Mr.FM and whoever else has brains to breed, ears to listen, and patience to perfect this hobby,
I started The Dovii Project last year. Original Goal: The Biggest, Bluest, Baddest Dovii by using some breeding principles from gamebred american pitbull terriers, to establish strains that can be documented (like pedigrees) for future breedings and breeders who want to improve lines and breed out the defects! And to enjoy this apex predator at home! I've always loved the animal kindgom, insects, mammals, reptiles etc. but especially the species at the top of the food chain. The Original Goal may have to include another one because I came across this male that may be variation so gold color may be a new trait, if i can get my hands on a similar female!
His name: Golden Boy AKA Yellow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WamSA2YlT4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei_elINhp4Y
It all began in 2004 when after coming back from a break i took from the fish. Matter of fact it was a hybrid that rekindle my flame, a Dovii x Festae that is still awesome. I began looking for show quality fish and keeping them in separate tanks (fenestratus, haitensis, tetracanthus, grammodes, umbriferum, motaguensis, even some flower horns). Eventually i came across a juvenile male dovii that reminded me of the ones in conkels book "locking jaws." He was hiding near the filter in a tank full of crayfish, but his color pattern was awesome considering he was scared. So if his cur color was awesome then to me he had good potential, that if he were given a little TLC his color would be even better under the right light, feed, and care. His price was a steal too considering the inflated fish market. Thirty dollars for a 6-7" Dovii male is a good price for this next of the woods! His name "Stud1" A couple of weeks later, in another lfs i notice a striking female dovii that was very rugged looking and colorful. It looked way better than the one they were breeding in the store so I ended up paying more (39.95) but she's well worth it, one of the best females i've seen to date! Her name: Butch
So i bred Stud1, in my opinion a "B+" male, to Butch an "A" female
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noyb63rfjqg
and currently have the best male and female from their bunch. Since they have no names i'll go ahead and call him Stud2(son of Stud1)
and Baby B.(daughter of Butch)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vewyTfPDJik
Stud2's attitude and fight is more like his mom's, he's more outgoing and unshy. It's hard to say if his color takes after his dad since i don't know what butches' brothers look like but his blue is excellent already, teeth are long and his body type seemed to take after his fathers at first but is starting to look different, especially since he has slight hump that wants to come out and his pops had no indications of humping out. Baby B.'s attitude is just as nasty if not more, teeth are nice, but most of all her body shape and color are stunning.
Fastforward to last year and the fascination with wild dovii's because of Rapps shipment from Nicaragua. So my partners purchase two 8" males, one deformed and one that was/is excellent (A grade, A+ if he develops a hump). He is even better than the 11" male they got from rapps this year, btw they got an 11" female from him and butch looked better than her. I will say this about these wild dovii- excellent temperment, not skittish at all and acclimated to the tank real quick, voracious appetite too! I realize that my buddies are focusing on flowerhorns so i buy him for 150.00 ouch!
His name: Wildboy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tlQx9n8sBs
I Haven't bred him yet but when the Goldenboy x Butch babies reach a year i'm thinking about breeding him back to Butch (basically linebreeding on this excellent female).
So thats what i have right now:
8-9" female(Butch)
10-11" male (Wildboy)
9-10" male (Goldenboy)
6-7" male (Stud2)
5-6" female (Baby B.)
less than ten 1" babies from Goldenboy x Butch (But i won't post any links of them until they are sexed and actually worth the trouble.)
Stud1 jumped out of the tank (he was jittery and did not have nuchal hump which is why he's b-grade. otherwise he had excellent color, fight, teeth, appetite, health and growth).
The motivation for The Dovii Project came from a mixture of four factors (1)seeing the fish game go downhill with Flowerhorns (2)some knowledge and experience of american pitbull strains/breeding and a facination for breeding for performance v. look; (3) wanting to continue an ongoing relationship with Dovii since 1994 and (4) finding out that there are few people that focus on Dovii and can truly be called authorities on the fish (if you know anyone please let me know).
Flowershorns can cost up to $400+ and often have no documented lineage and end up dying from health problems! Why would you want to buy or breed that? Our beloved hobby is going through the age of bling-bling or bigger is better mentality- quantity over quality, color over health, size over fight, etc. Is the quality of fish improving over time? As for flowerhorns, i really don't care and as for dovii, i think not. It seems harder nowadays to come across a good midas, dovii, managuense etc. or at least more expensive. Everyone is a self proclaimed breeder and seller now. If people took the time out to read/learn and plan breedings, and stand behind their fish we would see more spectacular ones without health problems and excellent attitudes.
Having said all that, breeders are a rare breed. Usually those who have been spent half or more of their lives breeding thoughtfully, ethically and have learned from other breeders. Like you said Mr.FM , raising each crop alone to see whether they're worth keeping or breeding takes at least 6months to a year. This project i'm embarking on takes crazy tank space and dedication so we'll see how long i can keep it up... Right now the operation is small but i have alot of extra tanks and pools that haven't been filled.
Eventually i will collect my own specimen in Central America to keep the gene pool fresh and to know for sure what i'm getting and from where. That's in the near future but for now i will see what i can do with what's available.
PS- Even some of the "wild" fish from reputable sellers can be deformed, so don't limit yourself to wild and don't count out the tankbred ones. As some famous pitbull breeders say "Good dogs are where you find them." So i'll also say good fish are where they are, LFS, Auction, Show, Wild, wherever. And lastly to borrow another quote from the dog game "Breed best to the best and cull the rest!"
