# Parachromis or Nandopsis Wet Pet?



## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

*What fish for my 125 wet pet tank?*​
Black Nasty2041.67%Jaguar1939.58%Dovii510.42%Cuban48.33%


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

After much thought, I've decided I'd possibly like to make my 125 gallon a wet pet setup. I'd like to go with the biggest, nastiest fish possible and have fell in love with Dovi, but they may be too big for my tank at adult size.

Could any of these fish be housed in a 125 for the entirety of their life?

Nandopsis Haitiensis- (Black Nasty)
Nandopsis tetracanthus - (Cuban)

Parachromis Dovii
Parachromis managuensis - (Jaguar)

Thanks in advance!


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

I love the Dovii as well. I had made a thread a while back about asking if I could keep a Dovii as a wet pet longterm in a 125. I was told a female could be kept longterm but not a male but I think a male could be kept longterm in a 125. All the other fish you mentioned will work and fit in the 125 gal. Jaguars are also great wet pets.


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

What's all of this "tank buster" nickname and about the Dovii needing to be kept in an acrylic tank? Can they really break a tank? 

125 gallons in my floor doesn't sound so nice.


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## aussy612 (Jan 31, 2009)

Im not sure that that is true. They can definitely break heaters and detach filter stems, but breaking half inch glass i think is a bit unrealistic.
Don't that my word on that though


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

I have heard of fish breaking peoples tanks if they become too aggressive and have a lot of power. I think it could happen with any big fish but yes I would imagine a Dovii could if it had a temperament issue one fine day.


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## phishes (May 17, 2005)

I have heard a male dovii needs a 180g by themselves, but I don't have any experience with them. Other then the that, I'd think any of those fish would be fine in a 125g. What about a trimac? They are large and aggressive.


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## clgkag (Mar 22, 2008)

Get a black nasty. Just as aggressive as a dovii, but stay smaller. A 15"-16" fish in a 18" wide tank is better than a 20"-22" fish.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

In a 125 I'd start with six Hatiensis, but do not mix any other species with them. After you have a pair sell the other four, your pair will live happily forever in a 125


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

TheFishGuy said:


> In a 125 I'd start with six Hatiensis, but do not mix any other species with them. After you have a pair sell the other four, your pair will live happily forever in a 125


I can have a pair in a 125? I'm liking this.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

Nothing else though...


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

Nothing else is fine with me. My GT is about to have a new home. My buddy wants a tank and I told him he could have the gt. My RD is going to get his own tank, as he is a mean turd. My jack is getting a 55. My best friend has to get rid of some tanks per his landlord, so I get his jack, his 55 and a 46 bowfront. This is a hard decision though, because these fish aren't readily available at my lfs's. I really love the mean nature of dovii. I saw my first one in person about a week ago and I immediately decided that was for me. After researching, I noticed that the two nandopsis species look similiar and are similiar in temperment. A pair sounds great and I've been told a pair of jags would be feasible as well. What to do what to do. I may have to break down and get a 24" wide tank ~ 200g and get a dovii too. After all, tax time is coming.


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

Rapps has cubans... I've been wanting to get some fish from him for a while. Are they super aggresive?


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## clgkag (Mar 22, 2008)

Mine cubans aren't bad, but they are still small. I have heard stories of them being jerks.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

Cubans can be real nasty... Cool looking fish though


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

Pretty much down to these two: :fish: I'm really interested in the Nasties.


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

Or an account inactive picture? I would go with the account inactive picture! I have heard they are great pets and very fiesty! :lol:


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

CiChLiD LoVeR128 said:


> Or an account inactive picture? I would go with the account inactive picture! I have heard they are great pets and very fiesty! :lol:


  They show up on my computer... Straight from yahoo image search. Anywho it's a dovii and a Black nasty.


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

:lol: Very nice! They are free and quick! :lol: I would go with the Dovii but it might be best to go with the black nasty


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

CiChLiD LoVeR128 said:


> :lol: Very nice! They are free and quick! :lol: I would go with the Dovii but it might be best to go with the black nasty


Yeah It'll probably end up being the Haitiensis-


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## TheOscarGuy (Sep 8, 2006)

Bkeen said:


> Nandopsis Haitiensis- (Black Nasty)
> Nandopsis tetracanthus - (Cuban)
> 
> Parachromis Dovii
> ...


