Species #140 — Black Acara

The Black Acara is one of half a dozen cichlids common in Florida.

Species: Black Acara (Cichlasoma bimaculatum)
Location: Orlando, Florida
Date: July 8, 2018

I was told these would be easy to catch. Once I found them, that proved true. Unfortunately, I struck out several times before finding the sweet spot.

Alas, it was worth the wait.

When I did find them, I also found half a dozen other species, including sunfish, killifish, and two more cichlids.

The Black Acara doesn’t get very big, but is is a pretty species. Since cichlids are generally a hot mess in terms of genetic purity and capable of hybridizing with dozens of others. This made identification even more difficult, but I managed.

It was actually Ryan Crutchfield of fishmap.org who helped me identify it, as well as the surprise species I caught minutes later.

#SpeciesQuest // #CaughtOvgard

Read the next entry in #SpeciesQuest here: Species #141 — Jack Dempsey Cichild.