Alt. Calvus

[james]

Hi
Hope everyone had a nice New Year!
I just got my self 12 new fish. They are Alt. Calvus Lake Tang. Cichlids.
. Half of them have black bands and the other 6 are light tan with greyish brown strips. I think they are gold and black Calvus.
Anyone had these before. Appreciate if they would share any info on these guys.
Had some before the fire about 4 years ago. Didnt have them long. It took a long time to trace some down. My nephew got them  from Toronto. They were quite expensive. Over $ 10 for 3/4 - 1 fish.
To me they are one of the nicest looking  African Cichlid
James

[oenology]

I've got some White calvus (4). They are slow growers but not as slow as the compressiceps IMHO. I've had them for little over a year. They were about 1/2" when I got them and now the males? are 2 to 2.5" and the female? is about 1.5".

[james]

Hi
How are the white ones like. The ones I have have black strips with a light bluish fin. The other ones are light tan with greyish brown strips.
Do you have any pics of your fish
James

[PowderBlueTang]

Hi James  they grow very slow, an inch a year?

Check these out:

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1578
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1580
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=2213
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=2214
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1579

I have full grown adults of the white ans black calvus.
I have a baby and he is 3 years old and is about 2 inches!

Lenny

[repeej]

Anyone sell these locally?  I'd like to get some.

[james]

Thanks for the pics
I think  I have  6  Black Calvus. And
The other ones are eihter the yellow or Chisanse Calvus
I have them in a 33 gal (36x12x17) tank by themselves

James

[james]

Hi
I did not see any locally. It took me almost a year for my nephew to track these down for me. The black ones are only about 1/2 in and the yellow ones are 3/4-1 in. I can ask if there are any more from where he got them from. He got a special price for 12.

James

[PowderBlueTang]

Hi James
just make sure all are eating they are very finicky eaters at that age.
Trick for their survival is make sure food gets to them, they are lazy and will not chase food. I use a turky baster to feed them.
Out of 6 babies in three years I have one left! Some seem to die for no forseen reasons.

Lenny

[Sue]

Hi James,
I have found Calvas to be more sensitive to suden changes in water chemistry than many other types of african's I've kept. So I used to be extra careful doing their water changes- not too much at one time.
I also found they liked living in barnacle clusters.

[james]

Hi Leeny
What were you feeding them?

[PowderBlueTang]

Hi James crush flakes very fine and little brine shrimp.

[pegasus]

Hi James,
I have both the white calvus and the golden compressiceps which I intend to breed. They get scarred easily and are very good jumpers, so cover all little exit from your tank. They prefer flake to pellets but go nuts on white worms. I have them in two different set-ups: one tank by themselves and one among peacocks, mbunas, and other tangs. In the mix tank, they are aggressive eaters and stand clear of any aggression. I'd say they are doing much better than the others.

If you think your fish looks good at an inch, wait till they get to be 3"-4" they are magnificent.

[limmer]

As Pegasus says, they are jumpers.  I had three at first and 2 were able to find a hole to jump from the tank.

[james]

hi
I found some of the fish stomache look kind of flat. I'll try some of your suggestion on feeding them. Thanks for the caution on them being jumpers. I'll not fill the tank to the very top.and cover up big openings.
So, they are generally better with other fish being with them as tank mates. Or is it better to have them by themselves.

James

[maitre007]

Over the course of the past 2-3 years I must have bought 6-8 calvus and I have only 2 remaining. Albeit one is about 3 inches long which is quite impressive for calvus.

They are finnicky.  For example, I had one stop eating when the other calvus that I purchased him died.  I feed them the small pellets found in a red bottle (i think cichlid attack).  This way I can make sure that they eat.

I have seen Big Al's sale white calvus once in a while.  But as stated earlier they cost an arm and a leg.  However I feel they are well worth it.

[pegasus]

So, they are generally better with other fish being with them as tank mates. Or is it better to have them by themselves.

Not sure about that even if it's something I did notice in my tanks.
The mix tank is a 55gal the other is a 10 gal (growing up).
Just a good selection in the mix tank?
High aggression among peacock & mbuna but the calvus are left alone. :?:
A 55gal of just my altolamprologus MAY be a better idea but I'll never know (just don't have enough tanks to experiment further.

[james]

Thanks for the info.
I have observed that these guy when not distrub hardly move. They seem to be in a frozen state. And yes they don't seem to attack the food like other fish.
With all your tips I hope my survival rate will be a little better .

James

[pegasus]

That's what is nice about my mix tank.... the calvus are much more active.

[james]

Hi Pegasus
So, you said in a mix tank they are more active and seem to eat more.
Does that equate them to grow a lot faster as well than being by themselves?

James

[pegasus]

They eat more and grow faster, but it could also be because they are in a larger tank and with much more competition for food, more space to swim. A fish that stand still in that tank is a target, so they get plenty of exercise.