APOLLO DOVII WOLF CICHLID
- Thread starter Walterick
- Start date
Still that was not a smart move. A lot of people on this forum love Oscar's and don't think of them as feeder fish. You can't put a 6" fish in with a 17" Dovii no matter what it is unless its supposed to be food. You can't really put anything in a 240 with a 17" Dovii. I would consider that tank the bare minimum for a single mature Dovii. He still has another 10" or more to grow before he even slows down and then he got to turn around in 24” of space.
A Dovii, Umbee, etc. (all the cichlids that can hit 24"+) should ideally be housed in (imo) at least a 240g tank solo (or with a mate with a divider depending on size). However, many people who do own these fish put them in tanks smaller than a 210g, so i'm not going to give you crap for it. Just watch out for possible major aggression whenever you go by the tank if you don't spend a lot of time near him. Many of those fish have the reputation of being glass bangers since they put these monster fish in less than ideal tank sizes.
Aside from the glass bangging, at that size I wouldn't feed more than twice a day with quality pellets* and focus on water quality. Most cichlids that can grow to that size will get stunted/slow growth because their owners focus on feeding them and forgetting that more food = more nitrate = slower overall growth. Give at least 1-3 days in the week for the fish to clean out it's system depending on how much you feed him.
When cleaning the tank make sure you keep your hand outside of the tank as much as possible if he isn't use to you. Dovii and other large aggressive fish tend to bite back when cornered so try to avoid doing that with your gravel vacuum. Also if possible keep your heater in your sump or try your best to hide it/put it in a pvc pipe sleeve** ; better safe then sorry with fish this big imo.
Finally, if the tail doesn't heal up you can use clove oil to sedate your fish and cut the tail yourself to get an new even growth. Use the forum search function or just search online the proper dosage. Then all you need is good lights and a decent camera to take HD photos of your new stunning fish.
*I personally use a mix of Hikari food sticks, NLS Jumbo floating 7.5mm pellets, and frozen shrimp, tilapia, etc. for my Jardini, Umbee, and Oscar. They have great colors and great growth. While you can stick with one reputable pellet brand like Hikari, NLS, Omega, etc. I find having a varied diet is best for fish in case you run out of one type of food.
**Use something like this for as an example:
Aside from the glass bangging, at that size I wouldn't feed more than twice a day with quality pellets* and focus on water quality. Most cichlids that can grow to that size will get stunted/slow growth because their owners focus on feeding them and forgetting that more food = more nitrate = slower overall growth. Give at least 1-3 days in the week for the fish to clean out it's system depending on how much you feed him.
When cleaning the tank make sure you keep your hand outside of the tank as much as possible if he isn't use to you. Dovii and other large aggressive fish tend to bite back when cornered so try to avoid doing that with your gravel vacuum. Also if possible keep your heater in your sump or try your best to hide it/put it in a pvc pipe sleeve** ; better safe then sorry with fish this big imo.
Finally, if the tail doesn't heal up you can use clove oil to sedate your fish and cut the tail yourself to get an new even growth. Use the forum search function or just search online the proper dosage. Then all you need is good lights and a decent camera to take HD photos of your new stunning fish.
*I personally use a mix of Hikari food sticks, NLS Jumbo floating 7.5mm pellets, and frozen shrimp, tilapia, etc. for my Jardini, Umbee, and Oscar. They have great colors and great growth. While you can stick with one reputable pellet brand like Hikari, NLS, Omega, etc. I find having a varied diet is best for fish in case you run out of one type of food.
**Use something like this for as an example:
Most informative post on Dovii I have read in a while, good info there.
lol looking at the full pic, the fish DOES actually kinda dwarf the tank a bit. I can't believe that's a 210........that's a BIIIIIG fish
WOW, Very informative info,, I really appreciate it, I didn't even think about making a heater guard, never had an incident with a fish dying from one or breaking one
He is semi-aggressive,, still run and says away from me when I come to the tank,,, Being wild caught I know he is going through a shaping period of being an aquarium fish but I'm ready for him to open up more and shoe more attitude,,, Also, if any of u fellas have any tip on how to get him started on pellets I would appreciate it, he is still not eating
The only way to get him eating is by starving him for couple of days.
Add few pellets and move away from the tank, if untouched , then remove it.
Try again next day.... The usual breakin time is 7 days , but it can vary.
What have you been feeding him since you got him?
One favourite food almost like crystal meth for most of my fishes including the stubborn Peacock bass was Hikari massivore.
Key is for you not to breakdown
Shove a few pellets inside of a chunk of Tilapia. Each day decrease the amount of tilapia until it's only pellets.
