Hello, I have a 12 inch male red dovii in a 5ft 120 gallon tank (eventually I wanna upgrade to at least a 180 for him) I got him about 2 months ago from a bad situation in a small tank, since he’s been with me hes been eating pretty well but I still find him quite skittish and not fully comfortable in the tank, any suggestions how to make him feel more at home?
How to make my red dovii feel more comfortable?
- Thread starter anzo1993
- Start date
Adding more hiding spots and keeping the tank environment stable can help your dovii cichlid feel more at home.
If you have a spare tank you could set it up next to your 120G and put another cichlid in it. Your Dovii is likely to start flaring at his neighbor and then start strutting around your 120G tank like he is the king of the world…
Funny you mention this I have a tank right next to his with a large red Texas in it and I notice sometimes when I walk in the room for feedings he’s staring right at the red Texas lol
Just an update , he’s feeling abit more comfortable I have a nice big ceramic flowerpot in there for him that he loves to hide in, he’s eating regularly so hopefully he starts coming out abit more often
I’ve noticed that with new fish you have to really get them used to your presence. As young fish, any sudden movements will send them instantly into cover. When I’m approaching my tank I’d be sure to let them see me from a couple feet away, if they haven’t then approach them slowly. That’s what I’ve done with all my cichlids and most recently my young male Labiatus, within 2-3 days he’s now front and center at the tank when he sees me. Of course every fish is different and Dovii from what I’ve heard can be quite skittish. A 12 inch Dovii is still pretty much a young male, I guess equivalent to our teenage years.
Does he eat in front of you? If he does then he associates you with food which is already a step in the right direction. I would say dithers but the Dovii being a massive piscivore will probably pick them off, so the only options I think would be to give him time or add more hiding places for him.
Yeah I agree with certain species of cichlids you really do have to get them used to your presence, especially dovii I find , for such a mean beast of a fish they are very skittish and shy, I’ve owned a couple dovii over the years and I only had one that was a real glass banger all the others were all so shy I barely ever saw them at all, as for feeding if I take a few steps back and stay still he’ll come up and grab the floating pellet but if he knows I’m right infront watching he won’t.
Yeah I guess you just have to let him get used to your presence then and take it one day at a time, but since it’s been a couple months and nothing has really changed then maybe he’s just a shy guy. Who knows though, he might start gaining attitude and confidence when he surpasses the 15 inch mark.
