Peacock Cichlid

The peacock bass is the largest species and can grow over 100 centimeters in length, and may be the largest of all cichlid fishes.

Peacock Bass

Found in tropical temperate zones including Florida in the United States, and much more common as you move south into Panama and all the way to the rivers of Brazil. Over the last two decades, remote jungle camps and fishing trips in the Amazon basin have been set up for the pursuit of peacock bass, with trophy fish running over twenty pounds. The fish has also thrived after introduction into Panama’s Gatun Lake and in various freshwater drainages throughout south Florida.

There are 15 known species of peacock bass and in actuality, the peacock bass is not a member of the bass family at all. It is just one (maybe the largestP of the some 1,600 plus members of the family of fish called cichlids. There are some striking similarities to the largemouth bass however, such as basic body contour, cavernous mouth, ravenous appetite and a strong propensity to attack prey and fishing lures with a ferocity that is more reminiscent of much larger fish. Most display a color pattern based on a theme of three wide vertical stripes on their bodies, sometimes with smaller intermediate bands, only a grey, brown, yellow, or green background. They also exhibit a spot on their tail fins that resembles the eyes on a peacock's tail feathers—a feature which resulted in their common names (this "ocellus" is a common feature of South American cichlids, and is thought to deter predators and fin-biting piranhas). The peacock bass is much more aggressive than the largemouth, often pursuing lures or prey larger than itself. Peacocks routinely break lines, shatter rods and destroy tackle that would subdue the toughest largemouth. The peacock bass has evolved as a world class gamefish, one that has learned to flourish in an environment that possesses vast schools of vicious piranhas, giant Amazon catfish the size of Volkswagens, 12-foot long armor scaled pirarucus, alligators and an assortment of other unsavory characters that possess fangs, stingers, toxins and never-ending appetites." While four distinct species of peacock bass (known as pavon in Venezuela and Colombia or tucunare in Brazil and Peru) are generally recognized, some fish biologists suggest that perhaps as many as 12 or more species might actually exist throughout South America. A black circular "eye spot" - dramatically rimmed in a fluorescent gold - on the base of the tail fin is a common characteristic shared by all the many subspecies of peacock bass. It is said that this "eye spot" resembles that found on the tail plume of the peacock fowl and perhaps this is the reason that South American anglers called the fish pavon or peacock.

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