Azul Peacock Bass (Cichla piquiti)

Choose the Azul Peacock Bass only if you can house a 50 cm predator

The Azul Peacock Bass (Cichla piquiti) is one of the great predatory cichlids of South America: a long, powerful fish with a grey to pale-blue body, five bold dark bars, blue fins and a black, white-ringed eye-spot at the base of the tail. It is also a fish that grows from the 5–6 cm juvenile you receive to around 40–50 cm, eats any fish it can swallow and needs an aquarium most homes cannot hold. Read this page in full before you order.

The species was described in 2006 by Sven Kullander and Efrem Ferreira in their review of the genus Cichla, which recognised 15 species and named nine of them as new. The name piquiti is a Tupi-Guarani word meaning "striped". Brazilian anglers know it as tucunaré azul, the blue peacock bass, because living fish give an overall light bluish impression. It belongs to the cichlid family, Cichlidae, and is assessed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Check the names on the label

According to Kullander and Ferreira, the Azul occurs naturally in the lower Rio Tocantins (the Itacaiúnas, Marabá and Itupiranga), the upper Tocantins (Rio Paranã) and the Araguaia drainage. It has also been stocked extensively in reservoirs of the Paraná basin and the states of Minas Gerais and São Paulo, and it now lives in the upper Paraguay drainage and in Paraguay. That spread is a reminder of how adaptable and successful these predators are, and why no aquarium fish should ever be released.

Compare it with our Monoculus Peacock Bass, a different species, and browse our South American cichlids, the South American cichlid category, our centrepiece fish and our rare and collector fish.

Know exactly what you receive

One purchase supplies one live Azul Peacock Bass of about 5–6 cm. It is a juvenile: it cannot be sexed, and it will look quite different from the adult in the photographs. Kullander and Ferreira describe young fish as pale with a blackish band running along the side from the head to the tail spot. Narrow bars appear across it as the fish grows, the band fades, and between 150 and 200 mm standard length it disappears completely, leaving the five wide vertical bars that identify the species.

Adult colour varies too. The same authors describe live fish as usually pale grey, sometimes yellow, with contrasting black bars, the two extra bars (called 1a and 2a) usually a little narrower or paler than the other three, and the ring around the tail spot always silvery to white. Very large males develop a reddish hump on the forehead.

Run an honest checklist before ordering

• Do you have, or have firm plans for, an aquarium of about 2,000 litres before the fish outgrows its first tank?
• Can the floor take more than two tonnes of water, glass and stand?
• Are you ready to change a large volume of water every week for many years?
• Will every other fish in that tank be too big to swallow?

If any answer is no, choose a smaller cichlid. If every answer is yes, read our delivery and Live Arrival Guarantee information and have a mature, heated tank ready before the fish arrives.

Plan the aquarium for the adult, not the juvenile

FishBase gives a maximum of 48 cm total length for the Azul, 38.5 cm for females, and a published weight of 1.8 kg. Kullander and Ferreira examined a male of 430 mm standard length, measured without the tail, which is larger than the FishBase figure suggests, and they estimated very large males in photographs at 40–50 cm. Plan for a 40–50 cm fish.

No published source gives an aquarium size for C. piquiti itself. Seriously Fish says the Orinoco peacock bass, the smallest of the species it profiles at about 60 cm, needs a tank of at least 8 × 3 × 3 ft (length × height × width) as an adult. That is about 244 × 91 × 91 cm, or roughly 2,000 litres. Its genus page rates every peacock bass as needing a tank at least 2 m long, and gives 10 × 3 × 4 ft for the larger species. The Azul is a little smaller than the Orinoco peacock bass, but a 90 cm front-to-back depth is what lets a fish of 45 cm or more turn comfortably, so we would not plan below that figure.

Use a three-step space check

1. Measure the footprint: about 244 × 91 cm for one adult; more for any tank mates.
2. Work out the volume and weight: our tank volume calculator gives the litres. Each litre of water weighs about a kilogram, so a 2,000-litre aquarium carries around two tonnes of water before glass, sand and rock.
3. Stock for adults: add every planned companion at its adult size in our stocking calculator.

Seriously Fish accepts that smaller aquaria can be used for young fish, but adds that you should not buy a peacock bass if you cannot house it long term. A juvenile can be grown on in a smaller, fully mature tank while the final system is built.

Build a spacious, sparse river layout

Seriously Fish advises furnishing a peacock bass tank sparsely so the fish has plenty of swimming space, with large pieces of bogwood and robust plants. Fishkeeper, the care library of a UK aquatics chain, recommends a soft sand floor, which is easier to keep clean than gravel because these are messy eaters, or a bare floor for the simplest maintenance.

