I'm sure the size of the tank goes a long way in reducing aggression.
But even in the largest tanks, dovii are often still aggressive. An example is Arapaima's !5,000 and 52,000 gallon tanks. He only noted 2 fish that were overly aggressive. A large male dovii and large Black Shark both killed numerous large fish even in these size of tanks!
A fish that is calm and passive over one period of time isn't necessarily the same over it's entire life time.