The Texas Native Fish Aquarium Project

Several have sent emails asking how my Texas native fish aquarium project is going. It has been quite an adventure and has kept me looking for places to throw a cast net on local creeks and rivers. When it gets warmer I hope to hit some spots with a seine and collect more of the unusual small fish of Texas such as Darters and Texas Log Perch. Right now the aquarium houses a Longear Sunfish, a Largemouth Bass, Black Tailed Shiners, a couple of Creek Chubs and a Texas Cichlid. I had a big Green Sunfish but had to remove him because of constant fighting with all the other fish. I will try to tell you a little about each type of fish in future blogs. This week I will tell you about my Texas Cichlid. I caught her right here in Round Rock's Brushy Creek about a month ago. She is about four inches long and one of the show fish of my setup.

The Texas Cichlid is the only Cichlid native to Texas and the only Cichlid native to the United States. It is a popular aquarium fish all over the world and under appreciated here at home in my opinion. It is also a popular game fish in Texas and northern mexico and is often referred to as the Rio Grande Perch. The Texas Cichlid is a subtropical fish that lives in the creeks, streams, rivers and lakes of Central to South Texas. Its native habitat is the lower Rio Grande drainage in Texas, and north-eastern parts of mexico.
Instead of describing what the Texas Cichlid looks like I have included some pictures of my Texas Cichlid, Dora. Dora is easy to care for and has become quite tame. She will eat prepared Cichlid pellets and other Cichlid foods available in your local box store pet departments or Aquarium shops. Two of her favorite treats are freeze dried shrimp pellets and once in a while a live earth worm which she sucks up like a kid eating spaghetti. Enjoy the fish of Texas, Wild Ed