Easy
Maulana Bicolor Peacock Cichlid (Aulonocara stuartgranti red flash)
24–28°C · pH 7.5–8.5 · 200L
£13.99
A bold red-orange Lake Malawi peacock cichlid for hard, alkaline African cichlid aquariums. Best kept by keepers who can provide space, strong filtration and compatible Malawi tank mates.
Adult size is the maximum length this species reaches at full maturity (scientific sources). The livestock you receive will be younger and smaller — pick a size variant above for the actual shipping size. Photos are AI-enhanced, so the animal may show subtle colour or marking differences.
Aulonocara sp. rubin red
Rubin Red Peacock Cichlid bond and breed in male/female pairs — buying a pair gives them the social structure they need.
A bold red-orange Lake Malawi peacock cichlid for hard, alkaline African cichlid aquariums. Best kept by keepers who can provide space, strong filtration and compatible Malawi tank mates.
Adult size is the maximum length this species reaches at full maturity (scientific sources). The livestock you receive will be younger and smaller — pick a size variant above for the actual shipping size. Photos are AI-enhanced, so the animal may show subtle colour or marking differences.
Cichlids are one of the most diverse fish families in the hobby. From tiny apistogrammas to massive oscars, this guide covers the basics of keeping them well.
Maintain these water conditions for optimal health and vibrant colors
The Rubin Red Peacock Cichlid is a vivid red-orange Lake Malawi peacock cichlid with blue facial highlights and long, elegant finnage as males mature. It is commonly traded as Aulonocara sp. 'Rubin Red', Aulonocara Rubin Red, or Roter Kaiser. That naming is important: Rubin Red is best treated as a selectively developed aquarium line rather than a neat wild locality form, so this page keeps the identity honest while still giving keepers the practical care detail they need.
This is a strong choice for a keeper building a hard-water African cichlid display and wanting colour without the relentless aggression of many mbuna. It is still a cichlid, so it should not be sold in the mind as a soft community fish. Give it space, clean alkaline water, a sand bed, rockwork, and tank mates chosen from compatible Malawi peacocks or calmer haps, and it becomes a confident centrepiece fish with serious visual impact.
Rubin Red Peacocks are bought for colour, but the best reason to choose one is the balance between colour and manageability. Mature males can show a deep orange-red body, electric blue around the face and fins, and a metallic sheen that catches aquarium lighting beautifully. Juveniles and females may be much plainer, which is normal for Aulonocara; colour improves with age, sex, diet, social position and stable water quality.
The body shape is the classic peacock cichlid form: streamlined, alert, and active in open water above sand and rock. Unlike many mbuna, peacocks spend less time scraping algae from rocks and more time searching the substrate and lower water column for small foods. In the aquarium this means they appreciate open swimming room as much as caves or territories.
Because this is a line-bred fish, colour claims should be realistic. Lighting, stress, sex, age and hierarchy all affect how intense the red appears. A settled dominant male in clean water will show far more than a newly arrived juvenile. This is why the listing carries both the source photo and the existing scene images: the source image gives the exact supplier reference, while the aquarium views help a customer imagine the fish in a display.
For a single male with suitable tank mates, plan around a spacious Malawi cichlid aquarium rather than a small community tank. A 200 litre aquarium is a sensible starting point, with more volume strongly preferred if you are mixing several males, keeping a harem, or combining peacocks with haps. Use sand or fine rounded substrate so the fish can browse and sift naturally without damaging the mouth.
Build rockwork at the back and sides to break lines of sight, then leave open swimming space across the front. The aim is not a cramped cave maze; it is a clear, mineral-rich Malawi layout with enough structure for weaker fish to move away from a dominant male. Tough plants such as Anubias or Java fern can be attached to decor if desired, but this species is better suited to a rock-and-sand cichlid aquascape than a delicate planted display.
Filtration matters. Malawi cichlids are active, well-fed fish, and water quality drops quickly if the system is under-filtered. Use mature biological filtration, strong oxygenation, and regular water changes. Stability is more important than chasing exact numbers every day; avoid sudden swings in pH, temperature or hardness.
A good layout gives the fish three things at once: open water for cruising, sand for natural searching behaviour, and rock structure for boundaries. If the aquarium is all rock and no open space, peacocks can look crowded. If it is all open space and no broken sight lines, weaker fish have nowhere to escape attention from a confident male.
The Petra catalogue line for this fish gives a temperature of 24-26 C, pH 7.5-8.5 and hardness around 10-30 dH. That matches the wider care pattern for Lake Malawi peacocks: warm, alkaline, hard water with high oxygen and low waste. This is not a fish for soft, acidic South American community conditions.
