Minimum grow out tank size

[ClaustrophobicTurtle]

Hey guys i got one dovii its around 6inches right now.

Its in a 4x18x18. Its by itself in the tank and there is plenty of swimming space for him atm.

How big can the dovii get before i will have to get a bigger tank? Thanks heaps!

Also what size tank to get so he is happy for his whole life. 6x2 sound okay?

 

[Stanzzzz7]

6x2 is no where near big enough for a 24 inch adult.I would look at an 8x3 minimum. (still not very big for an adult)
You will need to upgrade your grow out tank very soon.At the size he is now I would start thinking about it.
Few people can give them the space they really need.

 

[Rodders02]

I had mine in a 4x2 but I just moved them to an 8x4 and they're only 3-4 inches

 

[ClaustrophobicTurtle]

6x2 is no where near big enough for a 24 inch adult.I would look at an 8x3 minimum. (still not very big for an adult)
You will need to upgrade your grow out tank very soon.At the size he is now I would start thinking about it.
Few people can give them the space they really need.

How long would the dovii be happy in a 6x2 do you think?

 

[Covetous]

Let me start out positive before I get the hatred my way. I agree with Stanzzzz7 a 6x2 is not nearly big enough for an adult Dovii. I think he hit the nail on the head 8x3/ 8x4 being the minimum for a full grown adult with 10x4x4 being my ideal for a pair. (Just my opinion)

This is why so few of us have full grown Dovii and why my heart weeps everytime I see some one with a stunner male.

Now for the hatred part. As for grow out tanks, I believe that as long as the fish can turn around with plenty of space then it's fine for temporary housing. So I'd say your fine untill it hits about the 10 inch mark or so. One of the problems I feel your gonna run into is the length. He is gonna get mad salty in that short tank. That's why I like to keep big grow outs in a 6ft footprint. They use every bit of it.

Dovii get huge, beefy, and mean. Commonly hitting the 24 inch mark in captivity. And I've read that they can get even bigger then that.

The other problem is the 18inch depth, I know we don't talk about depth much. But what type of lid you have on the tank? I've seen Dovii attack top water pretty hard core. I've also seen first hand Dovii that pushed over glass lids and met their death on the living room floor because of it.

But all in all I think he is fine for now, start thinking about an upgrade soon their fast growers. Good luck and keep us updated. Those of us that just can't keep massive tanks love seeing those fish!

 

[ClaustrophobicTurtle]

Let me start out positive before I get the hatred my way. I agree with Stanzzzz7 a 6x2 is not nearly big enough for an adult Dovii. I think he hit the nail on the head 8x3/ 8x4 being the minimum for a full grown adult with 10x4x4 being my ideal for a pair. (Just my opinion)

This is why so few of us have full grown Dovii and why my heart weeps everytime I see some one with a stunner male.

Now for the hatred part. As for grow out tanks, I believe that as long as the fish can turn around with plenty of space then it's fine for temporary housing. So I'd say your fine untill it hits about the 10 inch mark or so. One of the problems I feel your gonna run into is the length. He is gonna get mad salty in that short tank. That's why I like to keep big grow outs in a 6ft footprint. They use every bit of it.

Dovii get huge, beefy, and mean. Commonly hitting the 24 inch mark in captivity. And I've read that they can get even bigger then that.

The other problem is the 18inch depth, I know we don't talk about depth much. But what type of lid you have on the tank? I've seen Dovii attack top water pretty hard core. I've also seen first hand Dovii that pushed over glass lids and met their death on the living room floor because of it.

But all in all I think he is fine for now, start thinking about an upgrade soon their fast growers. Good luck and keep us updated. Those of us that just can't keep massive tanks love seeing those fish!

Thats amazing.
Thank you so much for your answer and taking your time to expand on your answer.
I feel better knowing I still have some months to go before I HAVE to upgrade.
I will be moving soon, so the size of the tank is really easy to upgrade, hence the asking of the question.
So ideally you think a 8x4x2 would be good for the adult solo Dovii male?

