Our “Fish of the Week” is Peacock Bass – Cichla nigromaculata, one of the newly described (2006) species of Cichla (ID key C. nigromaculata).
The Cichla nigromaculata possesses three relatively narrow and short dark vertical bars and two lighter bars in between the darker ones. No markings are present on operculum. It has an overall dark body coloration, shading from greenish/gold below to black dorsally. A bluish cast overlies the body color. Its upper fins are dark and its lower fins are bluish. Cichla nigromaculata’s depth to length ratio is approximately 30 percent and has approximately 80 lateral line scales. It is most similar to Cichla monoculus.
The Cichla nigromaculata can be found in the river basins of the Rio Orinoco, Rio Casiquiare and Rio Negro in Venezuela and Brazil. They’re most commonly found in lagoons, especially floodplain lagoons (seasonally isolated/connected), although they can be found sporadically in the channel.
From a report by Dr. Stuart Willis:
“We fished for these all through the upper Orinoco and Casiquiare, mostly in the Mavaca and Pamoni. They are most common in lagoons, especially floodplain lagoons (seasonally isolated/connected), although they can be found sporadically in the channel. These don’t show any particular observable habitat use differences to C. monoculus. We caught these on weedless spoons and in-line spinnerbaits.”
Peacock Bass - Cichla Nigromaculata
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