Thread: Jigging Up Some Cichlids

Do you eat those?

I once had several nice Oscars in my aquariums, cichlids I believe, they became large in my 55 gal tanks.
Aren't they related to the Pirahna?
Anyway, nice fish.

Alan

Originally Posted by FurFlyin

Do you eat those?

These fish specifically? No. I usually only keep fish to eat two or three times per year. I have eaten these in the past though. They're not much different than bluegills or other panfish. Here's a video of keeping one to eat.

Originally Posted by funfishers

I once had several nice Oscars in my aquariums, cichlids I believe, they became large in my 55 gal tanks.
Aren't they related to the Pirahna?
Anyway, nice fish.

Alan

I'm not sure if Mayan Cichlids and Oscars share a native range. Both are available in South Florida as invasives. Oscars are from northern South America, while Mayans are from Central America. I'm not sure of the relation of these to pirahnas though.

It is good to thin out the invasives

Originally Posted by DockShootinJack

It is good to thin out the invasives

At this point I personally think they're past the point of being invasive and are closer to the common carp in being a naturalized species. Either way, I feel bad for the bluegills down here. These two species compete very closely and since the mayans get bigger and they're more aggressive, the bluegills struggle. I love catching bluegills, but its usually like a 5:1 ratio of mayans:bluegills or worse.

Are they decent table fare?

yes... the cichlids that do get big enough to eat are excellent table fare