Chancho male

[JeffLeMay]

hey oscarguy, that trimac in your avatar is sick! what a beautiful fish

 

[the animal guy]

nice chancho. Do these grow bigger heads than the Midas?

 

[TheOscarGuy]

hey oscarguy, that trimac in your avatar is sick! what a beautiful fish

Thanks, he hasn't been as intense though since I gave his female away.

 

[Ctrl_Alt_Dlt]

cool...how big a tank is he in? What you feeding him?

 

[peewee]

beautiful fish!

 

[Octofasciata Aficionado]

I have a new favorite word "Chancho".

 

[PNWFisherman]

I seen one of these guys at my LFS only about 5'' but was showing some nice agression, posting up to me and chasing my finger across the glass, I might go pick him up.

 

[the animal guy]

I seen one of these guys at my LFS only about 5'' but was showing some nice agression, posting up to me and chasing my finger across the glass, I might go pick him up.

are you sure it's a chancho? could be a barred midas. You should ask wat it is and where it came from.

 

[k-orie-8]

My brother has a female that lays eggs every 2 weeks Can we borow him

 

[cchhcc]

are you sure it's a chancho? could be a barred midas. You should ask wat it is and where it came from.

Not to speak for my very capable friend George (but I'm going to!).... Chanchos and barred Midas are very similar and closely related fish, so your comment is understandable. The fish is very definitely a Chancho though.

Just some background info... Amphilophus chancho is a relatively newly described species only found in one lake in Nicaragua (Lago Apoyo). "Barred Midas" is a term that describes the normal color of 90% or more of the Amphilophus citrinellus complex. More specifically, "Midas" is a generic term that could be used loosely with several Amphilophus species but really should be restricted to Amphilophus citrinellus (a wide ranging species in CA that is the Midas cichlid most of us know in the hobby).

One of the unique things about Chanchos is their huge adult size. They are the largest growing of the citrinellus complex and can approach a foot and a half. I think forum member Reagan may have a pic or two of a huge beast!