Fish

Peacock Bass

Cichla · also called tucunare, pavon

Least Concern → carnivore Rivers & wetlands Rainforest

A peacock bass is a big, golden-green, tiger-striped fish that hits a lure like a hammer and fights like it means it, which is why anglers travel to the Amazon for one. It is not a bass at all — it is the largest cichlid in the Americas, a cousin of tilapia and angelfish — and where people have moved it outside South America, it has often eaten the local fish fauna to pieces.

Overview

Peacock bass are the genus Cichla, about 15 cichlid species native to the Amazon and Orinoco basins and the Guianas, in clear and blackwater rivers, lagoons, and flooded forest. They are fish-eating predators, hunting by fast pursuit and by ambush from timber and rock. The name “bass” is a misnomer from early anglers — the fish is unrelated to any true bass.

Marks and parenting

Every peacock bass has a false eye — a pale-ringed dark spot at the tail base — thought to confuse predators and misdirect the strikes of rival peacock bass. A breeding male grows a fatty nuchal hump on the forehead, and both parents guard the eggs and escort the school of fry for weeks. The speckled peacock bass reaches about 1 m and 13 kg, the largest cichlid in the New World.

Prized, and a problem

Peacock bass are among the world’s top freshwater sport fish. Stocked in south Florida canals in 1984 to control other invasive fish and build a fishery — an introduction usually called successful because cold winters contain it — they have elsewhere, as in Lake Gatun, Panama, wiped out much of the native small-fish fauna.

Status

Least Concern and common across their native range, supported by catch-and-release fisheries. Local pressures are netting near cities, mining pollution, and dams; the bigger issue is the damage introduced peacock bass do outside South America.

Peacock Bass: common questions

Is a peacock bass a bass?

No. It is a cichlid, genus Cichla, part of the same family as tilapia, oscars, angelfish, discus, and the hundreds of cichlid species of the African Great Lakes. The North American fishes called bass, such as the largemouth and smallmouth, are in a different family, the sunfishes, and true bass like the striped bass are in yet another. Early anglers gave the peacock bass its English name because it looked and fought somewhat like a largemouth bass, and the name stuck. In South America it is called tucunare or pavon, and in the aquarium hobby simply peacock cichlid.

How big do peacock bass get?

It depends on the species. There are around 15 species of Cichla, and most reach 40 to 70 centimetres and 1 to 4 kilograms. The exception is the speckled or giant peacock bass, Cichla temensis, which grows to about a metre and 12 to 13 kilograms, the largest cichlid in the Americas and a fish that can genuinely test heavy tackle. The butterfly peacock bass established in Florida is one of the smaller species, usually well under 2 kilograms, though the Florida state record is around 4 kilograms. Introduced populations in Panama and Hawaii are also mostly modest-sized species.

Why were peacock bass introduced to Florida, and was it a mistake?

Florida wildlife managers stocked the butterfly peacock bass in the canals of Miami-Dade and Broward counties in 1984 with two goals, to prey on and control the many non-native fish, such as tilapia and oscars, that had established in the urban canal system, and to create a tropical sport fishery. It is often held up as one of the few well-considered and successful sport-fish introductions, because the peacock bass cannot survive cold winters and so is confined to the far south of the state, it does prey on other exotics, and it supports a popular urban fishery. Critics point out that it also eats native sunfish and shiners, and that calling any deliberate introduction of a large predator successful sets a risky precedent. Elsewhere, in Lake Gatun in Panama for example, unmanaged peacock bass introductions collapsed the native fish community.

Can you keep a peacock bass in an aquarium?

Some of the smaller species are kept by experienced cichlid hobbyists, but they are a serious commitment. A single peacock bass needs a very large tank, often 500 litres or more for one adult of a small species and far more for the big ones, powerful filtration to handle the waste from a fish-eating predator, and tank mates that are too large to be eaten and too robust to be bullied. They are fast-growing, long-lived, and territorial, especially when breeding, and they will not tolerate anything they can fit in their mouths. They are impressive display fish for a keeper with the space, but wholly unsuitable for a standard community aquarium.

Sources & further reading

Written by HideShark Editorial Team · reviewed by HideShark Science Desk. Published September 10, 2026. Last updated September 10, 2026.

Quick facts

Scientific name: Cichla
Diet: Almost entirely other fish, hunted by fast open-water pursuit and by ambush from cover, with large individuals also taking shrimp, crabs, and the occasional small reptile or bird, and juveniles feeding on insects and tiny fish before switching to a fully piscivorous adult diet
Not a bass at all: Despite the name, the peacock bass is a cichlid, the family that includes tilapia, angelfish, and the African rift-lake fishes, and it is only called a bass because early anglers thought its shape and aggressive strike resembled the North American largemouth bass, a completely unrelated fish
The false eye on the tail: Every peacock bass has a dark, pale-ringed spot at the base of the tail that mimics an eye, thought to confuse predators about which end is the head and to misdirect the strikes of rival peacock bass during the many territorial clashes of the breeding season
The largest cichlid in the Americas: The speckled peacock bass, the biggest of the roughly 15 Cichla species, reaches about 1 m and 12 to 13 kg, making it the largest cichlid in the New World and one of the largest in the world, while most species top out nearer 40 to 60 cm
Devoted parents with a breeding hump: A breeding pair clears a nest site, and the male develops a pronounced fatty bulge on the forehead called a nuchal hump, then both parents guard the eggs and escort the school of fry for weeks, herding them and driving off anything that approaches
A prized game fish: Peacock bass are among the most sought-after freshwater sport fish in the world, valued for a violent surface strike, blistering runs, and stubborn power, and their pursuit supports fishing lodges and guided trips across the Amazon and Orinoco and, controversially, in places they have been introduced
Successful and damaging as an introduction: Peacock bass were stocked in the canals of southern Florida in 1984 to control other non-native fish and create a fishery, an introduction usually described as successful because it is contained by cold winters, but elsewhere, notably Lake Gatun in Panama and reservoirs in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Asia, introduced peacock bass have wiped out much of the native small-fish fauna
Range: Tropical South America east of the Andes, throughout the Amazon and Orinoco river basins and the rivers of the Guianas, in clear-water and blackwater rivers, lagoons, flooded forest, and oxbow lakes, favouring warm, slow to still water with structure such as fallen timber and rock, plus established introduced populations in Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Panama, and parts of Southeast Asia.
Conservation status: Least Concern → ≈ The peacock bass species have not all been individually assessed, and as a group they are common and widespread across the Amazon and Orinoco basins and are not considered threatened, being supported by catch-and-release sport fisheries in much of their range and by their own predatory dominance. Local populations can be reduced by intensive netting for food near cities, by deforestation and mining pollution that degrade the clear and blackwater rivers they prefer, and by dams that alter flow and flooding. The larger conservation issue is the harm introduced peacock bass do to native fish communities outside South America in the wild