Parachromis dovii size and age

[Nataliia]

Hello everybody!
I would ask some opinion about my dovii.
I got some 6 months ago two dovii boys and recently gave away other (because of continous fighting). When I bought them I guess the size was about 6 inches and the owner didnt know how old they were (just said less then a year). Now after six months the size is about 7 inches. I am doing my best with weekly water changes (tank some 250 gallons) and all water parametres ok. I feed him with hikari gold (now he eats just 2-3 nuts a day), I offer also shrimp or small piece of salmon but he doesnt always take them. So his appetit is not very good. It used to be better with the second dovii in tank.
My ultimate goal is to have a beautiful big dovii male. Please give comment if you can based on the photo, how old is he? Does he look already like adult? Will he continue to grow big and mean?
With regards, Natalia

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

I have just got one donated to us a month or so ago, about 11"-12". Not a big eater, similar to what you describe. I guess this is their nature. Prior owner says it ate about 2-4 massivore pellets a day and that was on a good day. That is precisely what I observe too.

I too am surprised by the slow growth of yours. I'd expect faster from a cichlid that gets up to 2'-3'. IIRC, ours is about 2 years old but I need to recheck with the prior owner Ron from Tampa. I mention the age of ours in the video on my channel too. I can fetch you a link if wanted / needed.

A recent sister thread: https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/dovii-sex-general-questions.725893/

 

[Nataliia]

Thank you for reply! Please give a link to videos.

...

I found your videos. Just beautiful, fantastic, love your aquarium.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

 

[NWatson]

Their growth will depend on many factors, water quality is a big one. They grow pretty fast at first but do seem to slow down around the 12" mark, tank size/ water quality have some impact on that as well. They are skittish fish especially at that size and smaller. I would expect him to take time to adjust after having a "buddy" taken out of the same tank (I would be a little nervous too). I think the color of your substrate is washing his colors out as well. He will continue to grow with good water quality and good quality food. I would stick to a high quality pellet like New Life Spectrum for his main source of food or Xtreme Aquatic Foods. Feeding once a day 5 days a week will be enough. Maybe feed twice a day here and their and don't over feed, fish typically don't need as much food as people think. There is a guy on youtube and he's been on here too called GuapoteMel, he says his current male Dovii hit around 20" in a year. That is in a 600 gallon tank and he does lots of water changes. I would consider that an adult although he has lots of growing to do and they look better as the get older too. With good water quality, good food, low stress environment he will look nice over time. There are to many factors to tell about age for all the reasons mentioned above.

 

[Nataliia]

Their growth will depend on many factors, water quality is a big one. They grow pretty fast at first but do seem to slow down around the 12" mark, tank size/ water quality have some impact on that as well. They are skittish fish especially at that size and smaller. I would expect him to take time to adjust after having a "buddy" taken out of the same tank (I would be a little nervous too). I think the color of your substrate is washing his colors out as well. He will continue to grow with good water quality and good quality food. I would stick to a high quality pellet like New Life Spectrum for his main source of food or Xtreme Aquatic Foods. Feeding once a day 5 days a week will be enough. Maybe feed twice a day here and their and don't over feed, fish typically don't need as much food as people think. There is a guy on youtube and he's been on here too called GuapoteMel, he says his current male Dovii hit around 20" in a year. That is in a 600 gallon tank and he does lots of water changes. I would consider that an adult although he has lots of growing to do and they look better as the get older too. With good water quality, good food, low stress environment he will look nice over time. There are to many factors to tell about age for all the reasons mentioned above.

Thank you for reply! Could it be that my fish was kept early on in too small tank thats why he is so small? Do you have any opinion on his age? I have him for 6 months now, do you think he is over a year old? Was it a mistake to take away the "buddy" eventhough they have constant fights?

 

[NWatson]

Who knows his age, like I mentioned before there are to many factors that affect growth rate. He's not 10 years old, is he a year or two...who knows. I would guess he's in that range. No it was not a mistake taking out the other male Dovii, it was a mistake even having them in the tank together. I would research this form, there are lots of threads about Dovii and what is needed and so on. They need a very large tank, lots of water changes and typically don't get along with others.

 

[Andy woods cichlids uk]

Their growth will depend on many factors, water quality is a big one. They grow pretty fast at first but do seem to slow down around the 12" mark, tank size/ water quality have some impact on that as well. They are skittish fish especially at that size and smaller. I would expect him to take time to adjust after having a "buddy" taken out of the same tank (I would be a little nervous too). I think the color of your substrate is washing his colors out as well. He will continue to grow with good water quality and good quality food. I would stick to a high quality pellet like New Life Spectrum for his main source of food or Xtreme Aquatic Foods. Feeding once a day 5 days a week will be enough. Maybe feed twice a day here and their and don't over feed, fish typically don't need as much food as people think. There is a guy on youtube and he's been on here too called GuapoteMel, he says his current male Dovii hit around 20" in a year. That is in a 600 gallon tank and he does lots of water changes. I would consider that an adult although he has lots of growing to do and they look better as the get older too. With good water quality, good food, low stress environment he will look nice over time. There are to many factors to tell about age for all the reasons mentioned above.

There's no way a Dovii can hit 20inch in a year. No matter how well its been cared for. Some one has made a mistake here. It's going to take 4 or 5 years at least.

 

[Nataliia]

Thank you for reply!

 

[Andy woods cichlids uk]

I would say on average! from spawn to 7inch in year one. Then 12 to 14inch by year two. Then a inch per year there after. Just as a rough guide. As stated before a lot will depend on water quality, tank size and diet.