Considering their aggressive behavior when adults, why are they shy at a young age ? I have kept Motas, Jaguar and Loiselle which are related to Dovii and all of them were not shy even when small.
Why are younger Dovii shy ?
- Thread starter qguy
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Because they are bite sized to predators.With size comes confidence.
I think the reason we see it less in other smaller cichlids is because they are often bought in groups when young to obtain a pair.safety in numbers.
Due to the large size of adult dovi they are less often purchased as groups.
Lots of juvenile predatory cichlids will shoal until they reach adulthood.
I think the reason we see it less in other smaller cichlids is because they are often bought in groups when young to obtain a pair.safety in numbers.
Due to the large size of adult dovi they are less often purchased as groups.
Lots of juvenile predatory cichlids will shoal until they reach adulthood.
It's a maturity thing. Dovii grow twice or three times the size of other cichlids so a jag will be at a different stage of his life at 6 inch and a Dovii will be at that same stage at 10 or 12 inch
In the wild where there are small dovii there are also bog dovii. Big dovii eat small dovii. Staying low profile is a good idea.
I remember when I first laid eyes on a large dovii years ago and was impressed enough to try one out.I picked out a nice looking three incher to grow out but soonafter I got tired of it hiding all the time....same thing with managuense.
+1.
All good posts, really, because there can be multiple reasons. You see it a lot in animal behavior, what's called the shy-bold axis or shy-bold continuum-- you could google either term and find a lot of studies on it, including fish. Between two closely related species one might be bolder, more aggressive, not just in fish. Also, individual tendencies differ within a species, the same individual may differ according to age or environmental cues, in some species the presence or absence of a 'leader' makes the difference, etc.
Also, between tanks there's the possibility of variables in environmental cues-- aquascape, water chemistry, etc. that one species may respond to differently than another. Also, sample size can be too small for most people keeping large predators to see a spectrum of individual differences. I've seen it before with certain species, the same species that's shy in one tank isn't in another, whether due to tank differences or individual differences.
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I agree with neutrino. And as fry they are food for birds and other fish, so being bold would not be a good survival strategy.
That said, I picked up a bag of 10 for a a buck at my local fish club auction, and as a group growing out in my tank, they were never shy. At 3" they started killing each other off, and I ended up with a very bold adult pair.
That said, I picked up a bag of 10 for a a buck at my local fish club auction, and as a group growing out in my tank, they were never shy. At 3" they started killing each other off, and I ended up with a very bold adult pair.
