Not quite enough snow to ski yet, so I traveled to an isolated high desert warm springs to collect specimins of the family cichlidae. I'm pretty sure (qualitative measure of probablility) that this is the most diverse family of chordates. There are an estimated 2,000-3,000 species of cichlids with only about 1,300 classified. After failing with a casting net I was left with one option...as Jeremy Wade would say, "tackle up and get a line in the water!" I would guess that not many folks have cast flies to fish that are native to African lakes and South American jungles. Three different species from three seperate genuses were taken on nymphs and placed in my aquarium. A larger species of tillapia was taken on a dry fly as well as a nine inch goldfish.
Before leaving I sliced up one specimen and tried a little bait fishing (Jeremy Wade style). While I got nonstop action, my tackle was too big and I could not set the hook. Although, with polorized lenses I could clearly see at least six more species that had been roused from the deep by the live bait including the prized aquarium specimens that go by the common names of Jack Dempsey and Green Terror.
In this low quality video of my super stressed overcrowed tank, the Jack Dempsey and albino Oscar (Albino Diablo, Ghost Faced Killa's successor) came from the pet store. All the others are "wild".
