Texas has 37 man-made reservoirs used to cool electro-power plants and several more are in the construction and/or planning phases. Managing the sport fishery in these reservoirs is difficult because temperate predators are unable to compete with overabundant rough fish populations characteristic in the warmed water of these impoundments. Nile perch (Lates sp.) and peacock bass (Cichla temensis) are two tropical predators under investigation for possible introduction into power plant reservoirs. Small stocks of these fishes are being maintained in closed-recirculation systems at the Heart of the Hills Fisheries Research Station, Ingram, Texas. Fishes will be reared to sexual maturity, spawned, and the young used in temperature and salinity tolerance tests. Information gained in these tests will playa significant role in the selection ofstudy reservoirs.