 

[MP_cichlid]

Stanzzzz7 and Covetous hit it square. I will add on a thing or two just to emphasize the fact. The reasons that a lot of people have for big tank sizes for fish is that normally either the fish is very large, very territorial or very active. Now most fish you can pull off a tank that isn't perfect size if you do it right. However, Dovii are one of the few fish that pool all those traits listed above together.....and they are at the very maximum of each. What i mean by that is when it comes to:
size > obviously 24"+
Territory > ridiculously territorial and simply require a massive amount of space and water to be happy and reach potential.
Activity > This is one that a lot of people forget. Dovii are practically terminators with fins. The muscle mass on the body is ridiculous. They can reach high speeds and they are apex predators. Being in a tank they will take big spurts of speed and have to be able to swim and use this ability. In anything less thank an 8 ft tank, thats just not possible. That is why the bigger the better.
I agree that an 8x4x2 would be adequate, but I would even say maybe go 3 feet tall just for when this fish gets 12'' tall, and goes crazy like most dovii do, it wouldn't hurt to have the extra height. And I understand that it can be overwhelming to think about that size of a tank, but i assure you if you want to see your dovii thrive, its every bit worth it and more rewarding than you can imagine to have a massive beast that is happy in his tank.

 

[Covetous]

Thats amazing.
Thank you so much for your answer and taking your time to expand on your answer.
I feel better knowing I still have some months to go before I HAVE to upgrade.
I will be moving soon, so the size of the tank is really easy to upgrade, hence the asking of the question.
So ideally you think a 8x4x2 would be good for the adult solo Dovii male?

I believe it would work, however if it was me shelling out the cash for purchasing or making an 8x4 tank I'd want it to be 8x4x3 or 8x4x4. As @ M&P_cichlid said.

If I may borrow from Mr Woods, Andy woods cichlids uk check out Mr. And Ms. Wolfy. You can see how The male could use every bit of the tank with that speed lunges he does. Skip to 3:37 for Dovii. But I enjoy the entire video.

*On a side note that Haitiensis pair always cracks me up that big guy with his little lady.

 

[ClaustrophobicTurtle]

Stanzzzz7 and Covetous hit it square. I will add on a thing or two just to emphasize the fact. The reasons that a lot of people have for big tank sizes for fish is that normally either the fish is very large, very territorial or very active. Now most fish you can pull off a tank that isn't perfect size if you do it right. However, Dovii are one of the few fish that pool all those traits listed above together.....and they are at the very maximum of each. What i mean by that is when it comes to:
size > obviously 24"+
Territory > ridiculously territorial and simply require a massive amount of space and water to be happy and reach potential.
Activity > This is one that a lot of people forget. Dovii are practically terminators with fins. The muscle mass on the body is ridiculous. They can reach high speeds and they are apex predators. Being in a tank they will take big spurts of speed and have to be able to swim and use this ability. In anything less thank an 8 ft tank, thats just not possible. That is why the bigger the better.
I agree that an 8x4x2 would be adequate, but I would even say maybe go 3 feet tall just for when this fish gets 12'' tall, and goes crazy like most dovii do, it wouldn't hurt to have the extra height. And I understand that it can be overwhelming to think about that size of a tank, but i assure you if you want to see your dovii thrive, its every bit worth it and more rewarding than you can imagine to have a massive beast that is happy in his tank.

Thanks so much for the reply MP.
The more I hear and research about the Dovii, the more excited I get about owning such a beautiful male.

If we are talking about a 8x4x3 that is a very large tank.. looking at 700 gallons.

Is there any members that you know (or you?) that have such a large tank for a Dovii I could use for references? the 20% WC on 700 gallons alone is like 500Litres lol

 

[ClaustrophobicTurtle]

I believe it would work, however if it was me shelling out the cash for purchasing or making an 8x4 tank I'd want it to be 8x4x3 or 8x4x4. As @ M&P_cichlid said.

If I may borrow from Mr Woods, Andy woods cichlids uk check out Mr. And Ms. Wolfy. You can see how The male could use every bit of the tank with that speed lunges he does. Skip to 3:37 for Dovii. But I enjoy the entire video.

*On a side note that Haitiensis pair always cracks me up that big guy with his little lady.

wow beautiful. It seems like that tank is around 8x2?
LOL the size difference hahahahahahaha

*edit: he says the tank is 7x2