Dovii thread

[IFLAquatics]

Okay guys so I have two Dovii, the female (I think) is super chill (for a wolf) and won't defend herself against my male. She just hides behind the filter the whole day. So I moved her into the community fight ring. Which would be the overstocked 75 full of a-holes and monsters. Well she's doing awesome with the bass that's 8-9 inches especially since she is only 2 at max. Either way, she's a savage and the bass learned his place with a little nip. The pecking order is just savagery. They all flare at each other all day but rarely does anyone fight at all. The rock bass and the convict are distinguished enemies and I get it. They are both beasts and the same size and I believe both male. Nobody even knows what the dinosaur eel is in the tank even though he's bigger than all of them. So they leave him alone. The male on the other hand, I don't know if I could even put a pleco or a pictus in there. The dino is probably armored enough and since he doesn't eat the same way the Dovii does I think the Dovii won't see him as a threat. The male is going to need a divider between him and the fight club because he wants to join lol. He tries to eat my other fish through the walls of the tank. So my question is, does anyone have any advice for a new Dovii owner? Anything you have learned, favorite snacks you find work, anything. I love all my fish and I love to know everything I can about them. Current setup is a 30 tall with scarce decorations but somewhere to hide for him. Im upgrading him to a 55 long just refurbed probably today.

 

[duanes]

There was a study done on dovii in lake Arenal in Costa Rica, where they found as they age, from stomach contents, insects become a very important part (major component) of their diet as adults.
And fishermen found them to be most active at the time of year when the average water temp of the lake was in the high 60s F.
Those things said, the most important thing you could do to keep them humanely would be to get the largest tank possible, be it 300 -500 gallons, or even better, much larger.
Dovii don't belong in puddles.
I grew mine out in a 150 gallon tank, and soon found it too small.

 

[IFLAquatics]

Yeah I plan on having some monstrosities when I set up completely. We currently have 5 tanks, 1 more getting ready to go up and I'm working on closing a deal on a 300 soon. I already have the spotted bass so he needs a pond too. I was probably going to do a natural swimming pool with the compatible monsters and then a pool for each fish that won't house with others. I want all glass or acrylic eventually but that will take a lot of time and money. I'm in the process of trying to setup for adoptions and everything. Me and my girlfriend are super stupid passionate about our fish and we want to do a rescue and everything. We were gonna have a big catfish river in the back of our house with a redtail and huge plecos that people get rid of. We have big plans and our monsters will have their own special homes in the long run, but for now we grow with our environments lol.

 

[troublesum]

i almost feel like this is spam.... Dovi need to be in there own tank of at least 300 gallons and only by there selfs if kept in a community they will kill all tanks mates unless its 1000+.

What are these other monsters in a 75? 75 is the minimum for 1 small monster such as Oscar, RD, Midas FH. true monsters Dovii, Beani, Black Nasty, Umbee need 300+

 

[IFLAquatics]

Yeah I get all that, I'm in the process of upgrading everyone into their own tanks but seeing as my Dovii is 2 and a half inches long I think a 55 gallon long with 2 snails will suffice for now.

 

[elting44]

Welcome to MFK Tim,

How long have you had the Dovii pair?

My suggestion, and its probably not something what you want to hear, but it is my honest opinion, is that you should return the Dovii until you have the space for them. Particularly the female that you have relegated to your so called "fight ring".

The male in the 55g is going to need more space in very short order regardless of his current size.

Whats the current stock list of your 75g? You mentioned that it is overstocked and mentioned a convict, rock bass, 8" spotted bass, dinosaur eel (which I am assuming is a polypterus / bichir)

My advice is to slow down, you have plans for pools and rivers in your backyard and wanting to rescue fish, but I think you need to reevaluate your current resources.

 

[IFLAquatics]

Welcome to MFK Tim,

How long have you had the Dovii pair?

My suggestion, and its probably not something what you want to hear, but it is my honest opinion, is that you should return the Dovii until you have the space for them. Particularly the female that you have relegated to your so called "fight ring".

The male in the 55g is going to need more space in very short order regardless of his current size.

Whats the current stock list of your 75g? You mentioned that it is overstocked and mentioned a convict, rock bass, 8" spotted bass, dinosaur eel (which I am assuming is a polypterus / bichir)

My advice is to slow down, you have plans for pools and rivers in your backyard and wanting to rescue fish, but I think you need to reevaluate your current resources.

