84 °F). A harem of one male to several females spreads aggression and lets the dominant male court each female in turn over a chosen flat surface or pit.

Spawning Behavior & Trigger

Spawning follows the typical haplochromine pattern: the female lays a small batch of eggs, immediately takes them into her mouth, and collects sperm to fertilise them. Stable warm, hard water and a settled dominant male are the main triggers.

Egg & Fry Care

The female incubates eggs and fry in her mouth and does not feed during this period. Once she releases free-swimming fry they accept finely powdered foods and newly hatched brine shrimp; rearing them away from larger fish reduces predation.