Divide the tank by function

Fishkeeper warns that these fish can rearrange rockwork, so any stones must be stable, bonded together with aquarium silicone if needed. It also suggests keeping heaters in a sump, where a large fish cannot damage them. OATA recommends a secure lid for American cichlids.

Keep the water warm, clean and stable

No water values are published for this species. For close relatives, Seriously Fish gives 25–28°C, pH 6.5–7.5 and up to 15 dGH for C. monoculus, and 24–27°C with pH 6.5–7.0 for C. ocellaris; Fishkeeper gives 24–27°C, pH 6.5–7.0 and up to 15 dH; OATA's general American cichlid range is 22–27°C and pH 6.5–8.0. We suggest 25–27°C and pH 6.5–7.5, where most of these ranges overlap.

Separate habitat values from waste readings

Seriously Fish calls peacock bass hardy fish that adapt to a variety of conditions, so stability matters more than a perfect number. Many UK homes have hard, alkaline tap water; check your supplier's report, enter it in our water matcher and read our water chemistry guide. In a large volume, heaters need to be sized and placed carefully; our article on tropical fish tank temperature explains how to keep the whole tank even.

Oversize the filtration and the water changes

Fishkeeper describes peacock bass as voracious eaters that produce a lot of waste and need continuously excellent water. It calls for powerful, oversized filtration with good oxygenation, suggests a sump rather than several huge canister filters, and says a frequent partial water change regime is absolutely essential because this river fish will not tolerate raised nitrate. Seriously Fish also recommends external or sump filtration.

Follow a weekly maintenance sequence

1. Test ammonia, nitrite and nitrate before any work.
2. Change at least 25% of the water each week, OATA's minimum, and more if nitrate is rising; use conditioned water at the same temperature.
3. Remove food scraps and siphon the floor after feeding days.
4. Clean mechanical filter pads in old tank water and keep the biological media undisturbed.
5. Check heaters, pumps and the lid every week.

Seriously Fish's species profiles size filters at four to five times the tank volume per hour, which for a 2,000-litre aquarium means roughly 8,000–10,000 litres per hour of filtration. Our article on understanding aquarium filtration explains how a sump works.

Feed a meaty diet and wean on to prepared foods

Seriously Fish describes peacock bass as piscivorous and recommends meaty foods such as prawn, mussel, lancefish, whitebait and other white fish. Fishkeeper suggests bloodworm, Mysis shrimp and chopped seafood for smaller fish, moving to earthworms, prawns, cockles, mussels, crab, crayfish, lancefish, whitebait and silversides as they grow, and lists cichlid pellets among suitable foods.

Build one measured meal

• For the juvenile: frozen Mysis and small pieces of frozen cocktail shrimp meat.
• Pellets to wean on to: Tropical Cichlid Carnivore Medium Pellet, then Cichlid & Arowana Large Sticks as it grows.
• Larger frozen foods: frozen mussel meat, frozen sea fish meat and whole frozen smelts for a sub-adult.

OATA advises feeding American cichlids once a day, only what they eat within a few minutes, and warns that they can eat large amounts in one sitting. Live feeder fish are not needed: the sources above recommend dead meaty foods, and any live fish added to the tank is a disease risk.

Settle the juvenile in a mature tank

Add the fish only to an aquarium with a fully matured filter and zero ammonia and nitrite. Our first tropical tank guide and the article on the nitrogen cycle explained show how to get there. OATA describes the floating-bag method: lights off, float the bag for about 10 minutes, add small amounts of tank water over up to 20 minutes, then release the fish with as little bag water as possible. Our guide on how to acclimatise new fish takes you through it.

Use a first-week checkpoint plan

Choose companions too big to swallow

Seriously Fish describes peacock bass as territorial and moderately aggressive. They can be kept in species groups or with other large fish such as arowana, stingrays, large catfish and other large cichlids, but only in an extremely large aquarium, and they will eat any tankmate small enough to be considered food. Fishkeeper adds that they are best kept singly or as a known mated pair, with never more than one male in the same tank.

Screen each companion

From our range, the Oscar Cichlid and the Leopard Sailfin Pleco are the kind of large, sturdy companions the sources describe; the Silver Arowana needs an equally vast tank of its own. Other big predators such as the Jaguar Cichlid and the Wolf Cichlid are aggressive cichlids in their own right; OATA advises that aggressive species be kept alone or only with equally aggressive cichlids, and each needs its own territory. Our Oscar care guide and cichlid care guide explain large-cichlid keeping, our pike cichlids and oscar cichlids pages show related predators, and our tank mates tool checks a planned mix.

