I wanted a pond for soo long and now its possible. I was thinking of lmb but wanted something more tropical. So would a dovi be good for a 500 gallon pond? I live in Central GA so would i need a heater or not? What things should i put in the pond, rocks ect...? And how many dovis would be good for a 500gal pond? oo and where would i purchase a dovi? Thank You
Pond for Cichlids
- Thread starter fishkeeper1
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A dovii would do great in a pond that size
I would only do one or a pair you could possibly add some more aggressive cichlids in with it a pair would most likely not allow any pond mates but a single one would most likely be okay
You can all ways get good fish from tangledupincichlids.com Rapps has really good fish don't think i've heard of people getting a sick fish from him plus he gets alot of wild caught fish
I would only do one or a pair you could possibly add some more aggressive cichlids in with it a pair would most likely not allow any pond mates but a single one would most likely be okay
You can all ways get good fish from tangledupincichlids.com Rapps has really good fish don't think i've heard of people getting a sick fish from him plus he gets alot of wild caught fish
yea i'm planning on getting 1 pair about 5"+ and feed them rosy red minnows. But the rosies would be in the pond and i would check up on them before the dovis get to the pond. I will also put in wood, rocks , pea gravel, overturned pots, and upside down crates so all the rosies dont die on me
Um . . . don't feed them minnows only. You need to get them a good prepared food, Hikari pellets, mix up diet with shrimp, etc. To be safe, I would build their pond in a greenhouse, and make it as big as possible. Why settle for 500 gallons? Why not go for 1000 gallons at least? 
yeah a good pellet will keep them healthy and colorful
sounds good i would go with a few plants to
make sure you have a plan for filtration
sounds good i would go with a few plants to
make sure you have a plan for filtration
yea i'll feed more than just minnows there not enough of a protein source. I will put in plants wood rocks ect... But would i need to heat it? And i'm goin for a 500g preformed, if there were 1-2000 gal prefomes id get em for sure
Lame. XP Why limit yourself? Lol. But yeah, like I said, play it safe by building a greenhouse to put it in, unless you are planning to make it an indoor pond. Then you can just heat the room.fishkeeper1;1823431; said:yea i'll feed more than just minnows there not enough of a protein source. I will put in plants wood rocks ect... But would i need to heat it? And i'm goin for a 500g preformed, if there were 1-2000 gal prefomes id get em for sure
well, besides dovis, could another type of cichlid live w/ out heated water? In central GA it gets to 20-30F but i could heat it for the 3-4 months of the winter if needed
killerfish;1823295; said:
Thats debatable. There are a GOOD bit of us that don't buy from Jeff any more because of the quality of some of his stock. He still DOES have great fish though, and I'm not trying to discourage you from buying from him. Just saying that his fish aren't always what you would expect them to be.
A 500gal pond would be AWESOME for SA/CA cichlids. You would want it to be at least 3 ft. deep at some point though, as this will allow it to better maintain a constant warmer temp. during the winters. Not sure how cold it can get down there in Georgia, but here in Mississippi it still gets in the 30's during the winter. If it is like that there, you would either have to have a heater in the pond during the cooler months, or bring the fish indoors during the winter months.
About getting fish, Ken Davis would be your best bet! He is a great guy, and is located in Georgia, so you might even be able to go and pick them up. You can't beat his prices, quality, or personality for that matter. He is the vendor called "FishFarm USA" here...
BTW...Argentinian, Uruguay, and those other countries have some fish that would survive the cooler winters for sure. Ken Davis actually is just getting a shipment of some great fish in. They actually require a cooling down during the winter months...so you should look into them. No cichlid though is going to tolerate below 40 degree waters though, so you will need to invest in a heater of some sort.