Kelberi peacock bass

Care at a glance

Overview

Often sold as the beginner peacock bass, which is misleading: it still reaches 60 centimeters and needs a tank measured in thousands of liters. Keep one, with tankmates too large to be eaten, in a tank with a long open swimming run and filtration matched to a heavy meaty diet. Feed prepared and frozen foods on a schedule rather than live fish. A juvenile is charming, and that is the trap.

In the wild

Cichla kelberi lives in the Tocantins and Araguaia basins of Brazil, in warm open water along channels, lagoons and reservoirs. Keep it at 25 to 30 degrees Celsius and pH 6.0 to 7.5, with heavy filtration and high oxygen.

Good to know

Cichla kelberi reaches about 60 centimeters, gold-green with three dark blotches along the flank and pale spots on the fins. It is a substrate spawner with biparental care. Widely introduced outside its native basins for sport fishing, where it has caused significant declines in native fish.

Did you know

Its spangled fins glow faintly gold even at rest, jewelry on a fish built like a torpedo.

Common questions

Related species

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