Male young dovii killing female dovii
- Thread starter Irecruitfish
- Start date
I don't intend negativity for negativities sake, but I do intend to try to ask aquarists think in terms of reality.
I have seen many many posts on many sites where, after a few months with a juvie cichlid, new aquarists believe they "know," what works, only to see those same aquarists in future posts asking why everything went haywire a smallish tank. It can manifest as either aggression, or just as equally, illness brought on by stress, and the degraded water quality that often accompanies small tanks.
I don't believe prolonging a poor quality life to be better than a quick death.
And I do believe a 125 is too small for dovii.
It may work for a minimally for a 12" cichlid, but anything that hits 20" of more, won't be able to turn around comfortably.
After spending a lot of time in nature snorkeling with cichlids over the years my perception of the space required for something as small a JD has been altered, and more often than not, I see putting large cichlids in tanks no bigger than a rut in the road, or a drainage ditch, as cruel and unusual punishment.
I have seen many many posts on many sites where, after a few months with a juvie cichlid, new aquarists believe they "know," what works, only to see those same aquarists in future posts asking why everything went haywire a smallish tank. It can manifest as either aggression, or just as equally, illness brought on by stress, and the degraded water quality that often accompanies small tanks.
I don't believe prolonging a poor quality life to be better than a quick death.
And I do believe a 125 is too small for dovii.
It may work for a minimally for a 12" cichlid, but anything that hits 20" of more, won't be able to turn around comfortably.
After spending a lot of time in nature snorkeling with cichlids over the years my perception of the space required for something as small a JD has been altered, and more often than not, I see putting large cichlids in tanks no bigger than a rut in the road, or a drainage ditch, as cruel and unusual punishment.
+1
So much could be said on all of this. Ultimately, keeping fish as a hobby is a compromise, a lot of which could be debated, including the extent to which some species should be kept at all, at least in the tanks most of us can provide. Then again, it's apparent that many species adapt reasonably well if the compromise isn't too extreme. Beyond that, too many differences in, and levels of, individual philosophy, approach, knowledge, experience, perspective of scale, etc. to account for in a forum post.
I'll just say something simple-- it's a common phenomenon that what many people see as an 'empty' tank that needs more fish is actually just a small step toward, but still distant from nature, when compared with the busy tanks most of us have.
Please watch this video at 5:15
Exception to the rule.
This tank is 600 gallons.
It proves nothing. All we can go on is the law of averages and the most probable outcome. The keeper admits this dovii is unusually placid and not like any of his others.
If you want to risk your fish and hope yours is an exception to the rule, carry on.
Chances are still very likely it will all go wrong.
If you take a close look at what Mel recommends, he uses 300 gallons minimum tank size for managuense and 500 gallons for dovii, I believe he is realistic, and his videos are proof of his ability to get it right.
I like alot of what Mel does, watch most of his videos and am always impressed with the fish he grows out. But look through a selection of his vids, there are always fish coming and going in his tanks with very little explanation as to what happened, even when asked tends not to answer. Imo it goes to prove even in 600 gal life is not always simple.
Sure but he didn't recommend 300 gallons for a 4 to 5 inch dovii. What you are saying is I couldn't keep a dovii in a 125 and then move to a 220 and then upgrade from there. I just don't comphrend how you can preach that plan will fail 100%.
Sure and his Dovii is over 20 inches. One final question to you because I just want to make sure we are on the same page and let's keep it simple. Are you saying that a 4-5 inch Dovii will not survive or grow well in a 125 and then the move to a 220 will also not be a good idea. I am not talking about a 12 inch fish here.
Sure it's difficult to gauge what he's all done but the one take away I had was he has a non aggressive Dovii in a community tank. The way people dish out information is they portray that 100% Dovii's are murderous killers. It is extremely fair to say MOST Dovii's are extremely aggressive though.
