Festae vs. Dovii, which is the better breeder project?

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Royaldoa

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 6, 2011
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SoCal
As my next project I'm looking to breed either dovii or festae. Which are considered more valuable in the range of 1-2" as fry? Do you have to seperate the male and female? (Either or are getting their own 100g+ tank) Which are generally easier to breed? Which are easier to get ahold of, because I'm active on MFK marketplace and go to my lfstores every week and never see either in SoCal? I know dovii can grow to 18" and am planning a 240g in January, so a 100-150g should be ok for a few months I'm thinking. Otherwise I don't know a whole lot on festae growth. All help is appreciated and remember, which one would you go with to breed and why?

Thanks
 
Royaldoa said:
As my next project I'm looking to breed either dovii or festae. Which are considered more valuable in the range of 1-2" as fry? Do you have to seperate the male and female? (Either or are getting their own 100g+ tank) Which are generally easier to breed? Which are easier to get ahold of, because I'm active on MFK marketplace and go to my lfstores every week and never see either in SoCal? I know dovii can grow to 18" and am planning a 240g in January, so a 100-150g should be ok for a few months I'm thinking. Otherwise I don't know a whole lot on festae growth. All help is appreciated and remember, which one would you go with to breed and why?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Dovii can grow to 30" even though not too likely. Festae are colorful but not very owner responsive most of the time. I'd do dovii if you can house them. They pair better( festae males are notorious for killing their mates) and much more fun to watch. That being said high quality festae sell like pancakes so they are probably more lucrative as a extra income. They can also be housed in a 240 for life no problem and a dovii pair cannot. Hope that helps you a little and good luck!


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interesting, didnt know dovii got THAT big. How does the dovii breeding work? Would I have to seperate them, and whats the minimum tank requirements? Also how much are fry at 1-2"?
 
Dovii fry are cheap. But they'd be easy to breed. They're usually pretty good mates, and get along, so you shouldn't have to separate them. But id say you'd need a MINIMUM 8x3 tank for a pair, and a 10x4 would be optimum.

Festae, you will likely have to keep a divider handy as the males kill the females pretty frequently. But the fry sell easier and for more money.

If you're looking for a breeding project, why not something like amphilophus lyonsi??? They're pretty rare, and almost extinct in the wild, so you'd be doing the community good. Plus, they're gorgeous fish.
 
In terms of my own personal taste, I really like dovii and festae. As for the lyonsi, how big do they get and how much would the fry be?
 
Lyonsi seem to be hard to move. They get about 12" max and the fry are priced about the same as dovii. Where you live in an area like socal you will probably be hard press to make a lot of money on any cichlid. Just raise what you like and see if you can supply a pet shop near you. Dovii around that size sell for about $5. Festae will be around $10 but they are much less dependable breeders most of the time and a lot more work. I would get the dovii or a smaller Parachromis like motaguense as they are colored a bit like festae and breed like dovii. They top out at 14". 180 gallons would be great for a pair for life.


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After reading all this input, think I'm going to go with Dovii, money is a side thing and I think I'd enjoy the Dovii through my research. Thank you all :)
 
Get a nice pair of wild caught dovii. If u want a real show stopper and cash cow track down some parachromis la ceiba yellow heads. Cool new sp.


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