If your tap water is naturally soft, do not rely on guesswork. Use a Malawi mineral mix or another consistent remineralising method and test the aquarium before adding fish. Stability makes a bigger difference than tiny adjustments, and sudden corrections can be more stressful than a steady reading inside the correct alkaline range.
Feed a varied cichlid diet built around quality pellets or granules. Supplement with frozen brine shrimp, mysis, krill, daphnia or similar foods, but keep rich foods measured rather than constant. Aulonocara are not specialist algae grazers in the same way as many mbuna, but they still benefit from balanced foods that support digestion and colour without overloading the gut.
Small portions once or twice daily are usually better than heavy feeds. Remove uneaten food and keep an eye on body shape. A healthy peacock should look full and strong, not hollow, but overfeeding can quickly create poor water quality in a busy cichlid tank.
For colour, use quality foods rather than shortcuts. Carotenoid-rich formulas can support natural red and orange tones, but they cannot replace genetics, maturity and low-stress conditions. If a fish is bullied, chilled, newly shipped or kept in poor water, colour will drop no matter how good the food is.
Rubin Red Peacocks are best described as semi-aggressive. They are often more measured than mbuna, but males can be territorial, especially when mature, breeding, or competing with similar-looking males. Good companions are usually other peacock cichlids, calmer haps, Yellow Labs in the right layout, and suitable Synodontis catfish. Avoid tiny fish, shrimp, delicate community fish, or very aggressive mbuna that can bully peacocks and damage fins.
If you keep more than one male peacock, use a larger tank with visual barriers and avoid very similar red-orange males unless you know the social mix. For breeding groups, a common approach is one male with several females, but avoid mixing closely related Aulonocara forms if you want to prevent hybrid fry.
Watch the first week after introduction closely. Chasing at feeding time is normal cichlid behaviour, but a fish that is pinned in a corner, losing scales, hiding constantly or being denied food needs action. Rearranging rockwork, adding sight breaks or changing the stocking mix can be more effective than simply hoping the hierarchy settles.
Like other Lake Malawi peacock cichlids, Rubin Red Peacocks are maternal mouthbrooders. The male displays and defends a spawning site, the female collects eggs, and she carries the eggs and fry in her mouth until release. This behaviour is fascinating, but breeding should be planned. Keep records, avoid accidental hybridisation, and do not mix multiple similar Aulonocara lines if the goal is clean offspring.
A holding female may eat little and become shy. If you intend to raise fry, prepare a calm holding or grow-out arrangement before spawning happens. If you are not breeding deliberately, keep the focus on a stable display tank and do not overcrowd the aquarium with similar males.
This Shopify product carries multiple supplier size options under the same Rubin Red Peacock listing. Smaller juveniles are better value but may show less colour, while larger males are more likely to display the red and blue pattern people expect from the name. Always choose size by the aquarium you have now, not only by the colour you want later.
For mixed cichlid tanks, size matching matters. A very small juvenile can struggle with large established cichlids, while a larger male may be too confident for a newly set up small group. If the aquarium already has Malawi cichlids, compare the new fish to the current residents before choosing the size option.
This fish is a good fit if your aquarium already runs warm, hard and alkaline, has robust filtration, and contains or will contain Malawi-compatible fish. It is also a good fit if you want a colourful centrepiece that still behaves like a cichlid rather than a passive schooling fish. It is a poor fit for soft-water aquascapes, nano tanks, shrimp tanks, peaceful tetra communities or aquariums where water changes are irregular.
The most successful keepers treat the Rubin Red Peacock as part of a planned cichlid community. They choose tank mates by temperament and water chemistry, feed cleanly, and leave enough swimming space for the fish to display. When those basics are right, this line can be one of the most rewarding red peacocks to keep.
Choose this fish if you already keep hard-water cichlids or are deliberately setting up for Lake Malawi fish. Do not add it to a peaceful tetra, guppy or soft-water community aquarium. It needs alkaline water, confident feeding competition, and tank mates that understand cichlid social behaviour.
Orders are packed for live-fish transport and sent by UK live-animal courier where available. Tropical Fish Co orders are covered by our Live Arrival Guarantee when the delivery instructions are followed, and first-time customers can use WELCOME10 where the current promotion applies. Those trust signals belong in the customer journey, but they should support the listing rather than overwhelm the fish care information.
It is suitable for a careful beginner to African cichlids, but not for a first casual community aquarium. The keeper needs to understand hard alkaline water, cichlid aggression, filtration and stocking choices.
It can work with selected calmer mbuna in a large, well-structured tank, but many mbuna are too aggressive or too competitive. Peacocks and calmer haps are usually a safer match.
Not always. Juveniles and females can be much less colourful. Mature dominant males show the strongest red-orange and blue colour when settled, healthy and fed well.
No. It is better planned as a sand-and-rock Malawi cichlid aquarium. Tough attached plants can be used, but they are optional rather than essential.
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