EAN 9780738205281

Confined almost without exception to the southern hemisphere, cichlids are perchlike lake- and river-dwelling fish that have long been an important source of food for humans--and that, in places such as Lake Tanganyika, are so overfished that they are in danger of disappearing. Outside the southern hemisphere, the cichlids, which number unknown thousands of species, are known mostly to tropical-fish enthusiasts through a colorful representative, the freshwater angelfish, though tilapia are increasingly farmed as a food source in Asia and North America. Those tilapia can grow to huge size, writes authority George Barlow, as can other cichlids.