Peacock bass

Peacock bass
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Cichlidae
Genus:	Cichla
Species:	C. orinocensis
Binomial name
Cichla orinocensis

The Cichla orinocensis is a tropical, freshwater fish and is native to the Amazon River basin of South America and also exists as a non-native species in Singapore, Peninsular Malaysia and the United States (specifically Florida and Hawaii). It is commonly known as the peacock bass or peacock cichlid in English. In Brazil it is called the tucunaré (too-coon-a-REH), and in Spanish it is the pavón (pah-VON). There are several subspecies of peacock bass.

As a member of the Cichlidae family, it can grow up to 62 cm in length and can be identified by three verticle stripes on its body, and a spot on the tail fin that resembles the eyes on a peacock's train feathers, a feature which gave it its common name in English. This species of cichla is multicolored in adulthood exhibiting impressive shades of bright green, orange and gold. Also, the adult male has a pronounced hump on its forehead, a feature common among cichlids.

Reputation as a sports fish

File:Larryl.jpg

Larry Larsen with a speckled peacock bass

The peacock bass is prized as an angling game fish for its fighting qualities. World renowned peacock bass fisherman Larry Larsen refers to it as a “freshwater bully” due to its ferocious nature when hunting and its tendency to damage fishing lures when striking. (Larsen is a four-time world record holder for catching peacock bass). Despite these qualities, peacock bass have been identified as a potential liability for causing an ecological imbalance in some of its introduced areas.

Although its eating quality is good, most professional American anglers recommend practicing catch and release for this species to protect its numbers in the United States.

American Introduction

Florida wildlife officials deliberately introduced two sub-species of peacock bass to southern Florida in 1984: these are the butterfly peacock bass (Cichla ocellaris) and speckled peacock bass (Cichla temensis) where they prey on other non-native, invasive fish such as the oscar and the spotted tilapia. Also, its introduction now provides additional sports fishing opportunities for local anglers. However, because of its tropical origins, peacock bass cannot tolerate low water temperatures. This factor has prevented this species from becoming abundant outside of Miami-Dade and Broward counties within the state of Florida.

Peacock bass have also been introduced into Hawaii.

In the aquarium

As aquarium fish they are voracious and predatory, eating any smaller tank mates and fighting with others of equivalent size. They require live food as juveniles but later in their development will accept meaty, dry or frozen foods.

Most species of peacock bass grow to a length of two feet but the Cichla temensis may grow as large as three feet. For this reason, adult peacocks need very large tanks (they must hold at least 240 gallons), however larger tanks are better.

Links and References

• Florida Peacock Bass Fishing
• FishBase.org, Peacock Bass
• FloridaFisheries.com Peacock Bass
• "Cichla orinocensis". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. 30 January. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
• Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Cichla orinocensis". FishBase. October 2005 version.