Peacock bass (orinoco)

Average 5cm.

Orinoco Peacock Bass are named for the Orinoco river of Venezuela and Colombia, from which they originate. Like other Peacock Bass species, Orinoco Peacock Bass are found living in relatively strong flowing Amazonian rivers where they use the cover of branches, driftwood and plant vegetation to ambush a wide variety of prey items. The waters of their native Orinoco river are very warm year round with temperatures reaching upwards of 86 ° when the sun is at its peak, and with nighttime temperatures still hovering around the 80 ° mark. Orinoco river waters conditions are acidic with a pH range of 5.0 to 6.5 and a water hardness between 5 to 15 dH; as well as, fast flowing with a large volume of water passing down from the mountains on its way to the ocean. Cichla orinocensis have evolved perfectly for their environment with long sleek bodies and powerful pectoral and anal fins, which they use to maintain ambush positions in rapidly flowing waters and ambush prey. Orinoco Peacock Bass are becoming much more available within the aquarium hobby as their size, pattern, coloration and aggressive feeding habits have made them very popular with aquarium hobbyists interested in keeping larger New World Cichlid species.When keeping Orinoco Peacock Bass in an aquarium environment, it is important to account for their large size, feeding habits and aggressive nature. Orinoco Peacock Bass come from river ways that have a constant flow of fresh water working from the mountains down to the sea. Peacock Bass have become accustomed to an environment with high quality water with low levels of pollutants and high levels of oxygen. Orinoco Peacock Bass aquariums need to replicate this environment through strong mechanical, chemical and biological filtration along with medium to strong water movement. Peacock Bass are large fish that eat equally large meals, thus excellent filtration is required to remove the excess food and waste products produced from such a large species. The adult size of the Orinoco Peacock Bass is also an important factor in choosing the right aquarium to house them, with the size and shape of the aquarium being very important. With adults sizes of around 2 feet in length, it is important to provide an aquarium that is long enough and wide enough from front to back to allow the Peacock Bass to swim and turn around comfortably. An aquarium of 6 to 8 feet in length and 3 feet from front to back should be considered as minimum aquarium size for an adult specimen, while smaller specimens can be raised in smaller aquariums if they are moved to larger tanks as they grow. The aquarium decor should be designed to provide plenty of swimming room, while also providing some areas of cover using driftwood, floating or well rooted plants and rocks with a sandy or gravel substrate.