Tell me about Calvus.

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Dispatch273

Dispatch273

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jul 22, 2011
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I've never kept african cichlids before but I've been looking at some stock lists and the Altolamprologus Calvus look incredible! I really love the yellow, black and black congo white pearl ones. What are their water requirements? What is their temperament like? Can you keep multiple colored calvus together without the risk of crossbreeding? What tankmates do well with them? How many can be safely kept in a 75 gallon tank? I may have an empty 75 in a few months and am thinking of getting some calvus for it. Thank you in advance for your help!
 
their really kool but VERY slow growing. a Juvenal can take 3-4 years to reach just 3 - 3.5 inches. so i always suggest investing in wild calvus and comps so they already have some good size to them.
water requirements depend on if your keeping wild or tank raised calvus. wild fish from lake Tanganyika enjoy a high PH. i keep mine around 8.4 as thats all i get out of using sodium bicarbonate to buffer which is still on the low side. but TR fish can be kept in water PH in the 7's. ive even heard of them being acclimated to the high 6's although i do not suggest it.

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temperament is interesting, they really dont mess with other types of fish and they wont let other fish mess with them. they have sharp scales on the side of their body that they flex and it only take s a few nip at those for the fish to figure out its not worth it. now this is not true for all fish just other average sized africans. for a majority of their young life they are not overly aggressive to other calvus but will establish a pecking order. bigger males will try to claim the best territory. when the males get to be around the 4-5 inch range they tend to become pretty viscous especially to the females who stay much smaller esp. white and black calvus. they have also been known to kill other lone males who enter their territory. so its best to keep them in a 75 gal with like 15 others. but pairs can work as well, sometimes they pair naturally and other times you have to introduce them properly to try and force the pair but thats an entirely different conversation.
ive never mixed different types of calvus so i cant answer about that. but if you want to keep them with other fish keep them with other tangs of the same size and be careful if your trying to breed their tank mates as the calvus will snatch up the eggs before they even know what happened and eat any fry in the tank. they love any protein.
by know means am i "a pro" with these fish ive only been keeping them for about 4 years now. but they are def one of my faves.
lets us know if you plan on getting any, feel free to pm i know some really good places to get wild and F1 altolamp calvus and compressiceps.
 
great looking fish and can be kept any where i have some in my show tank with my malawis but takes so much time for them to grow. I rather see paint dry on a wall then calvus growing :p lol
 
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