Watch for problems early

OATA describes a healthy fish as having clear, bright eyes, undamaged fins, intact scales, no ulcers or bumps, normal swimming and steady breathing. With a large predator, the first sign of trouble is often a change in appetite.

Pair each sign with an action

Understand sexing and breeding

Seriously Fish notes that males grow larger and develop a hump on the forehead as they mature, and Kullander and Ferreira describe a reddish hump on very large Azul males. Breeding in aquaria is rarely reported. Seriously Fish's profile of C. monoculus mentions broods of 700–800 fry and wild fish spawning more than once a year, and Fishkeeper describes peacock bass as biparental substrate spawners that lay adhesive eggs on a cleaned flat rock, hatch them in about three days and then move the young in their mouths to a pit in the sand. These accounts come from related species, not from the Azul itself.

Answer Azul Peacock Bass buying questions

What is an Azul Peacock Bass?

It is Cichla piquiti Kullander & Ferreira, 2006, a large predatory cichlid native to the Tocantins and Araguaia river system of Brazil. Brazilian anglers call it tucunaré azul, the blue peacock bass, because living fish give an overall light bluish impression. The species name is a Tupi-Guarani word meaning "striped".

How big does an Azul Peacock Bass grow?

FishBase gives a maximum of 48 cm total length (38.5 cm for females) and a weight of 1.8 kg. Kullander and Ferreira examined a male of 430 mm standard length and estimated very large males in photographs at 40–50 cm. Plan for a fish of 40–50 cm, not the 5–6 cm juvenile that arrives.

What size aquarium does it need?

No figure is published for this species. Seriously Fish gives 8 × 3 × 3 ft (about 244 × 91 × 91 cm, roughly 2,000 litres) as the minimum for an adult of the smallest peacock bass it profiles, and rates every peacock bass as needing a tank at least 2 m long. We would not plan below that for one adult Azul.

Will it eat my other fish?

Yes, if they fit in its mouth. Seriously Fish describes peacock bass as piscivorous and warns that they will eat any tankmate small enough to be considered food. Keep it only with large, robust fish.

What does an Azul Peacock Bass eat?

Meaty foods. Seriously Fish lists prawn, mussel, lancefish, whitebait and other white fish; Fishkeeper adds bloodworm, Mysis and chopped seafood for young fish and cichlid pellets. Feed once a day, only what is eaten within a few minutes.

What water conditions does it need?

Warm, clean, well-oxygenated water. No species values are published; for close relatives Seriously Fish gives 24–28°C and pH 6.5–7.5, and Fishkeeper 24–27°C, pH 6.5–7.0 and up to 15 dH. Aim for 25–27°C, pH 6.5–7.5, zero ammonia and nitrite and low nitrate.

Can I keep two together?

Only with care. Fishkeeper advises keeping peacock bass singly or as a known mated pair and never more than one male, even in a big tank. Seriously Fish says species groups are possible only in an extremely large aquarium.

Why does my young fish look different from the photograph?

Young Azul Peacock Bass have a dark band along the side from head to tail. Kullander and Ferreira found that this band disappears between 150 and 200 mm standard length, when the five dark vertical bars of the adult take over.

How many fish come with one purchase?

One live Azul Peacock Bass of about 5–6 cm. It is a juvenile, it cannot be sexed, and its colour and pattern will differ from the adult in the photographs.

Consult the care references

• FishBase: Cichla piquiti — maximum length and weight, female size, diagnostic five-bar pattern, etymology and IUCN status.
• Kullander & Ferreira 2006, Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters 17(4): 289–398 — the revision of Cichla that described this species: native range, translocations, juvenile and adult colour patterns, largest specimens and local names.
• Seriously Fish: Cichla orinocensis — the smallest peacock bass profiled: adult tank of 8 × 3 × 3 ft, water values, décor, filtration, diet and temperament.
• Seriously Fish: Cichla monoculus — a close relative: size, adult tank, water values, maintenance, diet, compatibility, sexing and breeding notes.
• Seriously Fish: genus Cichla — sizes and adult tank sizes of the peacock bass species it profiles.
• Fishkeeper: Peacock Bass (Cichla spp.) — UK retailer care profile for peacock bass: water values, set-up, filtration, water changes, tank mates, foods and breeding.
• OATA: How to look after American cichlids — UK guidance on American cichlid water quality, aquarium size, lid, feeding, introduction and health checks.
• Tropical Fish Co delivery policy — current dispatch days and Live Arrival Guarantee terms.