Year 2004 Within the framework of projects "Research on the current state and sustainable use of the hydrobiological resources of the Colombian Amazon" and "Exploitation and integral management of fishery" advanced by the SINCHI Institute´s Aquatic Ecosystems Group, came the idea of creating an ichthyological collection located in the Amazon, that allows for the protection and documentation of the diversity of specimens of fish from this Colombian region.
Year 2005 CIACOL began with the entry of 86 records belonging to material collected in Puerto Leguizamo (Department of Putumayo), within the framework of project "Commercial fish resources in the Amazon, Putumayo and Caqueta rivers".
Year 2006 104 records corresponding to material from the departments of Amazonas and Caqueta collected by project "Ornamental fish of the Colombian Amazon" were entered. The design of a database was started, which will administer all the information associated with the collected material.
Year 2007 147 records of fish from the Calderon and Yavari - Sacambu rivers bordering Brazil were incorporated. The first module of the database entitled "Aquatic Biodiversity", which contains information on the biology of the species, was tested. Formats were implemented to record information on the life history of fish, meeting standards proposed by the Biodiversity Information System (SIB) of the Alexander von Humboldt Research Institute and the needs of the Collection.
Year 2008 Within the framework of project "Biotic Integrity in the southern sector of the Amacayacu National Natural Park", 49 catalog records were collected and entered into the collection. A format for editing the digital images of the specimens of the Collection was established. 18% of the lots were photographed. The information associated with the specimens collected in the Amacayacu Park was entered into the database.
Year 2009 Within the framework of projects "Map of the ecosystems of the CAN member countries" (BIOCAN Program) and "Research on the current status and sustainable use of Hydrobiological Resources and their aquatic ecosystems in the Colombian Amazon" 80 catalog cards were prepared of CIACOL fish. The SINCHI Institute joined the "Fish Barcode of Life Initiative" collecting and entering fish of commercial interest in the Siluriformes group region, for the Puerto Leguizamo (Putumayo) and Leticia (Amazon) sectors. Process that was executed in coordination with researchers from Brazil and Peru.
Year 2010 Project "The Fish Barcode of Life Initiative" was continued and 37 new lots were entered. Additionally, 85 lots were incorporated from the basins of the Pescado, Orotuya and Consaya (Caqueta) and Matamata and Amacayacu (Amazonas) rivers. The first tests are carried out to enable consultations to CIACOL on the institutional website.
Year 2011 CIACOL performes its registration before the Alexander von Humboldt Institute. At the same time, within project "Scientific Research in Ecosystems and Natural Resources of the Colombian Amazon", recognition is made of the fish fauna present in some sectors of the basins of the Pescado and San Pedro rivers, in the Caqueta river basin.
Year 2012 Field work was carried out in the middle sector of the Vaupes river basin, which allowed for the inclusion of 191 lots from the Cuduyari river, Yi channel, Mituceño and the vicinity of Mitu. Likewise, a total taxonomic revision was made to all the specimens of the collection, elevating the quality of CIACOL as a specialized resource, as well as its taxonomic representation.
Year 2013 CIACOL provided 50 catalog cards of fish, as a contribution to the strengthening of the Territorial Environmental Information System of the Colombian Amazon SIAT-AC, data published online in the SIB Biodiversity Information System. In turn, advanced field work in the upper Caqueta river basin permited the entry of 308 new catalog records.
Year 2014 Material from the middle sector of the Guaviare river basin and ornamental fish collection centers in Guainía was cataloged. With the help of project "Fish and gear used in fishing for local consumption in the Amazon basin. Phase I: Sub-basins and micro-basins of the Colombian Amazon", collections were made in Mitu (Vaupes River), Tarapaca (Putumayo River) and the Yahuarcaca Lagoon System (Amazon River).
Year 2015 610 lots were added to the Collection originating from the Pescado and Fragua-Chorroso rivers, adding to the CIACOL families Engraulidae, Parodontidae and Astroblepidae, as well as 31 new species, most of them belonging to the order Siluriformes (71%). Species Knodus caquetae and Caquetaia myersi were identified, which are endemic to the Caqueta river basin.
