Wolf cichlid

Parachromis dovii

Also known as Wolf cichlid, Dovii, Guapote

FreshwaterFish

Wolf cichlid (Parachromis dovii) — Sesamehoneytart · CC BY-SA 3.0

Care at a glance

Temperature: 75–82°F (24–28°C)
pH: 6.8–7.6
Adult size: 27.6 in (70 cm)
Minimum tank: 250 gal (946 L)
Temperament: Aggressive
Social behavior: Solitary
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Difficult
Breeding: Hard
Rarity: Common
Origin: Central America (Atlantic and Pacific slopes, Honduras to Costa Rica)
Family: Cichlidae

Overview

Keep this one alone. It is an aggressive, solitary fish that patrols the whole tank from the middle and lower water, and it will eat any tankmate small enough to fit in its mouth and harass the rest. The only realistic grouping is a single bonded breeding pair, and even then pairing is risky since males often kill an unreceptive female, so a breeding setup needs 1500 liters or more with sight breaks and an escape route. Hold the water at 24 to 28 C and a pH of 6.8 to 7.6, and feed meaty foods like quality pellets, prawns, and earthworms rather than feeder fish. Use secure equipment and watch your hands during maintenance, since adults will bite. Never release one into local waters; as a large invasive predator it can wreck native fish, so rehome it instead and check your local rules.

In the wild

Wolf cichlids come from rivers and lakes across Central America, on both the Atlantic and Pacific slopes from Honduras down to Costa Rica. These are warm, open waterways with rock and structure where a big predator can hold territory. Give a single adult a tank of at least 946 liters with heavy rockwork or wood that is braced so it cannot be toppled, since this fish will rearrange anything loose. Sand or gravel both work for substrate. Keep the water tropical at 24 to 28 C, with a pH from 6.8 to 7.6, and run strong, oversized filtration to keep up with the heavy waste load.

Good to know

This is Parachromis dovii, a large predatory cichlid in the family Cichlidae and one of the biggest Central American cichlids kept in the hobby. Males reach about 70 cm, with FishBase listing a maximum near 72 cm total length, while females stay smaller at roughly 35 to 45 cm. It is an open-substrate spawner that lays eggs on a cleaned rock or surface, and both parents guard the brood. A healthy adult is long lived, often well over a decade.

Did you know

Big males develop a bright golden, spotted body with a turquoise sheen as they mature, which is why the fish is sometimes sold as the guapote. The color often deepens when a male is holding territory or guarding a spawn, so a settled adult in his own tank tends to look far better than a stressed youngster in a crowded one.