Peacock Bass

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vaheelsfan

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May 23, 2003
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One of the two local lfs had two peacock bass for sale recently:eek: They each were in their own tank at the store and were probably about seven or eight inches in length. They are actually very colorful, but get get VERY large. I'm just wondering if anybody else has ever seen these fish for sale, or maybe even knows anybody who has kept one (or more). If so, what size aquarium did they have? This store is whack with some of the stuff they sell, so I don't know why I was surprised to see this fish there. I've also seen sturgeon and something that was supposedly a "Florida Stingray" that actually looked like just a normal Atlantic skate. The weird thing is, the town I live in is pretty small (15000 people max) and in a rural area, so I don't really see where there would be a big demand for fish this exotic, but they always seem to sell this off the wall stuff.


Link to info on peacock bass
 
VERY colorful fish... I don't know anyone who has one, but I'd venture to guess that it would need a pond to be happy...

~Tara
 
IMO these fish would need well over 1000 gallons, they get quite a bit larger than our native largemouth bass. I have seen them on fishing shows and adds in the 30+ pound range which would mean 30-35" give or take. I do know of a power company lake in North carolina that stocked them. the lake is a catch basin for the water used to cool the facility so it maintains a high temp year round and makes a good environment for these fish.
 
I bought 4 peacock bass from my LFS that were about 3". I kept them in my 37 for about 5 or 6 months, and during this time, 3 of them died. Then moved the surviving bass to my 115 (it was about 6" by this time). Within about 4 or 5 months it grew to a little over a foot. Then I decided to donate it to another LFS. I couldn't afford to buy all the feeders it required.

It didn't develop the really deep green and red colors that you see on fishing programs. I'm not sure if the color is determined by size, or the fact that it was in captivity, or if it was breed. And I'm not sure how big it would've gotten in a tank. I've heard they get 25+ lbs in the wild.

Beautiful fish, and I wouldn't mind keeping one again, maybe in a pond.
 
How did the three die? I'm not really sure how territorial these fish are, so did the one that made it kill them? I know that bass in the US are very territorial, but these aren't related to them at all. According to the link I posted above, Peacock Bass are actually cichlids, so I guess they're probably pretty territorial as well. If they are actually cichlids, I'm guessing they'd probably be the largest variety?
 
They didn't seem to be territorial, and there were no injuries on any of the deceased. They would actually school up and avoid their tankmates, until they were big enough to eat them.

To be honest, I have no idea how they died. They would just die off randomly over night. My room mate was convinced they were playing dead :D .

I've also heard that they are indeed cichlids :confused: . IMO, they look nothing like most other cichlids, and their behavior doesn't seem to resemble other cichlids either. But yeah, I'd assume they are the largest of the cichlids.
 
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yea they are cichlids from south america. depending on the species they will grow to 1-3 feet. more territorial towards its own kind. nice fish if you have room for it.
 
As an ex-peacock bass keeper I had things end with the same luck as most. The fish died. One being the exception. I'll discuss why I think it's still alive today later.

Peacock bass from my experience are not territorial. They actually seemed pretty laid back unless it was large enough to fit in it's mouth. Which is surprising what won't fit. They are cichlids and do get very large in the wild. From what I understand there are a few color variations of peacocks. The ones usually sold in the pet trade are the lighter brown ones that from my experience never delevope into the beautiful green and red one caught in the wild. A few of the ones I kept however do get colorful. Just nowhere close to the ones I've seen caught on fishing shows, in magazines, and the internet.

As I mentioned before all of the peacocks I've kept end with the same fate except one. All of them died at around 10 inches. The one that did make it has since been given to a friend that moved to florida. He houses it in an outdoor pond in his back yard and tells me it's up to around 15-18 inches now. I believe most of these fish fell to the same fate simply because of the diet offered. I experimented with all of these fish while I owned them and the one that's still alive had a much better diet than the previous fish. All but the one that made it ate only goldfish and guppies. The survivor was offered a larger assortment of live and prepared foods. It was actually the only one that would accept prepared food which consisisted of pellets. It also had a larger range of live food than the others did. I offered it crayfish, mosquito fish, guppies (which I raised), goldfish (which were born and raised in on of my ponds), ghost shrimp (caught locally), small catfish, frogs, bait lizards, and on a few occasions is even got a live eel when I could find one small enough at the local bait shops. I believe it lasted longer that the others simply because it's diet was closer to nature than the previous fish. Feeder goldfish and guppies purchased at your lfs are usually diseased and weak nutritionally. I believe the diet is the key to keeping these wonderful fish and if it's not possible to offer them a varied diet of quality food they slowly die because thier nutirtional needs are not met. I'm no expert. Far from it actually. But the last peacock I raised seemed much healthier, growed faster, and by far was more colorful than the others I fed just feeder goldfish and feeder guppies.

I'd suggest if you purchased one to please consider how big it will eventually get if you can keep it alive. If you do not have a large tank, indoor pond, or outdoor pond that could be kept at the appropriate temps I suggest you not purchase the fish.

If you have any more questions please feel free to ask. Like I said I'm no expert on these fish but have kept a few over the years. It was one of my favorite fish. And probably the most expensive to feed.

Vaheelsfan. What's the name of the pet shop you mention and where is it located? I'd like to visit some day just to see what they have. Maybe I'll find a unique addition to one of my tanks. I also have heard about a great store in Lynchburg... But can't remember the name or the directions I was given.
 
i know a few men who breed them in 6x2.5x3 tanks with over 700+ fry very reguarly they wouldnt be breeding if they wernt happy they also breed clown knifes etc.
 
The store is Pets-n-Pals. It's on Greenville Avenue, about 5 minutes off of I-81. If you want further directions, I can give them. Some of the other fish I've seen there and nowhere else are red-tailed catfish (unfortunately being sold in the community section), Hi-Fin sharks, albino giant danios, large irridescent sharks (10", I know they get bigger but this is the largest I've ever seen for sale), and a whole lot of cichlids. These may be common fish in more populous areas, but this is the only store within an hour's drive I've ever seen them in. Unfortunately, I would be kind of scared to buy a really expensive fish there as they don't take the best care of their stock. Last time I was there, they had two dead fish dried up on the floor and there was once a firebelly newt that had crawled out of a tank and apparently been stepped on :( I just bought a couple of blue rams from them a few days ago, but only did so because I had kept an eye on them for about a week to see how the tank they were in was doing, and because Petco is the only other local store that has them.
 
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