As a lover of all things Cichlid (particularly Sth American), this is as close to seeing Wild Cichlids as I will ever get. For those of you that don't
know, Hazelwood is a moderately large lake in Gippsland that provides the water that is used in the production of our electricity. As such, when the water is
put back into the pondage it is very hot and it remains warm enough throughout the whole system to sustain a VERY healthy population of cichlids.
I was there last weekend and sat for hours watching families of Convicts, Tilapia Mariae swimming and interacting with the small Red Devils that abound in the shallow water near the banks. There are some of the best looking fish in that lake that you will ever see, the red devils are as red as tomatoe sauce and the convicts are truly spectacular. There is even a rocky shoreline that has been inhabited by some sort of Africans that have interbred and now swim as if this was one of the great lakes in Africa.
A word of warning to all who are planning on heading down there to collect some of these really good looking fish is that they are swimming in a lake that is full of competition so all of these fish have a real attitude problem. Many people have been taken in by their good looks only to get up in the morning to find all of the other fish in the tank floating belly up. They are also said to be full of parasites so the smart thing to do is to leave them where they are.
That being said, if you would like to sit and watch Sth American cichlids acting as they would if they were in their natural habitat and African Lake cichlids darting out of the rocks to display and defend their territory, this is a trip that is well worth taking.
Glenn
I was there last weekend and sat for hours watching families of Convicts, Tilapia Mariae swimming and interacting with the small Red Devils that abound in the shallow water near the banks. There are some of the best looking fish in that lake that you will ever see, the red devils are as red as tomatoe sauce and the convicts are truly spectacular. There is even a rocky shoreline that has been inhabited by some sort of Africans that have interbred and now swim as if this was one of the great lakes in Africa.
A word of warning to all who are planning on heading down there to collect some of these really good looking fish is that they are swimming in a lake that is full of competition so all of these fish have a real attitude problem. Many people have been taken in by their good looks only to get up in the morning to find all of the other fish in the tank floating belly up. They are also said to be full of parasites so the smart thing to do is to leave them where they are.
That being said, if you would like to sit and watch Sth American cichlids acting as they would if they were in their natural habitat and African Lake cichlids darting out of the rocks to display and defend their territory, this is a trip that is well worth taking.
Glenn
