Aggressive Aulonocara has got me down :(

[GrahamWebb]

Folks...I love my African cichlids, but MAN!!!...there aggressive nature is bumming me out.
I'm trying to obtain a balance of males and females of various Malawi species that can co-exist with each other relatively well...is that askking to much!!!!  apparently it is, because the big tank boss (Aulonocara stuartgranti "Chipoka" aka Sunshine peacock) has been beating the sh%t out of another male of same species in my 75 gal all Malawi tank.  In fact I don't think he is going to make it...I need more females of the same species I know (right now my males out number females).  I've also heard it's good to kinda crowd the Africans,so that the bullying is spread out a little. 

Do I just have to sit and wait until the weaker fish eventually winds up dead or is there something I can do?  keeping in mind that I have no where else I can put him? 
by the by...I'll trade a 2 " male sunshine peacock (healthy - not beat up yet) for  a female...

thoughts?
Advice?
Graham

[Brent Shaver]

Do you have rock work / hiding places for the weaker less aggressive fish to take cover?  I know it can be a struggle and in some cases like myself I had to get rid of 2 different fish inorder to maintain a balance that doesnt freak you out.

Keep in mind there will always be some aggression in a cichlid tank but as long as there is good hiding places it shouldnt turn into one or two getting beat up.

Hope this helps
Brent

[gemmate]

Keep in mind there will always be some aggression in a cichlid tank but as long as there is good hiding places it shouldnt turn into one or two getting beat up.

I agrree with Brent. I have 135G and plenty of rocks. I have big guys (~6") live together with small ones (~1'"). Whenever big ones are trying to attack small ones they escape fast into the rock work.
Spread the aggression also work. I think for your 75G you need at least 15 fish to spread the aggression and as you already said more femails than males. Also decrease your temperature in the tank, they tend to show more agrression with bigger temperatures.

[Demasonian]

With most malawi fish, it's really vital to get a good male to female ratio to minimize aggression. Can't stress that enough. As you've already stated, you have more males than females and this is likely the primary cause of the aggression. The general rule of thumb for Peacocks, I think, is 1 male for 4 females. Less females results in aggression towards them when they refuse to breed and towards any other male that could be perceived as competition.

On crowding, I know this works for mbuna, have done it myself, but I don't know if the same rule applies for peacocks. If you do crowd, ensure that you have the filtration and water change routine to deal with the increased bio load.

As gemmate suggested, lowering the temperature can also help lower aggression, but do so very slowly and to a lower limit of 76.

You don't have to wait for the other fish to die. My advice would be to find a new home for the aggressor, either via this website or Big Als and then let the other male recover. Likely he'll then assume the role of dominant male...

Short term advice, re-house one of the males. Long term, more females.

Good luck and don't get bummed out! Once the tank is in balance, all your work will be paid off.