[trimac]

First time doing this so exuse the lighting. They are in a 240 gallon tank with two 350
Watt Heaters, two Emperor 400s, and two Magnum 350s! So hope you like the pics!

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[gage]

nice fish

 

[lil mama]

Sweet set up! Nice cabinet too....we have a custom cabinet shop Beautiful fish, what size are they?

 

[bernie comeau]

Nice set up and awesome umbie!

 

[trimac]

Thanks-Wow thought I'd get more comments? The Umbee in my estimate is around 10-11 inches and the Dovii is 4 inches-I have had the Umbee for 13 months I got him from Rapps he was only 1/2 an inch-I kid you not and the Dovii I got from a LFS a month ago it was around two inches and was going to be gar food so I saved it! You folks think it is possible to put anything else? I do have a 1032 gallon pond on stand by!

 

[trimac]

I guess my fish must suck! Wow! Surprising!

 

[illy-d]

I can't tell which fish is which from the photos... Except that the last pic seems to be of a much smaller fish...

It looks like the tank is divided? Is that the case?

 

[trimac]

The first few are my Umbee the really small one is my dovii-that is why I would prefer Umbee over Dovii-Dovii tend to be more shy where as the Umbee is more of a wet pet with an awesome personality-I plan on updating in 4 months by then the Dovii will be a lot larger-yes I do have a divider I just don't trust my Umbee he thinks he owns the whole living room :lol:

 

[heylady]

yes I do have a divider

See now you could have passed that off as a reflection to me!! :lol: Nice big tank, love the cabinetry - nice fish too! Do you think your umbee is a female?

 

[stuckinthemiddle]

what are the dimensions on that tank? It looks awesome

 

[trimac]

I think the Umbee is male being the fact that he started at 1/2 an inch and is around 11 inches now-females don't grow as fast that is why I am assuming it is male
stuckinthemiddle-thanks a lot! first time taking pictures-it will get better-the dimensions are 8 feet long 2 feet wide and 2 feet high-I also have a 1032 gallon pond on standby-so do you folks think a Jag and Pike would be nice to add?

 

[bernie comeau]

You folks think it is possible to put anything else? I do have a 1032 gallon pond on stand by!

I have no personal experience with umbie and I think probably few who frquent this forum do either. But me, personally I would attempt to house fish with it; don't think its all that different, longterm, then housing fish with a dovii. But with 1000 gallon on stand by, you got an awesome set up :thumb:

A large lugabris-type pike,I think, is a definate option. Different body shape and not as closely related to either. Not quite as sturdy but offensively capable; not too easily pushed around and very fast. I would tend to shy away from a jag, since you already have a dovii, but it is an option. For another CA I would consider salvini. Also large Veija/Paratheraps such as blackbelt or maybe zonatus, though I have no personal experience with zonatus, just it has the reputation as the tougher more aggressive Vieja/Paratheraps.

Some kind of large African may be an option, though it is my understanding that Tilapia/Oreochromis are not legal in Texas now (?). That eliminates a large group of potential tankmates. Even though they are smaller, I would consider Hemichromis elongatus or Hemichromis fasciatus (gets a little larger and is supposed to be more aggressive yet) as an options. I have no experience with either, but they certainly have the reputation to be able to live in tanks with the largest, most aggressive CA/SA. H. frempongi is another, almost identicle species but is thought to not get quite as large nor quite as aggressive.

A black shark would be top of my list to work well with these 2 cichlids. Its the worst of all bullies if a fish is not willing to stand up to it, but I doubt either of your fish would ever have problems with that at any point in its life. I know my blackshark never mesed with my female dovii; on the other hand cichlids generally concerned themselves more with other cichlids then they did with the black shark. Of course at a very small size, a black shark is not that capable either, so the black shark could have a problem if it gets picked on enough by the cichlids.

For bottom feeder, raphael cat and/ or common pleco are options. There are many other bottom feeders/catfish that might do well with umbie or dovii, although i am not familiar with them. I had much success keeping marbled goby with aggressive CA/SA though that is a bottom dweller (a piscivore) and not a bottom feeder --- they are slow moving and need to be fed with a tube in order to get food to their mouths.

