You can sponsor this page

Cichla ocellaris Bloch & Schneider, 1801

Peacock cichlid
Upload your photos and videos
Pictures | Google image
Image of Cichla ocellaris (Peacock cichlid)
Cichla ocellaris
Female picture by Kullander, S.O.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Cichliformes (Cichlids, convict blennies) > Cichlidae (Cichlids) > Cichlinae
Etymology: Cichla: Greek, kichle = wrasse (Ref. 45335).
More on authors: Bloch & Schneider.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; brackish; benthopelagic; depth range 5 - ? m. Tropical; 24°C - 27°C (Ref. 2060); 26°N - 9°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

South America: Marowijne drainage in Suriname and French Guiana to the Essequibo drainage in Guyana.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?, range 32 - ? cm
Max length : 74.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 40637); max. published weight: 6.8 kg (Ref. 40637)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Diagnosis. Distinguished from all other species of Cichla except C. nigromaculata, C. intermedia, C. piquiti, and C. melaniae, by presence of bars 1a and 2a. Lateral band abbreviated in juveniles. Distinguished from its congeners with abbreviated lateral band by lateral line usually continuous (vs. discontinuous or nearly always discontinuous in orinocensis and nigromaculata; scales in E1 row (67-) 70-80 (-82) (vs. 84-93 in pleiozona); occipital bar absent or indistinct (vs. emphasized in adults of monoculus, kelberi, and pleiozona); abdominal blotches present (vs. absent in orinocensis); vertical bars present at adult size (vs. three midlateral ocellated blotches in orinocensis), except that an ocellated blotch consistently formed in dorsal portion of bar 3; absence of small black blotches on dorsum (vs. present in nigromaculata); vertical bars about equally wide across side (vs. wide, occasionally confluent dorsally, and tapering ventrad in nigromaculata, monoculus, kelberi, and pleiozona. Distinguished from C. intermedia, C. piquiti, and C. melaniae by abbreviated vs. complete juvenile lateral band, less scales in E1 row (67-82 vs. (78) 83-108), and presence of ocellated blotch in dorsal portion of bar 3 vs. absence (Ref. 57716).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Occurs in the rapids, in quiet waters with medium depth and rocky substrates (Ref. 35237). Forms schools (Ref. 9086). Feeds only on small fish, especially threadfin shad, mosquito fish, tilapia and bluegill. Not considered ideal for aquaculture due to its highly predatory habits (Ref. 1739). Reproduction occurs year-round, with a peak at the start of the rainy season. About 9,000 to 15,000 eggs per kg are released during spawning. Spawning takes place every two months on a flat stone in shallow water. The sticky eggs, measuring 1.4 mm in diameter, take 78 hours to hatch at 28°C.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Spawning, with rare exceptions, takes place on a flat, horizontal surface which is either bare to begin with, or cleared of algae or other vegetation during the spawning activities. The female moves forward laying a single row of eggs and the male follows exuding sperm over each row. Once the eggs have hatched, the parents transport the larvae in their mouths to one of the depression nests.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Kullander, Sven O. | Collaborators

Kullander, S.O. and H. Nijssen, 1989. The cichlids of Surinam: Teleostei, Labroidei. E.J. Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands. 256 p. (Ref. 26372)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 05 November 2020

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Potential pest (Ref. 1739)





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
Spawning aggregations
Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Anatomy
Gill areas
Brains
Otoliths
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritabilities
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Collaborators
References
References

Tools

Special reports

Download XML

Internet sources

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01288 (0.00688 - 0.02412), b=3.03 (2.87 - 3.19), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.5   ±0.80 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Assuming tm=1; multiple spawning per year; Fec=9,000-15,000).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate to high vulnerability (50 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.