Reproduction of Cichla kelberi Kullander and Ferreira, 2006 introduced into an artificial lake in southeastern Brazil

• Main Authors: LM. Gomiero, GA. Villares Junior, F. Naous
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Instituto Internacional de Ecologia
• Series: Brazilian Journal of Biology
• Subjects: exotic specie; fish; peacock bass; reproduction; Cichla kelberi
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1519-69842009000100023&lng=en&tlng=en

The objective of this study was to characterize the reproduction of Cichla kelberi in an artificial lake, located in the municipality of Leme, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Breeding occurred in spring, and summer. The L50 and the L100 of this species were 192 and 235 mm (L50), for males and females, respectively, and 290 mm (L100) for both sexes. Spawning was parceled. The oocytes matured at a size of 428.4 µm, reaching their maximum at 2,203.2 µm. A mean of fecundity were of 12,129.2 oocytes, with the mean of oocytes in each batch of 4,897.7. This species has external fertilization, is nonmigratory, and with parental care of the young. Various attributes of the peacock bass make their introduction a temptation. However, due to their feeding and reproductive characteristics, they have no natural predators, making it difficult to control their population growth or eradicate them.