Distribution and development of the melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) system were examined by immunocytochemistry of the brain, pituitary gland and skin of the South American cichlid fish Cichlasoma dimerus. In adults, the most prominent group of MCH-ir perikarya was located in the nucleus lateralis tuberis (NLT). Outside the NLT, in the posterior hypothalamic region, a group of small neurons was found between the third ventricle and the lateral ventricular recess with delicate immunoreactive fibers that did not seem to contribute to the pituitary innervation. MCH-ir perikarya were identified at day 4 after hatching (AH) in a proliferating zone of the hypothalamic floor. Pituitary innervation could be detected at this stage. Another group of small MCH-ir neurons, only detected in pre-juvenile stages, originated close to the third ventricle in the medial hypothalamic region by day 6 AH. alphaMSH-ir neurons were localized in similar regions of the NLT and in the nucleus periventricularis posterior (NPP). Free MCH-ir neuromasts were detected in the ventral and dorsal skin of larval heads. These epidermal sensory organs were in close association with blood vessels and dermal melanocytes, suggesting that MCH synthesized in larval skin might act in an endocrine way reaching different targets and/or in a paracrine mode regulating melanin concentration in dermal melanocytes.