Jag and Dovii Cichlid juveniles question.

[NKlaman3187]

Hello all,
This is my first post on here as I now have a Juvenile Dovii and a Jaguar. Both were about 2-2.5" when getting them. We had the jaguar a day before the Dovii and the jaguar was out and about. We have a 75 Gallon tank and a 30 we used to have barbs and such in(no more fish in the 30), we will be getting a bigger one also so the Dovii can have a larger home eventually. The jaguar thought he was the king of the tank and him and the dovii locked lips a bit at first, then after that day the Jaguar just began hiding and hiding to a point he could be right in front of you and not see him. I took this as the Dovii made him feel bad and now he's uncomfortable and scared. I moved the jaguar to our 30 gallon for now but all he does is hide never see him eat the pellets just hides in the nooks of the drift wood very good at it. We put a very small feeder in the tank and he came out for a bit and chased it around but nothing after that brief 2 mins just hid the next 2 days. I put that feeder in with the dovii and came back to a headless feeder 20mins later. I'm worried the jag may die from not eating. I even took out alot of decorations so he didn't have a million places to just hide and I could figure out where he is easier. He is still the same size as when I got him about 2 weeks ago and the dovii gets bigger everyday it seems as well as has a personality already and comes to the front of the tank as if he/she is greeting you and just stays near the front till you walk away. The dovii Eats pellets, kril,l and the one feeder we put in so far and it seems he always wants to eat. Any suggestions on what to try to get the jaguar out and about and eating? Sorry for the long story post it seems. Thank you all in advance these are our first big fish species

 

[jagster]

just give him time, the dovii took over dominance of the tank and most likely it will stay that way. The dovii will outgrow that 75 gallon tank tho just so you no. You could put in some dithers or smaller fish in the 30 so your jag feels like king again

 

[Belly up]

Welcome to the forum. You have begun an adventure that is not for the faint of heart. With proper care both, species you have chosen will get huge. They will also be very personable and a lot of fun. Enjoy the ride!

 

[Darth Nandopsis]

You have chosen 2 of the largest & most aggressive CA cichlids out there........P. Managuense will need a far larger tank than a 30GL, I would state bare minimum 90GL just for a single specimen.....& a P. Dovii will need a 180GL tank bare minimum just for itself eventually, as males reach 28" in length.

In regards to the Jag hiding....well, it just took a beating from the Dovii, so that is to be expected.....what filtration do you have on this tank, what's the temp, & what are the water parameter readings? (PH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) Also note that because you have these bruisers in small tanks, you will have to do very frequent partial water changes to keep them in prime condition, on the order of 50% every 3 days or so.

I also wouldn't recommend you keep a robust CA cichlid like a Jag in a 30GL tank for too long.....simply not big enough of a tank for this species. And giving live aquatic food of any sort, especially feeder fish, is not recommended......they carry all sorts of parasites & pathogens that will be transferred to your cichlid. You want to feed them live food, try earthworms/nightcrawlers, mealworms, crickets, etc.