Well the Dovii's i got because the guy was going to toss them because he didn't want the babies. The bichir I got because he was in a 55 gallon tank with 6 other fish, 4 being catfish and the water was black when I moved the substrate. The fish are in pristine water conditions which I check weekly. Nitrates and nitrites are 0 always. Weekly 30% water changes. I understand the conditions aren't perfect but they are better than they came from. That's the thing you all don't understand. It's been 6 months and I have 5 established tanks all 55 and up and I keep them happy and healthy. My water is crystal clear and if I see any fin or body damage, the problem is addressed and taken care of and fish are moved until they are comfortable and as little stress as possible. The fight ring comment is a joke because the 3 heavy hitters in the tank are very competitive for their food. Then the green terror and Dovii, 1 1/2 - 2 Inches long each, have no issues in the tank either. That is where they had to go because they had to be moved out of the mbunas because they nipped at each other. They no longer fight with anyone, my fish are more aggressive and really just cancel one another out. They flare up

 

[IFLAquatics]

Well the Dovii's i got because the guy was going to toss them because he didn't want the babies. The bichir I got because he was in a 55 gallon tank with 6 other fish, 4 being catfish and the water was black when I moved the substrate. The fish are in pristine water conditions which I check weekly. Nitrates and nitrites are 0 always. Weekly 30% water changes. I understand the conditions aren't perfect but they are better than they came from. That's the thing you all don't understand. It's been 6 months and I have 5 established tanks all 55 and up and I keep them happy and healthy. My water is crystal clear and if I see any fin or body damage, the problem is addressed and taken care of and fish are moved until they are comfortable and as little stress as possible. The fight ring comment is a joke because the 3 heavy hitters in the tank are very competitive for their food. Then the green terror and Dovii, 1 1/2 - 2 Inches long each, have no issues in the tank either. That is where they had to go because they had to be moved out of the mbunas because they nipped at each other. They no longer fight with anyone, my fish are more aggressive and really just cancel one another out. They flare up occasionally but they don't fight. I just have a lot of savage alpha males in one tank and they all argue but they never fight. They are all meaty and happy fish and I think that I am doing good for just starting out 6 months ago. My fish haven't had any issues since I've started except a rope fish jumping out, a bichir getting indigestion, a rainbow shark getting eaten because I thought he was big enough full grown to not get eaten by the bass the bass hasn't touched anything tropical since then though. and my baseball sized Apple snail ate my only rosy barb alive,(he had swim bladder damage and wasn't dying, he could eat and swim but sometimes he would go wild and the snail landed on it and he just kinda let it eat him....) . I didn't think I would have to worry about the snails but it just kinda happened that way.... anyway I know very well what kind of requirements they need when it comes to gallons and freedom. I will be moving all of the fish that are my personal favorites to their own seperate habitats and mini ecosystems, I'm asking questions about their quirks and likes when it comes to decoration and substrate and foods and things like that. They are getting bigger tanks. I have a good job, my girlfriend has a good job, and it's tax season. So, regardless of size of tank now, do you have any advice? I'm not trying to be rude but do you understand that I'm FULLY comprehending of the fact that they need more space? That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking for other information. I will be showing the changes and upgrades I'm making on my profile because I am going to show that we will have the space and the ability to house ANYTHING. I expect to have the room to house an arapima within 3 years. So like I said, any tips? Because my fish are happy and healthy and I just want to make them happier with my available resources until they get transferred.

 

[IFLAquatics]

We are actually over max and I'm unhappy about it but we keep them in super clean conditions and make sure they aren't being overly hostile to each other and we are doing what we can for now, they are happy and not harming each other, everyone is overfed (slightly) and usually satiated. There are 2 pictus a small large spot cat and a leopard lace with the others. 1 Senegalus bichir, 1convict cichlid, 1 bass, 1 rock bass, 1 dovii 1 green terror and 2 fenestratum. It's not terribly over stocked but all my levels are perfect except hardness, so I'm going to be using different water sources soon. I love them all like my children and I take the best care I can for what I have right now. They will get what they need and then some but until then I want to make them as comfortable and happy as possible while growing. I know what they need but I have never seen a single 2 inch fish in a 300 gallon aquarium. That's just ridiculous.

 

[IFLAquatics]

So basically nobody knows anything about their personalities, their likes, dislikes, food preferences or anything that they would like to share? Cool. I guess it's inhumane to have fry in a 40 gallon Breeder tank because that's too many fish right? And then anything like a redtail or a Dovii or an arowana needs all of their space. So if you have 3 Dovii fry that means you need a 900 gallon tank? I understand and respect their ACTUAL requirements but a 2 inch fish has more than enough room no matter the species.