Bigeye Cichlid

About

The bigeye cichlid (Acaronia nassa) is one of those fish that rewards a second look. That comically large eye is not just for show. It is the clue to how this species makes its living in the wild. Across a broad range spanning the Peruvian, Brazilian, and Colombian Amazon lowlands, the Bolivian Amazon, the Negro and Branco rivers, and drainages as far as French Guiana, this cichlid haunts shallow, slow-moving creeks with amber-tinted water and soft, muddy bottoms. It is a sit-and-wait predator, content to hang motionless in the water column until a shrimp, insect larva, small fish, or other opportunity drifts within range. In the wild it shares water with angelfish, severums, and chocolate cichlids, which gives you a sense of the company it is used to keeping. Males grow noticeably larger than females. In the aquarium the bigeye cichlid is largely solitary and can be territorial, so tankmate selection matters. Similarly sized, robust fish tend to fare best. It is not the most demanding cichlid to keep, but its predatory instincts mean smaller fish and ornamental shrimp are firmly on the menu. A rewarding choice for the intermediate keeper who appreciates understated, behavioral complexity over flashy color.