Trimac Cichlid

The trimac takes its name ("three-spotted") from the three black blotches lined up along its body. Its greenish-gold body is decorated with shiny blue–green spots; its throat and belly are red–orange. Mature males develop a prominent hump on the forehead. It is considered one of the main species used to create flowerhorn hybrids; that is why much of the flowerhorn's hump and color heritage comes from it.

It is a powerful and extremely aggressive fish that can exceed 30 cm. It defends its territory constantly, not only during breeding. It suits only hobbyists who can dedicate a large, single-fish setup to it.

It lives in Pacific-draining rivers, lakes and lagoons from southern Mexico to Guatemala and El Salvador. In warm, moderately hard waters it feeds on small fish, crustaceans and insects.

• Volume: at least 400 liters and 150–180 cm of length for a single adult.
• Decor: a few large, stable rocks; a wide swimming area. Keeping plants is not practical.
• Equipment: a powerful canister filter or sump, a guarded heater and a heavy lid.
• Water: moderately hard, slightly alkaline water; 25–28°C is ideal.
• Maintenance: a 30–50% water change weekly.

Mainly carnivorous. Use large cichlid granules as the staple; vary them with frozen shrimp, mysis, mussels and fish fillet, and add vegetables occasionally. Live feeder fish are not recommended. One meal a day is enough for adults.

Intelligent and interactive; it recognizes its owner. However, it sees every fish in the aquarium as a rival or prey, and may attack a hand. Even individuals raised together as juveniles can seriously harm each other as they mature.

Good companions: it is best kept alone. In a very large aquarium, only large, robust plecos.

Avoid: all community fish, other cichlids, shrimp, snails, plants.

Keeping it alone is recommended. A pair is only possible by raising juveniles together and a controlled introduction using a perforated divider; the male can kill the female in a short time.

The pair lays hundreds to over a thousand eggs on a cleaned stone. The larvae are moved into dug pits; the parents guard the fry very fiercely. To prevent hybridization, it should not be bred together with other Amphilophus species.

• Hole-in-the-head disease (HLLE): in poor water quality.
• Injuries: from fights and from attacking the glass or decor.
• Digestive problems: with overfeeding; skipping food one day a week eases digestion.
• Bacterial infections: develop in dirty water after injuries.

The male is noticeably larger, with a nuchal hump and long, pointed fins. The female is smaller; a dark spot may appear on the dorsal fin, but this is not reliable. Sexing is confirmed by the papilla.