I would not do Doviis in the small a tank. Unless you have plans of upgrading, dovii will get too big for it.
Since you mentioned nastiest, I would assume the fish has to be interactive. I personally would go with the nasty because they are very interactive, are extremely beautiful, and somewhat rare (adults). They however are very difficult to raise.
Watch cichlidscene's video of the big male to get an idea of how stunning this fish at adult size is.


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

TheOscarGuy said:


> Bkeen said:
> 
> 
> > Nandopsis Haitiensis- (Black Nasty)
> ...


What kinds of difficulties? I really want some of these, and I'm cool with spending a little extra time and effort caring for them, I just have to know the known issues.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

On the contrary if you follow some simple rules of raising them you will have them for years.

First is to keep them with only themselves, no other fish.

Second, do consistent water changes. No matter what they are, 10% daily of 30% weekly, just be consistent.

Third, feed them Spirulina flakes when young and Spirulina pellets when older with the occasional treat of earthworms.

Don't be changing the decor around every five minutes. THey do not like change, more so than oscars, oscars sulk with change, odos die of bloat....

That's it. Now everyone knows the secret.


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

TheFishGuy said:


> On the contrary if you follow some simple rules of raising them you will have them for years.
> 
> First is to keep them with only themselves, no other fish.
> 
> ...


So it'd be advisable to have the tank setup when they're juvies in a way that'll work when they're fully grown?

Spirulina as their staple diet or just as a supplement?


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

Staple diet. and yes, raise them up together, the females will start turning dark and the males will want to kill each other... This is when you start re-homing the other four that are not in a the "pair"


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

:drooling: :drooling: :drooling: :drooling: :drooling:


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## Mussin (Oct 30, 2008)

One of my Favorite CA's..Bad-Ass Fish!

Jeremy


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

Mussin said:


> One of my Favorite CA's..Bad-Ass Fish!
> 
> Jeremy


I wish the one in the pic was mine- That's the first one I've seen with a large hump like that.


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

Well I now have six Nandopsis Haitensis.  I've had them for about a week now and they are cool little monsters. Two are starting to turn black (Females?) I'll try to get some pics up tonight!


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## cichlify (Sep 1, 2009)

Bkeen said:


> Well I now have six Nandopsis Haitensis.  I've had them for about a week now and they are cool little monsters. Two are starting to turn black (Females?) I'll try to get some pics up tonight!


Yea get some pix up! I like these fish a lot, great choice! :thumb:


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## Mussin (Oct 30, 2008)

where did you get them?


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## BigJagLover (Oct 25, 2006)

Great choice for your tank and for the level of activity you want. if more people around the fish keeper world were like you there'd be less living dead fish. Soooooooo many fish go though life waiting to die in the wrong sized tank, no water changes, and crampped living with too many other fish. It's really refreashing to see another fish lover out in the world.

Sorry for the raint I just got back from the LFS and they had a 13" oscar in a 20 Long and it had hole in the head and one eye missing from the two 12" pacu it lived with in a 55 before the person traded it in. Poor fish these days.

Best of luck to ya and I can't wait for those pics


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## armac (Nov 23, 2003)

I like dovi, and I like to breed them, this pair is in a 250 gallon


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## mlancaster (Jul 24, 2009)

Wow *armac*, very nice dovii pair. How big is the male? any other shots or vids and/or links to some more shots?

Would a dovii pair work in a 180g 6 foot tank, or do you need the extra depth from the 200+ gallon tanks? I assume it would work, just wanted the opinion of someone who breeds dovii.

Thanks,
Matt


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

BigJagLover said:


> Great choice for your tank and for the level of activity you want. if more people around the fish keeper world were like you there'd be less living dead fish. Soooooooo many fish go though life waiting to die in the wrong sized tank, no water changes, and crampped living with too many other fish. It's really refreashing to see another fish lover out in the world.
> 
> Sorry for the raint I just got back from the LFS and they had a 13" oscar in a 20 Long and it had hole in the head and one eye missing from the two 12" pacu it lived with in a 55 before the person traded it in. Poor fish these days.
> 
> Best of luck to ya and I can't wait for those pics


Thanks!

Yeah, some fish stores can be depressing... As for the pics, I took some last night but didn't get any good ones of the one I think is a female. I'll try again tonight.


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

armac said:


> I like dovi, and I like to breed them, this pair is in a 250 gallon


  Wow. Very nice. Maybe I'll get a pair out of my Haitiensis.


