Juvenile Dovii

[razE]

Hi guys,

Picked up a juvenile Dovii, around 4 inches currently and he is in a 160 gallon tank by himself. He has only been in there less than a week and I picked up some NLS Thera A today but he is nervous and hides away when I go to the tank that I can't feed the pellets to him. He ate some shrimp between picking him up and now, so I know he won't be that hungry. How long do you think he will stay shy/nervous for? It has been a long time since keeping fish and I always had community tanks before, Africans mainly and never had this issue before. The tank is bare, substrate and that's it. Perhaps I should add something to give him somewhere to hide until he gets bigger?

Cheers,
Matt.

 

[Jexnell]

Rocks to hide around would be good. Also what might help while he is still young are some cheap floating plastic plants. A fishes biggest enemy are birds. Being under coverage of vegetation real or fake will help them be more relaxed and out exploring.

 

[razE]

Thanks Jexnell,

I went out and purchased this diver ornament and he seems much happier. He is moving between inlet pipes, ornament and outlet pipes. Hopefully he feels safe in there and will get more courageous

 

[Jexnell]

The cheap way to get some rocks are either get from a local river clean and use or goto a home / garden center and buy standard river rock. Make sure it's not treated in any way coatings etc.

 

[razE]

Thanks Jexnell,

I have a bunch of Texas Holy Rock but am without a PH test Kit atm. From looking at data online, our water here is hard so I am hesitant to add it and potentially raise it to high. I believe he just ate some food off the top of the substrate so that's awesome! He wouldn't of been down there without the ornament providing shelter so thanks again

 

[duanes]

If your water is already hard, the holey rock "probably" won't leach more pH raising minerals.
They usually leach minerals if your water is acidic, or if you go too long between water changes, letting uric acid build up.
And dovii often come from water with pH in 8 s+, so no worry
Dovii are prime bird food at 4".
so it's no surprise it would be a bit paranoid, because your substrate is very light in color, and it instinctually realizes it' sticks out like a sore thumb for above..

 

[Stephen St.Clair]

My local tap has a PH of 8.2. Both my tanks have extra large limestone hardscapes. The PH stays locked at 8.2.

 

[duanes]

My local tap has a PH of 8.2. Both my tanks have extra large limestone hardscapes. The PH stays locked at 8.2.

Same here, 8.2, just like the natural waters here in Panama.

One of the things I find interesting is that my pH doesn't drop, it seems many people have the notion that wood lowers pH in tanks.
I have a number of thick 4 ft logs in the 6 ft tanks, that exude tannins like crazy, yet the tank hold that pH

 

[Stephen St.Clair]

The water is "super" buffered. No real chance of a PH crash.
Plenty of massive geographical limestone formations in Panama.
Same here in Oklahoma, where once a ancient ocean existed.

 

[razE]

Thanks for all the replies guys, appreciate them all.

The tank has FX6 cannister filter and the plan was weekly water changes around 40% - 50%. Does this sound appropriate?