# looking to buya Parachromis dovii male



## crazygn (Mar 4, 2006)

anyone have one , the bigger the better, live in maryland

Also i seen a 12" black and maybe grey or white cichlid name unknown, at the pet store today, it did say it would kill anything in the tank with it, it was $160 , anyone know what this could be, i know its a long shot.


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## crazygn (Mar 4, 2006)

just found out it was a Buttikoferi


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## mike123 (Jul 17, 2006)

Buttis are awesome i love mine, but 160 is a bit steep.


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## CichlidAddict (Jul 1, 2005)

Yeah, keep looking around at that price. You can probably find a butti around 8 - 12 inches for $50 or less if you want one.
Anyway, i have a large dovii but I'm not selling. 
Good luck though!


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## crazygn (Mar 4, 2006)

i might try a place called scales this week and see what they have, i have a big wolf fish now but he's no fun anymore


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## face2006 (Feb 17, 2006)

crazygn said:


> i might try a place called scales this week and see what they have, i have a big wolf fish now but he's no fun anymore


post in memebers..u will get more responses...( WTB DOVII 12" OR BIGGER) just an idea...just sold a breeding pair myself


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## youngbloodkennels (Jun 23, 2006)

Jeff Rapps Wild Dovii Male at least 12", excellent appetite and temperment (not shy)! Paid 150.00 when he was 9" and he has been eating nothing but krill since! 300.00 Firm (and I live in DC)

If you have patience enough to grow your own juvenile into a beast, i have an excellent prospect- 
7" male that came from the first offspring of my dovii project.




 (with his sister- not for sale)




 (his father and mother)


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## crazygn (Mar 4, 2006)

i found some fridaynight, it said they where wolf cichlids and its a breeding pair, it had eggs in the tank and there around 5". Paid 49.00 for the pair

i dont know much about cichlids but is the dovii the only wolf cichid or could i have bought something else


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## ChilDawg (Apr 30, 2006)

There aren't strict rules about using common names, so you'll have to show us pictures in order for us to tell you if they are Doviis or not.


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## crazygn (Mar 4, 2006)

i'll get some pictures up soon today


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## crazygn (Mar 4, 2006)




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## youngbloodkennels (Jun 23, 2006)

Welcome to the wonderful of Dovii. Get them on hikari freeze dried bloodworms for a couple of months, they may not eat at first but after a couple of days of starvation they'll come around. It won't dirty the water up and it has excellent nutrition but the main thing is that it will get them used to swimming around freely and eating without fear. Then start giving them live brine everynow and then, then freeze dried krill. If you want to avoid problems with disease stay away from guppies, feeders, etc. sorry i know its boring but, you'll thank yourself a couple of years down the road when you have a 12"-24" monster with no hole in the head!
Some of the local stores in MD still have babies off the first breeding i did: Scales, Totally Fish, the one in Gaithersburg and some private deals too, so you may have some of mine.

Regardless they are some good looking fish! I'd keep my eye on the female, she may be a little much for him right now. Separate them and let him grow past her size.


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## crazygn (Mar 4, 2006)

thanks for the info bud, i might need to do that because it looks like he has some fin nips, and i find she's going after him alot. They had eggs in the tank they where in when i bought em , are they to small for that.

she seem to be about a 1/2"-1" bigger then the male, how fast will these things grow, really the male so he can take up for him self. I wanted the male but bought both.

oh and i bought some small hikari pellets and they seem to hit the floaters good, eat em up


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## youngbloodkennels (Jun 23, 2006)

If they are from the same batch I sold Andrew, as i suspect, then they were born March 2006 and are definitely old enough for her to lay eggs. It seems that males take a while to get hip to fertilizing them or physically be able to, not sure, but i do now this, most of the siblings to your pair (if they are related) are between 7-11" already. I don't think they really feed fish in the pet stores or want them to grow either for that matter. I don't know if yours will catch up to the others but it will make for an interesting experiment, to see if they do. Don't feel too bad the biggest ones are so because they're swimming around in more than 1000gallons.

Brother, get some Hikary Freezed Dried Bloodworms (trust me) they'll cost you like 7-10 bucks for a small container but they will give your fish excellent color and table manners (they'll stop being pickey and get used to eating like pigs). They are meat eaters and need some real protein! Once you see their appetite pickup, treat em to some live brine shrimp. It may seem expensive but do it for like a month or so cuz it helps to get them into the routine of eating and swimming around comfortably. Dovii can be shy fish, so once you gain their trust keep it up.

Hopefully they are already in a tank they won't outgrow too soon (40gal will buy you 1/2 year before its time to upgrade to at least a 75gal). But if you want optimal growth add 15 gal to the equation. The bigger the tank the better for the most part, except when its so big that the fish hides all day. Most people don't get it but, fish aren't stupid. Big water means big fish and if your a little fish then you are food for big fish; that is why they hide instinctively.