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## JackalBG (Mar 11, 2010)

Nice babyes


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

They're not easy to photograph are they? LOL

The Hatiens came from me I in turn got them from a fellow OCA board member at about 1/2" and raised them up to what they are now. I still have about 25 left...


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

TheFishGuy said:


> They're not easy to photograph are they? LOL
> 
> The Hatiens came from me I in turn got them from a fellow OCA board member at about 1/2" and raised them up to what they are now. I still have about 25 left...


No they're not!  Those lil buggers can move. That, combined with my horrid camera skills makes for getting pics tricky. Two of them are pretty black now! I still can't thank you enough- :thumb:


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

My pleasure


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## Boston_Guapote (Jun 2, 2003)

You will love the haitiensis. Like Thefishguy said, get a pair then sell the remaining ASAP.

Here is my male.


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

Well I got a few pics- you'll have to excuse the waterspots, I was in the midst of a waterchange and they decided to not be shy.


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

As of yesterday's water change, these guys seem to be in the 3" range.  The largest one is a female, who is extremely black except for her face and seems to lighten up at feeding time.


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

They're courting!!!!!!!!!!!



http://s297.photobucket.com/albums/mm234/bkeen_gto/?action=view&current=fish2.flv


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

This is the best time to breed them.... when they're small! Nice!


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## PepoLD (Dec 9, 2009)

Viejas!! :O) 
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=92
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... php?id=105
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... php?id=101

they are my new <3


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

PepoLD said:


> Viejas!! :O)
> http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=92
> http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... php?id=105
> http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... php?id=101
> ...


I'm already past the choosing point-  I have the Haitiens in a 125 and I'm well on the way to having a pair (I hope). Thanks for the input though, Viejas are great fish- Argentea are my favorite!


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

I have five argentea spread out in different tanks... Little buggers like to kill each other! LOL


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

TheFishGuy said:


> I have five argentea spread out in different tanks... Little buggers like to kill each other! LOL


Maybe if we sell our house in the next couple of years and move, I'll have a finished basement that'll be a huge fishroom. I want my Haits, my HRP's, a Front tank, an single Argentea tank, and maybe a CA community or a Geo setup. I love fish entirely too much...


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

I'm getting a breeding group of stienys today... Well actually I don;t think they've spawned yet and at one time they were mine and were given away as fry so I'm always excited to get fish back that people raise for me!


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## PepoLD (Dec 9, 2009)

TFG have you been able to raise fry from V. Argentea?


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

they are not mature yet, but I will, I have spawned plenty of their relatives


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

These Haitiens are getting huge- I'll try to get some updated pics up tonight maybe.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

Don't grow em too fast... They like to bloat up...


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

TheFishGuy said:


> Don't grow em too fast... They like to bloat up...


They're still on the Spirulina Flake diet- the growth is more lengthwise rather than bulk.

Relative to other centrals, these guys grow painstakingly slow.


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## PepoLD (Dec 9, 2009)

yeah.. my parachromis slowed at 3"... (Freddy and Managuensis)

I thought they grow at the same rate as Paratheraps... but not at all for what I've seen.. Im just anxious to see my Freddy bigger ._. but i haven't noticed any remarkable growth after he reached 3"..

btw pics pics pics!


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

Out of the group I have there's an obvious male and female who hang out together. Hopefully with some luck I'll spawn them this coming winter!


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

TheFishGuy said:


> Out of the group I have there's an obvious male and female who hang out together. Hopefully with some luck I'll spawn them this coming winter!


Yeah my large male's coloration is starting to change to something like what the fish in BostonGuapote's video. I love these fish!


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)




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## PepoLD (Dec 9, 2009)

FINALLLLLLLyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!

OMG i love them!  you'll have to keep updating this thread now!


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

PepoLD said:


> FINALLLLLLLyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!
> 
> OMG i love them!  you'll have to keep updating this thread now!


Thanks!


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## Boston_Guapote (Jun 2, 2003)

Very nice bro! Your male is going to have a nice hump when his full grown.


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

Boston_Guapote said:


> Very nice bro! Your male is going to have a nice hump when his full grown.


Thanks! Maybe He'll wind up looking as nice as yours. :thumb:


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

TTT


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## Boston_Guapote (Jun 2, 2003)

Updated video


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

Nice clean glass, water and tank. =D>

Have you ever thought of providing the little dude a place to hide? They love caves you know


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

Gorgeous Boston_Guapote


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

:dancing:


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