Dovii and Umbee in the same tank.

[ashdavid]

I have had big cichlids for years, what I want to know is if anyone has had an full grown umbee in a tank with other cichlids of the same size . I have never owned an umbee before and their reputation preceeds them. I am thinking of puting one in my main tank, but I have a dovii as my main fish with about 30 or so other large cichlids(red terror,3 midas,jaguar, motaguense,5 oscars,splendia and many more that are over 12 inches,there are many other fish in there too many to list,mainly tinfoil barbs, balas, bichirs ect) they all get along fine , I am just concerned about an umbee and a dovii together in the same tank. I would like to know if anyone has done this and as to what size tank they were in.

[piranha45]

well, it takes 4+ years for a baby dovii and umbee both to hit 20", so I would be more concerned about their welfare against the other tankmates than how things might be once they are the sole two giants in a given tank.

I know a certain user who had a breeding pair of dovii and umbee i(with free swimming fry) n a 500g along with a plethora of other large cichlids, but the male dovii and umbee were both in the 8"-12" range. He said everything was very peaceful; no excessive aggression among any of the cichlids in the tank.

[ashdavid]

The dovii and the other fish very rarely have fights, to be honest I don't remember the last time someone locked jaws. When the umbee is full grown it I will not be reducing the other occupants unless there are fights, which I doubt there will be. I was more or less looking for someone who had success with mixing these fish. 500g for a breeding pair of dovii sounds small, must have been lucky to have had little aggression.

[piranha45]

I meant to say that there were two separate breeding pairs in the tank-- 1 of dovii, the other of umbee. Both had free-swimming fry. And there were no aggression problems throughout the tank. But like I said, the males were only in the 8-12" size range

[ashdavid]

Well the tank is 1850g actual, and I am just thinking that it will be ok. The territories should be able to be proporly established and I think they should be able to get along, the only way I am going to find out is do it. No one else seems to have done it so I will just have to be on my own with this one.

[piranha45]

do you have pics of this legendary tank? what are the dimensions?

[GTS]

I raised an umbie of the green morph to 14" about 12 years ago. He lived in a 300 gallon tank with a few other central american cichlids like trimacs, midas and the like. He dominated all of them with ease. All except for a 13" dovii. The dovii roughed him up to the point where I had to give him away.

In general I find umbie to have bloody thirsty murderous tempers which are indeed slightly worse than dovii. However they dont take damage as well as dovii and the guapotes do and they are far more prone to stressing out when they are beaten ( which is indeed a rare occurance). In my experince they dominate all other cichlids with the exception of an equal sized dovii.

[piranha45]

how's the body mass compare between the two fish-- is a 14" umbee going to weigh as much as a 14" dovii?

[GTS]

how's the body mass compare between the two fish-- is a 14" umbee going to weigh as much as a 14" dovii?


Its difficult to say. Both bulk up considerably around 14"..But at that size the umbie would most likely weigh more.(Its a another story at 20" though)

[piranha45]

don't leave me hanging damn you, who's more massive at 20"?

[PeacockBass]

don't leave me hanging damn you, who's more massive at 20"?

umbi

[ashdavid]

Here is a pic of my tank.

My tank (http://aquaticphotos.com/details.php?image_id=748)

[rayman45]

tank is mint

come do my tank

[Vietrice2k5]

wow...that is a beastly tank. NICE

[iheartfishies]

omg biggest tank ever. :drool:

[ashdavid]

Thanks people! There are plans for a bigger tank in the works.

[piranha45]

that tank is 10/10.

[WckedMidas]

one nice ass setup you should be fine with that tank

[NIKE]

simply amazing tank :) whats the dimensions ?

[CentralMayhem]

now thats my dream tank for sure. every night i close my eyes and have dreams of 24"dovii and 15" midas monsters. Festae's breeding on one end and a whole colony of neets at the other. so much room it's amazing. ENVY runs deep. you lucky S.O.B. how much would a set up like that run me?

[ashdavid]

Many tens of thousands, I also dreamed that dream

[Rui]

Wow! Super nice tank! When I can actually afford my dream, I will come knocking on your door for tips!!

I am guessing those plants are real. How do you stop your cichlids from munching down on them? Mine ate my Anubias (though it was mostly my Tilapia Taganicae..).

In a tank that size, I don't think you will have many issues. Lots of room for your fish to keep away from one another :drool:

[ashdavid]

Never had a problem with them attacing the plants, but in my smaller tanks 200g and 400g, all the plants get ripped to shreds.

[piranha45]

ashdavid, what do you feed your guys?

Have you ever considered ordering mass quantities of small species of tetras, barbs, danios, poecillids, and other such fish, and using those as your prime food source for your current specimens?

[ashdavid]

Actually I have never thought of that , thats a good idea. I usually feed them a combination of pellets ,vegies sometimes,strips of fish, shimp, crickets and any type of insect that I can get my hands on. :thumbsup:

[amindbesideitself]

what a gorgeous tank!

[africamonk]

ash, seems like you get envied whichever forum you visit ..... :cheers:

any updates on your plans for the massive 10,000 gallon tank ???