Trimac and what other CA/SA fish?

[Jason_S]

in a large enough tank you could keep some more peaceful cichlids like severums with a trimac, but when I say large enough I mean crazy large...like 8' L x 3' W or bigger. however....rams? come on...we do have to exercise a little caution. no matter how big the tank, keeping a fish that will be no more than bite sized as an adult is never going to be a good idea.

with the bigger, more aggressive cichlids it's always trial and error. I've seen several member's who've kept fish like trimacs, fh's, rd's etc with clown loaches, silver dollars etc with no issue. but that doesn't mean it'll work for everyone.

the best thing you can do is try out a combination, but have a backup tank that someone can be moved to should things go south.

 

[cichlidinsomniac]

you could add an aggressive vieja sp like a black belt

 

[Toby_H]

the best thing you can do is try out a combination, but have a backup tank that someone can be moved to should things go south.

I would say 'the best thing' you could do is keep the Trimac as a single 'Wet Pet'... the next best thing would be to keep a pair only... next would be to keep it/them with a pair of Convicts or similar...

But if you insist on attempting to keep them with other robust Tankmates, then I agree with Jason's suggestion. Since it is quite likely that things will not work out, having a tank available to move fish into is a must...

 

[Jason_S]

I would say 'the best thing' you could do is keep the Trimac as a single 'Wet Pet'... the next best thing would be to keep a pair only... next would be to keep it/them with a pair of Convicts or similar...

But if you insist on attempting to keep them with other robust Tankmates, then I agree with Jason's suggestion. Since it is quite likely that things will not work out, having a tank available to move fish into is a must...

Oh don't get me wrong, I agree...trimac is one of those that are best kept alone or in a pair unless you have a huge tank. My advice was based on the assumption that the OP is determined to try and find tankmates.

I met a guy in cincy...went to his place when I participated in a group Rapps order...he had organized the whole thing and had to go to his place to pick up the fish. He had a huge trimac (probably 15" at least) with other large cichlids like jag, loisellei, motas etc...however the tank was like 8' x 4' x 2' so yeah in a tank that size mixing such cichlids is more likely to work out.

 

[young_rico]

i had to remove my 5.75" male from my 125g because he killed my female jag. he then targeted my male jag so i put him and the female trimac in a 75g. the next day the female was hiding under some rocks and wouldnt come out so i had to put a divider in.

 

[abiddle]

I have a male Trimac in a 150 gal alone.
My female Trimac killed the first male I had.

I have the female Trimac in a 180 with a male RD/Midas and four SD's.
The female Trimac doesn't seem to care about the SD's, but she will chase the RD/Midas during feeding time and he is submissive. It doesn't seem to bother him and he is able to get away, but I am keeping an eye on them. I am hoping he will outgrow her and become dominant or hold his own at least.

Trimac's are my favorite fish, and may end up being my only fish, but that is the price you pay for a beautiful, badass, glass banger.

Update:
I had to move the female Trimac to a 55 gal this weekend. She tore some scales off the RD/Midas's face and would not quit chasing him. She has a skinned nose, but it could be from scraping against the rocks. They are both about 5.5 inches. If each fish has it's own personality, her's is very obvious.