Completely agree with you GTS! Not quite shy, as mine still do fight in my 230, but they definitely aren't hyper aggressive like they would be in small tanks. I am thinking this is PROBABLY true with Doviis as well, but we would have to get one of the indoor pond keepers to confirm this one. I did forget to add Butts in there as well, and have seen them behave the same in a 330 gallon as they do in a 50 gallon.
I guess the point I was TRYING to make (I admit, not very clear) is that the answer to the question 'what is the most aggressive cichlid' really depends on how you keep it. I have seen hyper-aggessive RDs and Midas in 33 gallons and 50 gallons, where they come out at the glass displaying at you, then proceeding to bite the glass, but I have never seen a Dovii in a 50 gallon showing THAT much aggression. However, as GTS pointed out, the Midas would be much more pacified in a 265, but the Dovii seems to act the same.
I experienced the two most 'aggressive' fish about 15 years ago:
1) Pair of convicts. Male would slam himself HARD against the glass, and if you rested your hand on the lid, he would actually jump out smacking the lid in an effort to bite you. Not the greatest example since they were about to breed, but for pure aggression, I think the example stands.
2) Bought 2 Pseudotropheus (Matriclima) 'Zebra' sp. On the drive home, they were fighting in the bag. How many cichlids will actually fight in a bag if you are holding the bag?
If we are talking about what fish can will kill what fish, well, in a 300 gallon, I don't think there are any single fish (excluding breeding pairs of anything) that can really stand up to a Male Dovii or Butt.
In a 50 gallon, I do believe that a Red Devil would probably beat on the Dovii (or at least act way more aggressive than the Dovii would). I haven't kept Dovii's for a very long time though (hopefully the guy at the LFS will sell me his display pair he has at the moment), so perhaps I am forgetting how nasty they are.
I guess the point I was TRYING to make (I admit, not very clear) is that the answer to the question 'what is the most aggressive cichlid' really depends on how you keep it. I have seen hyper-aggessive RDs and Midas in 33 gallons and 50 gallons, where they come out at the glass displaying at you, then proceeding to bite the glass, but I have never seen a Dovii in a 50 gallon showing THAT much aggression. However, as GTS pointed out, the Midas would be much more pacified in a 265, but the Dovii seems to act the same.
I experienced the two most 'aggressive' fish about 15 years ago:
1) Pair of convicts. Male would slam himself HARD against the glass, and if you rested your hand on the lid, he would actually jump out smacking the lid in an effort to bite you. Not the greatest example since they were about to breed, but for pure aggression, I think the example stands.
2) Bought 2 Pseudotropheus (Matriclima) 'Zebra' sp. On the drive home, they were fighting in the bag. How many cichlids will actually fight in a bag if you are holding the bag?
If we are talking about what fish can will kill what fish, well, in a 300 gallon, I don't think there are any single fish (excluding breeding pairs of anything) that can really stand up to a Male Dovii or Butt.
In a 50 gallon, I do believe that a Red Devil would probably beat on the Dovii (or at least act way more aggressive than the Dovii would). I haven't kept Dovii's for a very long time though (hopefully the guy at the LFS will sell me his display pair he has at the moment), so perhaps I am forgetting how nasty they are.
Has a partially descaled butti floating face-down in the background with a dovii menacing the camera in the foreground 
