• Scientific name: Cichla ocellaris
• Common name: Peacock Bass, Eye Spot Cichlid, Butterfly Peacock Bass
• Synonyms: Acharnes speciosus, Cichla argus, C. atabapensis, Crenicichla orinocensis, Cychla argus, C. trifasciata
• Group: Cichlids
• Habitat: Northern South America; Venezuela, Guyana, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia.
• Size: In nature it can reach 90 cm in length, but in an aquarium it rarely longer than 60 cm.
• Biotope: The species inhabits almost all larger water bodies. They are also raised in ponds as food fish.
• Social behavior: Territorial; in nature the animals are rapid swimmers, but in the aquarium they are usually sedate and wait motionless for prey. The fish does not dig or molest plants. Keep in a species tank because of its predatory lifestyle.
• Diet: Carnivorous; all types of live food, rarely accepts flakes.
• Breeding: No reports are yet available about successful breeding in an aquarium.
• Tank: Minimum 500 litres for one fish
• Population: 1 pair for 1000 litres
• Decoration: Needs large tanks with a sand or a gravel bottom. Provide some cover with stones and roots as well as a few flat stones as spawning substrates. Edges and background can be planted.
• Temperature: 23-28 °C
• pH: 5.5-8
• Hardness: 2-20 NK°
• Lifespan: 12-15 years

Description: The Peacock Cichlid has an elongated deep body. The back is silver-gray and marked with three, broad transverse stripes. The lower parts are yellow to gold, with a region marked with black splotches. Just below the yellow area is an orange-red region, which also parallels the white belly. The second part of the dorsal fin has white spots, and those spots are also found on the top part of the tail fin. The mouth is very large and faces towards the surface. The pelvic, anal, and caudal fins are orange-red, and the dorsal fin is black. An obvious, black eye-spot can be found on the caudal fin near the caudal penuncle.

Older males have a nuchal hump; otherwise the sexes are only distinguishable during the spawning act. Cichla ocellaris is monomorphic. The fish are sexually mature from 20 cm. In nature the eggs are adhered to a hard substrate in a pit in shallow water. Larger females have spawns with over 10000 eggs. Parents guard the young over 1 month. The young can already be 5 cm long at that point. Because of its size, Cichla ocellaris is only suitable as a juvenile for most aquarists.