Hi,
I own a sportfishing business in Brazil, focused on peacock bass. After years of living and exploring in the Amazon, I have become intensely devoted to conservation of their habitat and the preservation of these fishes in the wild. My company, Acute Angling, is strictly a catch and release operation. Three years ago, after more than a dozen years of informally studying these amazing animals in their native flood-pulse waters, I became involved in a research project with the University of Amazonas. I quickly realized that my access to multiple river basins and many years of accummulated observations might have some value toward aiding their protection, as well as furthering scientific knowledge of their life history. As a result, I have returned to school at a ripe old age and am currently pursuing a PhD focused on, you guessed it, Cichla.
As a fishkeeper myself (I have an enormous and amazingly clever Tilapia buttikoferi), I recognize the great resource of knowledge, information and scientific material that aquarists possess and I was hoping that some of you might be interested in sharing that with both the sportfishing and scientific community. I have been slowly constructing what I hope will eventually be an effective field identification guide to all the species of Cichla extant throughout South America. You can see it at http://www.acuteangling.com/taxonomy/peacock-bass-species.html
You'll notice that it has a long way to go to be complete. We are missing photos and information for many species and could use improved and additional material for all of them. If you have photographs, habitat and behavioral information, or other useful additions to this site, I would welcome (and credit) your contributions. You can contact me through the website www.AcuteAngling.com. I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks for your attention.
Paul Reiss
I own a sportfishing business in Brazil, focused on peacock bass. After years of living and exploring in the Amazon, I have become intensely devoted to conservation of their habitat and the preservation of these fishes in the wild. My company, Acute Angling, is strictly a catch and release operation. Three years ago, after more than a dozen years of informally studying these amazing animals in their native flood-pulse waters, I became involved in a research project with the University of Amazonas. I quickly realized that my access to multiple river basins and many years of accummulated observations might have some value toward aiding their protection, as well as furthering scientific knowledge of their life history. As a result, I have returned to school at a ripe old age and am currently pursuing a PhD focused on, you guessed it, Cichla.
As a fishkeeper myself (I have an enormous and amazingly clever Tilapia buttikoferi), I recognize the great resource of knowledge, information and scientific material that aquarists possess and I was hoping that some of you might be interested in sharing that with both the sportfishing and scientific community. I have been slowly constructing what I hope will eventually be an effective field identification guide to all the species of Cichla extant throughout South America. You can see it at http://www.acuteangling.com/taxonomy/peacock-bass-species.html
You'll notice that it has a long way to go to be complete. We are missing photos and information for many species and could use improved and additional material for all of them. If you have photographs, habitat and behavioral information, or other useful additions to this site, I would welcome (and credit) your contributions. You can contact me through the website www.AcuteAngling.com. I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks for your attention.
Paul Reiss
This is awesome, good luck with your project, I can't wait to see pictures!!!
...we live in interesting times.