Sulfurhead peacock

Care at a glance

Overview

Keep one male with several females in a tank of at least 250 liters with sand and rock cover. Water should be hard and alkaline at 25 to 28 C, pH 7.8 to 8.6. It is peaceful for a cichlid and belongs with other peacocks and calm haps, not aggressive mbuna that outcompete it for food. Feed sinking pellets and frozen foods like mysis and brine shrimp.

In the wild

The sulfurhead peacock lives where rock meets sand in Lake Malawi. Males are dark blue to black with a bright yellow stripe running from the forehead along the top of the back. Like other peacocks it hunts small animals over the sand.

Good to know

Aulonocara maylandi is a maternal mouthbrooder and, like all peacocks, uses sensitive pores on its face to sense prey buried in sand. The vivid yellow crest and dorsal stripe give it the sulfurhead name. It is one of the smaller Aulonocara species.

Did you know

The glowing yellow band over its head and back is the reason for both of its trade names, sulfurhead and apache.

Related species

• 

  Grant's peacock

  Aulonocara stuartgranti

  5.1 in (13 cm)74 gal (280 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Sunshine peacock cichlid

  Aulonocara baenschi

  4.3 in (11 cm)63 gal (240 L)77–84°F (25–29°C)

• 

  Pale usisya aulonocara

  Aulonocara steveni

  5.5 in (14 cm)63 gal (240 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Eureka red peacock

  Aulonocara jacobfreibergi

  6.7 in (17 cm)63 gal (240 L)77–84°F (25–29°C)

• 

  Honduran red point cichlid

  Amatitlania siquia

  3.9 in (10 cm)30 gal (114 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)

• 

  Black calvus

  Altolamprologus calvus

  5.1 in (13 cm)53 gal (200 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)