dovii still a bit shy at 12 inches

[MP_cichlid]

guys, I understand what your saying but in all honesty, c'mon a 250 gallon tank is fine for a dovii. Yes it isn't the same as being in the wild but then again it simply isn't. It is a aquarium hobby. I mean a dovii and a firemouth come from the same waters yet you can house a firemouth comfortably in a 55. In the wild a firemouth is gonna have a lot more room, yet people wouldn't disagree with that. A parachromis dovii can live very comfortably in a 250 gallon tank for life.

 

[Ihsnshaik]

Think about the fish before you put him in a small tank!

He looks tasty!

 

[Stanzzzz7]

Dovii and meeki do not come from the same waters.
Dovii are open water predators and need much more swimming space than thorichthys would.
Personally speaking I could not house a large powerful animal like a dovii in any thing that could fit in my house unless I turned the whole living room into a tank.

 

[MP_cichlid]

ok well they are both central american, the point is that even smaller fish like convict that coexist with dovii on the slopes of Honduras, live in the same amount of water as dovii do. Many extremely successful and fantastic fish keepers successfully keep dovii very comfortable in a 200+ gallon tanks.

 

[JONNY CICHLA]

Would you be happy if someone took you out your house and put you in a much smaller Tent to live buddy ? same thing really!

would say if having a dovii " have a CB fish and not a large WC

 

[Stanzzzz7]

I have 200 gallon plus tanks and would not dream of keeping a dovii.
It depends on your sentiment to the matter I suppose.
Meeki can be housed in groups as they are found in the wild.They will have lots of stimulus and be able to breed and coexist peacefully with their own kind.
A large powerful dovii will cover much more ground in the wild than any thorichthys could or any convict.
Keeping a dovii with a mate is very risky for the female and they normally end up killing any tank mates.
I just don't think they can be catered for in the way many other cichlids can in captivity.

 

[qguy]

Hey Mr. Dovii,

Where do you want to live ?

A. 250 gallon tank, with a 100 gallon buffer tank, 50 gallon filter, free food, free water changes, no predators, no fishermen looking for you, you know what that means and when he finds you and no tourist trying to catch a picture of you btw..if i make more money next year, say goodbye to your 250 and say hello to 500g or 1000g

OR

B. take your chances in the wild...see picture below

Seriously I think this topic had been beaten to death multiple times, lets not go there again......

 

[PYRU]

My good friend has my old dovii in a 300 @ 22"L. He has a good bit of room and doesn't try to shred me if I put my hand in the tank so that's a good sign. He went in @ 17" and had a ridiculous amount of room. I would say it is the minimum for a big dovii.

 

[Stanzzzz7]

Hey Mr. Dovii,

Where do you want to live ?

A. 250 gallon tank, with a 100 gallon buffer tank, 50 gallon filter, free food, free water changes, no predators, no fishermen looking for you, you know what that means and when he finds you and no tourist trying to catch a picture of you btw..if i make more money next year, say goodbye to your 250 and say hello to 500g or 1000g

OR

B. take your chances in the wild...see picture below

Seriously I think this topic had been beaten to death multiple times, lets not go there again......

An on going debate for an ongoing problem.

I prefer to give fish a home not a display cabinet.
I would also take my chances in the wild against the fishermen.
I am not judging anyone this is my view.
I wouldn't keep a bird in a cage but thousands do.

 

[RD.]

Seeing as we are sharing opinions, here's mine. Personally I think that it's ludicrous to suggest that a 250 gallon tank is not sufficient to properly house a 12" dovii. WTF is wrong with some of you? The OP wasn't asking for anyone's warm and fuzzy opinions on what size a mature dovii requires, and many serious hobbyists have successfully kept plenty of adult dovii in home aquaria over the years. Are adults best kept in large tanks, yes, but this is MFK, home of the whopper tanks, where there are numerous tanks in 300+ gallon range, many in the 1,000+ gallon range, and while I agree that a large predatory fish such as a dovii requires a large tank, I think that some people get carried away in sharing their opinions.

It's sounds nice to say that one prefers to give a fish a home, and not a display cabinet, but the reality is that this is a selfish hobby, where each and every fish is just that, on display. And Darren, seeing as you said that, how many of your fish have you gave a home to, for their entire life? I suspect that you have changed tank set ups, including fish, more than once or twice over the years. Yes?

Nothing that anyone does in their home or backyard will ever compare to what any of these fish would typically experience in nature, obviously. Some of you need to lighten up a bit.