Dovii Races - Please Clarify

[chc]

It would be great if one of the resident experts (i.e. someone who has actually collected wild dovii in various locations) would clarify the differences between various races of dovii, assuming they see consistent differences in races and not just individual charateristics of particular fish. I have my opinion based on the specimens I've kept over the years (haven't been without one for a couple of decades at least!), but I'd really appreciate one of the "researchers/collectors" to clear this up for everyone. There's just so much misinformation on the web, and I'd love to link back to this thread from other sites in an effort to clear it up once and for all.

The addition of photographs would be a big bonus too!




P.S..... Did I say I was the dovii sponsor on this site?

[chc]

O.K......... Since this thread hasn't gotten much activity, I'll throw in my own experiences.

The Nicaraguan dovii males I've kept have been a bluer (perhaps more turquoise) than the Costa Rican races I've kept. Conversely, the males of the CR race have had a stronger pattern, especially barring and reticulation of dark coloring. My CR males have also had more of a yellow background on the body than their Nicaraguan counterparts. The CR females I've kept are much more yellow than their CR counterparts which have been more bronze in color and with less iridescence.

Here is a Nicaraguan male that is typical of that race in my experience:



Nicaraguan female:



Not my picture, but in contrast this female shows lots of yellow (not sure of the locale):



Of course, I have not collected these fish myself (though I have raised wild fish collected by others), and my "sample size" clearly isn't big enough to draw any clear conclusions. My experience with these fish may not at all necessarily be consistent with the experiences of others. Heck, there may be very few differences after all. But it's an interesting topic.............That's why so many people have chimed in!!!

Let me know your experiences, whether similar or different.

[Death Angel]

Chris your female and the female in the pic of the female I thing are both Nic's. When you had the large pair in the pond did the female show more yellow. There is a yellow CR race and one with more purple/blue in the males. Maybe more but those are the one I have seen from the wild.

[chc]

Reagan, that Nic female in the picture was after about four months in the pond...... That's as "yellow" as she gets!

She's with Dan in Richmond now. Maybe he's seen more color by now...

[Ken Davis]

I have the CR race I got frm Reagan and wild caught Honduran, The Honduran females are extremely yellow, Like a female loiselli and the males have a lot of blue.

[Big_Kill]

Ken that is a nice picture. That looks EXACTLY like my fish My F0 honduran females are not all that yellow right now. Im not sure if it is due to age or diet or maybe they will stay like this im not sure. That female caught on rod and reel is amazing! That must have something to do with diet?

Honduran female



Honduran male

[ia246]

I have seen it cited many times that Costa Rican dovii and Nicaraguan dovii are so different that some are beginning to consider that they may actually be seperate species. I have not, however, seen these differences named specifically - can anyone be of any help?

[armac]

Everybody I have heard seems to think the nics are longer bodied and the CR version has a more compact body. I ma not saying this is the truth, but I am regurgitating this information, because that is what you do on the internet!

[chc]

I ma not saying this is the truth, but I am regurgitating this information, because that is what you do on the internet!

Funniest post in quite a while!

[Big_Kill]

Hello all, I am happy to report that the Honduran Dovii I have pictured above have successfully spawned. We collected them in May 2007 and I had pretty much given up on them ever spawning after numerous unsuccessful attempts.

[armac]

I have some captive Nics, and they went through many bad spawns before getting it right. Now they are back on the same track again, the last 2 spawns have not produced any babies. I got them in April 2007, any ideas on getting them back to producing fry?

[Sandman]

where are the Nics trying to spawn in your tank ?
i.e. in a substrate, if so what kind? in some kind of cave or spawning hut ? are you feeding them anything "special" or making significant size water changes prior to spawning activity ? Are there any other cichlids or "threats" to your pair that might make the mating bond stronger ? Some more details might lead to some suggestions to try.

[armac]

where are the Nics trying to spawn in your tank ?
i.e. in a substrate, if so what kind? in some kind of cave or spawning hut ? are you feeding them anything "special" or making significant size water changes prior to spawning activity ? Are there any other cichlids or "threats" to your pair that might make the mating bond stronger ? Some more details might lead to some suggestions to try.

I have no substrate, to help keep the water clean. They have some flat spawning rocks, I took out a large flower pot, the male was too big to get into the pot and the female would lay in the pot. I feed massivore and fresh shrimp. I do about 40% water change every week, give or take a few days. The only thing in the tank is 8 big clown loaches, the loaches are around 7 inches long, but the male dovi is 15 inches and the female is around a foot long. I cannot add anything else to the tank, the male will not allow it, he will kill any other cichlids. They are are in a 7 foot long, 30 inches wide and 24 inch tall tank.

I have had one successful spawn maybe 150 baibies, and 10 or so unsuccessful spawns. The females lays lots of eggs the male appears to fertilize them but they eventually fungus.

I do not need 1,000,000 baby dovi but I would like to raise a few more, any suggestions would be appreciated.

[rostratus]

Do you Parachromis Dovii most aggressive American cichlids? I have 7 pieces of fish. What is the minimum size tank for breeding (7 pieces) Dovii adults? Thanks for the reply.

[chc]

Rostratus: I don't know about them being the most aggressive. My vote would be definitely no on a pound per pound basis (in that case my vote would go to Neetroplus nematopus). But they are so large they can just cause a lot more damage than other Central American cichlids.

Regarding breeding adults, you would do well to give a young pair a six or eight foot tank. More fully grown fish would need a massive tank or a small pond to be comfortable. Dovii shouldn't really be considered aquarium fish in my opinion. A single large specimen will need hundreds of gallons on its own.

By the way, I love your avatar. Fossochromis rostratus are one of my favorite species!