Youngblood
I started The Dovii Project last year. Original Goal: The Biggest, Bluest, Baddest Dovii by using some breeding principles from gamebred american pitbull terriers, to establish strains that can be documented (like pedigrees) for future breedings and breeders who want to improve lines and breed out the defects! And to enjoy this apex predator at home! I've always loved the animal kindgom, insects, mammals, reptiles etc. but especially the species at the top of the food chain. The Original Goal may have to include another one because I came across this male that may be variation so gold color may be a new trait, if i can get my hands on a similar female!
His name: Golden Boy AKA Yellow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WamSA2YlT4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei_elINhp4Y
It all began in 2004 when after coming back from a break i took from the fish. Matter of fact it was a hybrid that rekindle my flame, a Dovii x Festae that is still awesome. I began looking for show quality fish and keeping them in separate tanks (fenestratus, haitensis, tetracanthus, grammodes, umbriferum, motaguensis, even some flower horns). Eventually i came across a juvenile male dovii that reminded me of the ones in conkels book "locking jaws." He was hiding near the filter in a tank full of crayfish, but his color pattern was awesome considering he was scared. So if his cur color was awesome then to me he had good potential, that if he were given a little TLC his color would be even better under the right light, feed, and care. His price was a steal too considering the inflated fish market. Thirty dollars for a 6-7" Dovii male is a good price for this next of the woods! His name "Stud1" A couple of weeks later, in another lfs i notice a striking female dovii that was very rugged looking and colorful. It looked way better than the one they were breeding in the store so I ended up paying more (39.95) but she's well worth it, one of the best females i've seen to date! Her name: Butch
So i bred Stud1, in my opinion a "B+" male, to Butch an "A" female
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noyb63rfjqg
and currently have the best male and female from their bunch. Since they have no names i'll go ahead and call him Stud2(son of Stud1)
and Baby B.(daughter of Butch)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vewyTfPDJik
Stud2's attitude and fight is more like his mom's, he's more outgoing and unshy. It's hard to say if his color takes after his dad since i don't know what butches' brothers look like but his blue is excellent already, teeth are long and his body type seemed to take after his fathers at first but is starting to look different, especially since he has slight hump that wants to come out and his pops had no indications of humping out. Baby B.'s attitude is just as nasty if not more, teeth are nice, but most of all her body shape and color are stunning.
Fastforward to last year and the fascination with wild dovii's because of Rapps shipment from Nicaragua. So my partners purchase two 8" males, one deformed and one that was/is excellent (A grade, A+ if he develops a hump). He is even better than the 11" male they got from rapps this year, btw they got an 11" female from him and butch looked better than her. I will say this about these wild dovii- excellent temperment, not skittish at all and acclimated to the tank real quick, voracious appetite too! I realize that my buddies are focusing on flowerhorns so i buy him for 150.00 ouch!
His name: Wildboy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tlQx9n8sBs
I Haven't bred him yet but when the Goldenboy x Butch babies reach a year i'm thinking about breeding him back to Butch (basically linebreeding on this excellent female).
So thats what i have right now:
8-9" female(Butch)
10-11" male (Wildboy)
9-10" male (Goldenboy)
6-7" male (Stud2)
5-6" female (Baby B.)
less than ten 1" babies from Goldenboy x Butch (But i won't post any links of them until they are sexed and actually worth the trouble.)
Stud1 jumped out of the tank (he was jittery and did not have nuchal hump which is why he's b-grade. otherwise he had excellent color, fight, teeth, appetite, health and growth).
The motivation for The Dovii Project came from a mixture of four factors (1)seeing the fish game go downhill with Flowerhorns (2)some knowledge and experience of american pitbull strains/breeding and a facination for breeding for performance v. look; (3) wanting to continue an ongoing relationship with Dovii since 1994 and (4) finding out that there are few people that focus on Dovii and can truly be called authorities on the fish (if you know anyone please let me know).
Flowershorns can cost up to $400+ and often have no documented lineage and end up dying from health problems! Why would you want to buy or breed that? Our beloved hobby is going through the age of bling-bling or bigger is better mentality- quantity over quality, color over health, size over fight, etc. Is the quality of fish improving over time? As for flowerhorns, i really don't care and as for dovii, i think not. It seems harder nowadays to come across a good midas, dovii, managuense etc. or at least more expensive. Everyone is a self proclaimed breeder and seller now. If people took the time out to read/learn and plan breedings, and stand behind their fish we would see more spectacular ones without health problems and excellent attitudes.
Having said all that, breeders are a rare breed. Usually those who have been spent half or more of their lives breeding thoughtfully, ethically and have learned from other breeders. Like you said Mr.FM , raising each crop alone to see whether they're worth keeping or breeding takes at least 6months to a year. This project i'm embarking on takes crazy tank space and dedication so we'll see how long i can keep it up... Right now the operation is small but i have alot of extra tanks and pools that haven't been filled.
Eventually i will collect my own specimen in Central America to keep the gene pool fresh and to know for sure what i'm getting and from where. That's in the near future but for now i will see what i can do with what's available.
PS- Even some of the "wild" fish from reputable sellers can be deformed, so don't limit yourself to wild and don't count out the tankbred ones. As some famous pitbull breeders say "Good dogs are where you find them." So i'll also say good fish are where they are, LFS, Auction, Show, Wild, wherever. And lastly to borrow another quote from the dog game "Breed best to the best and cull the rest!"
Youngblood