If you have to move them, make sure it is an upgrade. If you ever have to dig in the tank, clean, traumatize em in anyway, whatever, just turn off the light afterwards and leave it off until the next day and feeding time- Positive reinforcement for when you turn on the light (The light + your attention = food or fun. Not- he's coming to scoop us out and move us, or here comes that big ol vacuum again, run for it. Give them a fair chance and they'll grow. Oh and when i mean fun, give em some mirror work (let them see small mirror everyknow and then so they shadowbox, it also helps them get comfortable and some sense of homeownership. Every now and mine a get an actual contender, which helps me know exactly what i'm breeding.

Once they are in a good feeding routine (turning the lights on and off at a consistent time and feeding consistently too) try switching them to Hikari's Krill. For fun get some small crayfish when they get bigger, but make sure they bag em in saltwater. By the time you get home they should be "sterilized" of harmful stuff. Btw, get yourself some aquarium salt. Not sea salt but the kind that is used as a preventative for bacteria etc. A couple weeks after every water change, put some in to avoid outbreaks, or use it if they have scars. You can even use it to stimulate the breeding instinct.

If you do what i tell ya' the male should be at least 12" as long as he is in a 75gal or bigger, female 7-10". Btw- as a general rule you wanna breed females that are smaller than males, especially with Dovii since the girls can be nasty and sometimes will kill or threaten the male to much and he'll kill her. Not that a big female can't be done, but you have to be more careful about it, it can be an accident waiting to happen.

Blah blah blah, i can talk about dovii all day, so ask away! But read too man, cuz it gets boring when people ask the same stuff on these boards over and over. Peace

PS- Here are the supposed siblings when they were about 3-4" and then when they were 7" (the colors are true but may vary depending on whether flash was used, the surroundings the fish reflect light from and what the fishes mood is.

PS- If you ever decide to get rid of them, let me know first please.


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## crazygn (Mar 4, 2006)

man thanks for all the info, i'll head out after work to get the food you posted up. Right now there in a 90gal ,with the temp at 80*

I see the problem already, the male wont eat, every time he trys the female go's after him. He has some fin nip also. I think i'll split the tank as soon as i can. They where fine the first two days but now they do nothing but hide. They seem to hate floating food right now also. The female never stops eatting shes a pig.

i'll have some questions soon, thanks for all the help, and the pictures


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## lemmywinks (Jan 25, 2004)

1. Add some coverage to the tank: such as driftwood, larger plants, and slate.
- This will help the male settle into the new tank quicker than just sitting in an open tank where he cant claim anything and the female kicks his ass.

2. Add some Aquarium salt to the tank.
- This will help the new fish settle in better and also if they had any parasites should do a good job of ridding them of them.

3. If they continue to fight, lower the temp. a little bit. Dovii and other CA cichlids do just fine in water thats 76-77 degrees.
-The slight drop in temp will make them less active, thus less fighting. This will also trigger less breeding activity w/ the lower temp (this is my guess as to why the females being soo agressive).

4. If they do continue to fight, get a temporary divider until the male starts eating good and puts on some size to where he can atleast defend himself from the female.

Also, ask what the male was eating when you bought him. If its just a new food that he's not used to, try a bunch of different things until you find something he will eat.

Good luck with the dovii. A 90g will hold these guys for quite some time, but in a few months get ready to pick up a 180+


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## crazygn (Mar 4, 2006)

thanks man, i have 3 big stones with holes in the middle now, and i also split the tank up since they where fighten again when i got home.

I bought some freeze dryed bloodworms today and some frozen brine shrimp to try.

i'll post up in a few day and let you guys know how its going.


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## crazygn (Mar 4, 2006)

they seem to be doing good, they hide most of the day and only come out when i leave the room or feed em flake food , they seem to really love it. There also eatting the blood worms better and better each day.


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## youngbloodkennels (Jun 23, 2006)

Thats why you don't give a dovii hiding spots! Take em out and learn to live with a less decorative tank. Sorry thats the way love goes.


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## crazygn (Mar 4, 2006)

is there any other fish you cant put in with a dovii, iam looking for a bottom fish to help clean the tank and food they dont eat. Like a fresh water goby or something


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## SERRAPYGO (Feb 4, 2003)

crazygn said:


> is there any other fish you cant put in with a dovii, iam looking for a bottom fish to help clean the tank and food they dont eat. Like a fresh water goby or something


Generally, NO. At least when they start hitting the size where they grow a pair! Especially mated fish. They will have fun in going out of their way to kill anything that isn't their own offspring. 
I tried introducing a small Amazon catfish into my 16" male's tank and he had a fit! The catfish dove under a huge hunk of driftwood out of sight of the dovii but the dovii knew he was there, and dug and dug at the gravel, and tried to turn over the wood to get at him....bastard! 
Now, I don't even try introducing anything else anymore.


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## crazygn (Mar 4, 2006)

lol i'll watch what i do then . BTW nice fish looks great


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