Tinfoil barbs are another option, if you have enough of them like 3-4 or more.They might take some abuse but if there is enough of them, no one in particular will get picked on. Sturdy for a non-cichlid though not always sturdy enough for cichlids like umbie or dovii. It would all depend on just how much attention is directed towards them.

Like any tank, all depends on many factors, how well tankmates work and get a long. For introduction, I would be inclined to remove the dovii temporarily, introduce at least 4 tankmates at once on the dovii side, re-arrange some decor before putting the dovii back in, and move the devider 1 ft. into the umbie's side. Remove the devider later , only supervised, and see if things seem to work O.K. And when the time comes or you have to, move some fish over into the pond. Your umbie, or dovii, you may want them to be the last to go into the pond as compared to something like tinfoil barbs which may need to be the first the first in order to get established.

 

[thetim6]

WOW, that's a huge tank!

I love the umbee. It's not a fish you see very often and you might be the only one on these boards that keeps one currently, or one of few.

 

[Big Vine]

Nice setup, trimac...can't wait to see you fill it in with some more big brutes! 8)
BV

 

[trimac]

Thanks Big Vine and tim6
Bernie wow you read my mind I too was thinking Black Shark and Tinfoil Barbs!! Has anyone heard of Variegated Shark-though they are listed as maxing out at 6 inches that is so untrue I had one that reached two feet-I agree with not adding a Jag since I already have a Parachromis-don't you folks think that a Salvini would get eaten?? Though I really love Salvini-beauty of a fish but I worry about total size compared to the other two fish?

 

[bernie comeau]

don't you folks think that a Salvini would get eaten?? Though I really love Salvini-beauty of a fish but I worry about total size compared to the other two fish?

No they definately wouldn't get eaten. Yes, they are definately a lot smaller, then dovii or umbie but do get to a good size. I've had 2 males get 8", the first male I had for about 4 years; lost it when a valve let go on an automatic water changing sysyem that I had set too high, that I use to use. It was a very large fish for 8", super deep bodied and thick. One female salvini survived the hot water when the valve let go, and I had her for over 5 yrs.; she died, along with her young mate, when I moved, in a tote I had set up. She was 7 1/2" and very thick, though not deep bodied like a male. She had paired up with a young male ( possibly her son?) who also got to 8" but was much smaller at the younger age he was, then his dad. This pair had no problem, whatsoever, defending space from a young 12-13" dovii in a 6 ft. 180 gal. This pair's son, who is currently 7 5/8", coexisted fine with the same male dovii who tolerated him in a 180 gal. - that is until the sal got caught for the second time eating the dovii's fry and I had to remove him.

Sal's use the terrain to their advantage, and are like cons --- they can do very well defending space from larger fish. Their sturdier then cons, their bite far more serious and have great ability to jump out of the way at the last second and deliver a blow at the same time. I think in a 1000 gal. you could keep a pair with a dovii or umbie, and although sals are pushy for space, I doubt they would claim, push or demand nearly as much space as a dovii or umbie would.

I guess the thing is, you would probably want your sals to be a little older and more developed. Maybe they should be the first to go in your 1000 gal. pond in order to get established if you are going to house salvinis. I think in bigger tanks, it is not inconceivable that a male sal could get 10"+ eventually.

 

[trimac]

I like the idea-let the weaker species establish the tank first then add my two beasts.
I currently have a small red pike cichlid and a black belt that I will add when they get bigger so hopefully I could send pics of those fish. A Sal getting 10 inches would be awesome!!

 

[illy-d]

^I read somewhere that Sal's live with larger guapotes in the wild and are quite adept at standing up to them... And from everything I've heard about Black Belts they can 'run' a tank with larger, aggressive tankmates... It may be that your big beasts are going to be kept in check by their smaller tankmates! :lol:

Be sure to get some pics posted of that 1,000 pond - I'd love to see it!

 

[TheFishGuy]

I'd advise against a black shark. I hate to say that because I really like them. But your fish could definately be in danger of getting their scales sucked off. Black sharks are nasty when they get big... I had an 11 incher kill a 30" arowana :x

They're chasers.....

I do love the umbee, he's a great looking fish, and no doubt understocking is definatetly the way to go!

 

[trimac]

Thanks-I agree with you strongly on understocking I think a lot of the time people don't grasp the full size of these fish and don't take into consideration not just the length but the "girth" of these monsters!