Is the peacock bass related to American largemouth or smallmouth bass?
Peacock Bass (Chichla sp.) is a generalized name for the large bass-like gamefish native to tropical South America. They are actually a subspecies of the family Cichlidae. Cichlids are a diverse family of tropical fishes found throughout Africa and South America, some of which are popular for aquariums. Although there are countless color variations throughout their range, there are only three recognized species of peacock bass-two in Brazil. All peacock bass species are commonly called tucunare in Brazil and Peru, while other Spanish speaking countries use the term pavon. The peacock tucanare (Cichla temensis), better known as azul or paca is the largest of the three species, with an average weight of six or seven pounds. Ten to fifteen pound peacock bass are very common, and twenty+ pounders are hooked each week. This fish has a unmistakable mottled black patch directly behind its eye. Body coloration and markings vary greatly. Three vertical black bars are usually visible. Often, hor
