My Dovii

[JDCichlid]

I wanted to start a thread that I could come back and update periodically as these fish mature. Never done this for any of my fish but I thought, why not.

February 2022 I received a dozen 1.5-2 inch blue Nicaraguan Dovii from Dan over at Cichlids of the Americas in the hopes of getting a pair.

 

[JDCichlid]

Fast forward to March and several pairs had formed with a few even laying eggs. I picked out my favorite pair and removed the others. They continued to have two more batches of eggs that never made it to the wriggler stage.

 

[JDCichlid]

Towards the end of March every year my wife and kids move to our lake house for the summer and I commute to work. I feed my fish a few times a week during my lunch break, but for the most part they’re dependent on automatic feeders.

It’s now mid July. The pair has had several successful spawns and seem to be doing great. It’s fun watching all the fry. The male is around 6 inches now. It’s my first time with any parachromis species, but I think I’m hooked!

 

[ruincccc]

how old were start to breed? I learned something new today that they are able to breed at only a couple inches

 

[Rocksor]

how old were start to breed? I learned something new today that they are able to breed at only a couple inches

breeding early will slow down the growth of the females, by a lot.

 

[Cichlids-r-beasts]

breeding early will slow down the growth of the females, by a lot.

Would males slow down also? I’ve heard that in breeding cichlids both parents’ growth slow but then other times I hear that only the females growth slow down.

 

[Rocksor]

Would males slow down also? I’ve heard that in breeding cichlids both parents’ growth slow but then other times I hear that only the females growth slow down.

It does, but not nearly as noticeable as the female's growth since the female is expending a lot of energy in the production of eggs and care for the fry.

 

[Azedenkae]

Wow, that's fast! How big are the dovii now given they were only like 1.5-2" in Feb?

 

[JDCichlid]

Wow, that's fast! How big are the dovii now given they were only like 1.5-2" in Feb?

The male is probably 6-7 inches, but Rocksor is absolutely correct about the females. She hasn’t grown much since she started breeding. Maybe 3.5-4 inches now.

 

[JDCichlid]

how old were start to breed? I learned something new today that they are able to breed at only a couple inches

I ordered them on February 6th and they layed their first eggs March 9th. Took them 2 more tries until eggs actually hatched though