mean cichlid

[searcyb]

He posted up pics, and I linked them here, but I'm too lazy to find the link right now Has a partially descaled butti floating face-down in the background with a dovii menacing the camera in the foreground

I would like to see that pic. can you repost it please

 

[jc8745]

Looks like most every one is picking some of the common cichlids that are available.
I say common, because red devils, green terrors and even dovii's seem mostly available at lfs.

I have looked and asked this question over the last year. My conclusion is not based on experience its, based on the questions that i have asked on various forums over time.

Umbe,
Gets big, i believe 18" - 22" easily requires 180 - 220 gallons, and will reportedly kill anything and everything placed into the tank with them, even potential mates, usually you will go through several females before a success breed. They will try and comr through the glass to try and get you. Difficult to come across at lfs, not alot of people have experiences with them, will bite hands and fingers, from what i have read, they want space, territory and to be the only fish in the tank

Fastae or Red Terror,
Around 12" - 14" fascinating red, yellow colors, pretty dang mean, and wont tolerate, tank mates, most likely will kill selected mates, attitude similar of the convict, especially during breeding, difficult to come by at lfs, not alot of people seem to have experiences with them
from what i have read, they have their territory, and like to be the dominant fish in the tank, they will try to accomplish this as it gains size.

Dovii,
I have read in smaller tanks they will kill most things, but once they hit larger tanks, they become somewhat docile, they are large, and bad looking, but in general, all they want is space and territory

Now, i do have a red devil in a 55, and he attacks the gravel cleaner, actaully anything that i stick in there for cleaning, it makes runs at the glass, and just has a chip for sure. He wants to be the only fish in this tank, i have not tried placing him in the 150 with the oscars, i may someday, but for now, he is ok in the 55

All of this is just my opinion based on what i have read.

 

[freeform]

Buttikoferi are bad ass too !!!!

 

[IoStrisciare]

Dovii and that other cichlid... err... Haitian Black i think...

Those two are the really Big Evils...

 

[TheLoachGuy]

I always hear about how Umbees are so dominate and Dovi are mean, but damn.. I have a common pet store variety red devil that is the meanest sum-beeyatch i've ever placed in my tanks. My dovi has become more aggressive since hitting the 9" mark, and the umbee at 8" is showing more spunk, but that red devil.. wooo! Hes a stinker!

 

[African Dick]

Well I had a Jaguar Cichlid, and also a mean ass 4 inch african. My RD killed both of them. I found the jaguar corpse underneath a rock with only its skeletal system and a little skin remaining. I am now down to a RD, 2 convicts (paired), 3 exodons, 1 spotted raphael, pictus, and a pleco.

 

[GTS]

Looks like most every one is picking some of the common cichlids that are available.
I say common, because red devils, green terrors and even dovii's seem mostly available at lfs.

I have looked and asked this question over the last year. My conclusion is not based on experience its, based on the questions that i have asked on various forums over time.

Umbe,
Gets big, i believe 18" - 22" easily requires 180 - 220 gallons, and will reportedly kill anything and everything placed into the tank with them, even potential mates, usually you will go through several females before a success breed. They will try and comr through the glass to try and get you. Difficult to come across at lfs, not alot of people have experiences with them, will bite hands and fingers, from what i have read, they want space, territory and to be the only fish in the tank

Fastae or Red Terror,
Around 12" - 14" fascinating red, yellow colors, pretty dang mean, and wont tolerate, tank mates, most likely will kill selected mates, attitude similar of the convict, especially during breeding, difficult to come by at lfs, not alot of people seem to have experiences with them
from what i have read, they have their territory, and like to be the dominant fish in the tank, they will try to accomplish this as it gains size.

Dovii,
I have read in smaller tanks they will kill most things, but once they hit larger tanks, they become somewhat docile, they are large, and bad looking, but in general, all they want is space and territory

Now, i do have a red devil in a 55, and he attacks the gravel cleaner, actaully anything that i stick in there for cleaning, it makes runs at the glass, and just has a chip for sure. He wants to be the only fish in this tank, i have not tried placing him in the 150 with the oscars, i may someday, but for now, he is ok in the 55

All of this is just my opinion based on what i have read.

What exactly is your experince with keeping large cichlids? I have been keeping and breeding them for over 18 years and I have found that the dovii are just as aggresive in a 125 gallon as they are in a 265 gallon. Once they hit 16" they dominate all other cichlids of equal size umbee included. In fact I had to remove my old 14" umbee from because he had stopped eating because of a 12" doviis' aggresion. So personally I dont know where you red that they are only aggresive in small tanks because me and several others who have raised them strongly disagree. Umbee in my opinion are slightly over hyped in aggression you cant really listen to most aacounts on the internet because the vast majority of people have never raised an umbee to a decent size and therfore they are just repeating what they have heard from someone else who is doing the same.

Your descrpiton of a dovii is infact much more befitting of a red devil which is reality are not even the most aggresive of their genus. I have heard many many owners of red devils claim their red devils are tank banging monsters that kill anything that is put in their tank. However they are usually talking about tanks under 200 gallons. I have found that both red devils and midas will calm down considerably in tanks over 200 gallons. However festae,fernerstratus,trimaculatus,motaguensis,dovii,umbee and a few other do not calm down they are just as aggresive.

 

[Nate_N_Nicole]

Meanest American Cichlid is a Dovi only because of its size, I believe that a red devil at the same size would take care of a Dovi...

Meanest African Cichlid is a Buttikoferi barnone and the meanest cichlid in the world... Except for a Full grown Dovi...


Just my opinion

 

[GTS]

its funny you say that. My 10" female dovii is easily dominate over my 12" male red devil in my 265 she beats him in jaw locks and everything with suprising ease. Its not a fluke as my 9" female motaguense does the same. The female mota has also killed an equal sized midas.

 

[jc8745]

i think i stated that was just the information that i have gathered, and more or less these are again ranked on my opinion, i'm very glad that you have raised large cichlids for years and have enough tank space for the species that you have. I hope to someday to have an umbe, dovii and pair of festaes

i have heard from various dovii owners (not saying all, a minimal few) that were disappointed with them. I'm not saying in any manner that they are not mean or aggressive. As a matter of fact i rank them up in the top 3. I didnt rank the red devil in the top 3, i just have one.