Hi guys im relativilely new to the freah water scene. Im in south florida broward county. Today fishing one of the canals kept catching this guy, loats  of them around and pretty big...what are they?

Looks like some sort of South American Cichlid

The canal is loaded with these and they seem pretty aggresive

Bet that was a tussle . That fish looks powerful .

8 minutes ago, JediAmoeba said:

Looks like some sort of South American Cichlid

Looks like a Myan Cichlid.

Good photo.

Tom

7 minutes ago, scaleface said:

Bet that was a tussle . That fish looks powerful .

Got couple bigger and they fight good, also sharp  teeth, one cut a 12 flouro

The bigger fish could be Peacock bass, different coloration and a bass size head.

Weocome to BR, someone who knows will identify the fish, Florida has lots of non native fish species.

Tom

3 minutes ago, WRB said:

The bigger fish could be Peacock bass, different coloration and a bass size head.

Weocome to BR, someone who knows will identify the fish, Florida has lots of non native fish species.

Tom

I think a caught one but not too big but looked like a bass, same mouth but darker color and a dot on the tail

Is mayan ciclid a species of diferent fishes people call or just one specific fish

38 minutes ago, Cubanguy said:

Is mayan ciclid a species of diferent fishes people call or just one specific fish

That looks like m. urophthalmus, common name Mayan Cichlid or Mojarra. Common names are often different in different parts of a fish's range.

1 hour ago, BassWhole! said:

That looks like m. urophthalmus, common name Mayan Cichlid or Mojarra. Common names are often different in different parts of a fish's range.

Hey i know mojarra but saltwater one

5 hours ago, WRB said:

Looks like a Myan Cichlid.

Good photo.

Tom

You're correct Sir..

Didnt know those are around the canals down here. Thanks for the info guys.

I would keep those fish moving forward, the invasive species are a huge problem all throughout Florida. The south Florida canals may have the worst invasive species problem.

 

Here's an article for reference: 

https://fishingbooker.com/blog/invasive-fish-in-florida-all-you-need-to-know/

 

 

On 8/17/2019 at 9:37 PM, FLAGATOR49 said:

I would keep those fish moving forward, the invasive species are a huge problem all throughout Florida. The south Florida canals may have the worst invasive species problem.

 

Here's an article for reference: 

https://fishingbooker.com/blog/invasive-fish-in-florida-all-you-need-to-know/

 

 

Great article thanks

Yeah, cichlids are very popular in the aquarium world but the problem is they can get quite large for the average aquarium and very aggressive so the owners simply dump them in a nearby water way after they're tanks get terrorized. 

Good news, Mayan's don't get that big in the wild in comparison to LM bass but has a big attitude. 

How do they taste? ?

It's a mayan.  Ive kept them as pets.  Culling is pointless in the canals at this point with how many there are and even in captivity they will spawn monthly.

Atomic Sunfish. 

If they were an MMA fighter they’re lightweight champs.