Advice needed. Bumblebee and Peacock

[cletis4ever]

So I made a mistake. I was fish shopping for my 125 gallon tank and went by the pet stores temperament labels, which labeled both the peacock and bumblebee as "territorial", as opposed to "aggressive". So I bought one of each.

It was fine for a while, but in the last few days my bumblebee has gotten much more aggressive, which inspired a few Google searches. Turns out, as I'm sure you know, the bumblebee probably should have been labeled "aggressive".

I read on a forum (perhaps this one) that IF you are to keep both species, you should keep 3-4 so the aggression is spread out a bit instead of constantly focused on one fish. So ...do I buy another bumblebee or another peacock?

My thoughts are if I buy another bumblebee, that's two overly aggressive fish that could BOTH harass the peacock or maybe even fight each other. So I'm thinking of adding another peacock and hoping for the best.

What are your thoughts??

 

[dudley]

Welcome to AC!!

I would not add another bumblebee which I assume is a Pseudotropheus crabro. Could you post the full stocking of fish you currently have in the tank so we can make recommendations on what to add?

What are your goals for this tank set up? Are you doing mixed gender or all male?

 

[cletis4ever]

Welcome to AC!!

I would not add another bumblebee which I assume is a Pseudotropheus crabro. Could you post the full stocking of fish you currently have in the tank so we can make recommendations on what to add?

What are your goals for this tank set up? Are you doing mixed gender or all male?

I'm not sure I have any goals beyond not having my "favorite" fish torment each other constantly (details on that in a bit). I am a relatively new aquarist, hence the rookie mistake of improperly mixing species. My tank (125 gallon) currently has 2 medium sized plecos, the Bumblebee, and the Peacock (exact variety unknown). I'd call those the featured fish of the tank and hence the "favorites". I also have roughly 9 guppies that I realize may become food once the cichlids grow. That wasn't the idea in the beginning, but I realize it's a possibility.

I'm not sure the "pet stores" I shop at (PetSmart, Pet Supplies Plus) even label the sex of the fish, but I BELIEVE I'm generally sticking to the males for their coloration.