Trimac Cichlid
Quick Stats
Scientific Name: Amphilophus trimaculatus
Distribution: Central America: Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador
Size: 40cm (16inch) females usually smaller
Common Names: Trimac, Three Spot Cichlid
Temperature: 25c (77F)
pH: 7
General Characteristics
Another heavy duty fish with extremely beautiful colouring, this carnivorous cichlid is considered one of the more aggressive large cichlid species, given that Trimacs have the tendency to brutalize and torture their tankmates in the same manner of a Red Devil, Jaguar, or Dovii. Just as those other large cichlids, they also share in the same league as being extremely intelligent and interact with their owners, responding to various external stimuli, one jumping immediately to mind being caregiver recognition .
Aquarium Set Up
Due to the eventual size and very aggressive nature of this fish, a tank size of 300litres(75g) is recommended for a single specimen with some rockwork or clay pots provided as the caves they seem to prefer, with a decent bottom cover of 5mm gravel size pellets (at least) to satisfy their natural tendencies to dig with.
Feeding
A high quality pellet containing a high protein ratio which also contains some vegetable matter for a omnivorous diet OR beef heart recipe cubes is recommended as a staple diet. Bloodworms, other meaty frozen foods and sometimes the addition of a vitamin supplement helps round out their nutritional requirements. As previously said this fish is mainly carnivorous and in nature would normally feed mainly off small amphibians or other smaller fish so live insects may not necessarily appeal to this hard hitter. However I would not recommend a live fish diet due to the risk of disease introduction and lack of nutrients in general.
Compatibility
This is not really a community fish and unless kept for breeding it should probably be housed alone as a display fish. Some people often mix them with other cichlids of similar size but they are generally in extremely large tanks and the success of mixing them is often a trial and error experiment that more often than not can lead to a few casualties along the way to establishing a good balance between tank mates.
Breeding
Generally males will have longer fin extensions with deeper, starker looking spots than females, while females will usually show a black spot on their dorsal fin. They become sexually mature around 20cm (8 inches) in length and are open spawners who guard their spawning sites with extreme aggression.
Unfortunately for this species though, due to their amazingly contrasting and beautiful colouring and relatively easy cross spawning abilities, they are highly hybridized for that sad money making machine which is the Flowerhorn trade. The harm to Trimacs at this level is due to the lower grade Flowerhorns often being bred back to the original Trimac line, polluting the gene pool and subsequently being sold off as pure Trimacs which they most definitely are not.
Written by: Tony
With help from JC
Photo Credit: CJExotics
