Calvas Info Please Anything helps

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BigJ

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Jan 12, 2008
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I know nothing about them. But i'm looking to buy 15-20.. Any info please lmk... They low PH of high? What the different kind's called? Any of them rare or more costly? Where is the best place to buy bigger ones? Not really looking for fry's. Unless i have to... Agin i know nothing about them.. Can they be kept in large groups? Please post pic's or what ever!

I think the thing's are crazy cool!! Never really been into Cichlids. But these fish are sweet. Are they pickey eaters? thanks for any help. :)
 
Calvus are cool. 15 - 20 is an awful lot unless you have a HUGE tank. They are primarily rock and cave dwellers from Lake Tanganyika. PH should be 7.8-8.3, temp around 78.

You should look them up on cichlid-forum.com under profiles.

They grow very very slowly, and will eat pellets and frozen mysis. They also require excellent water conditions. They breed best in barnacles.

Do some research on google. Also, yellow is the rarest and most expensive
 
Reel North;3867162; said:
Calvus are cool. 15 - 20 is an awful lot unless you have a HUGE tank. They are primarily rock and cave dwellers from Lake Tanganyika. PH should be 7.8-8.3, temp around 78.

You should look them up on cichlid-forum.com under profiles.

They grow very very slowly, and will eat pellets and frozen mysis. They also require excellent water conditions. They breed best in barnacles.

Do some research on google. Also, yellow is the rarest and most expensive


Thanks man, You keeping any?

Any one buy any of the guy's on Aquabid.com? I just dont want to be scammed.

Whats the tank sized needed to keep a pair? 20 long? Or bigger?
 
yeah, they are pretty cool fish, but stated before, grow really slow...takes almost 2 years to get some real size and maturity, but they are quite peacefull too, but they have a super defense system. Their scales are super hard and when they are about to be attacke they turn broadside and turn so the scales stick out, and the fish don't bite, if they do, they will get a mouthful of hard sharp scales...no thanks

and i have 3 small black calvus, and recently lost my big white one...sad day.
here's my big white one...rip

IMG_8812.JPG
 
spyke;3867424; said:
yeah, they are pretty cool fish, but stated before, grow really slow...takes almost 2 years to get some real size and maturity, but they are quite peacefull too, but they have a super defense system. Their scales are super hard and when they are about to be attacke they turn broadside and turn so the scales stick out, and the fish don't bite, if they do, they will get a mouthful of hard sharp scales...no thanks

and i have 3 small black calvus, and recently lost my big white one...sad day.
here's my big white one...rip


Ya, I'm lovin that fish! These guy's a just sharp. :drool:
 
as previously stated very slow growers not too picky when it comes to food then tend to sift sometimes so sand is ideal along with porous rocks such as lace or tufa, it will be hard to find large ones espically that many and if you do you'll be paying for them
here are some pictures of my old set up
I had 3whites 4yellows and 2blacks with some birchardii and syno petracola

its sort of a minimalist tank with a lot of negative space but I really liked it while i had it
2u4k1zt.jpg

2ylwc2h.jpg
 
You will definitely want to get a few and grow them out. Ideally, i always liked 2 males and 4 females. You could do that in a 55. Ideally, bigger is better, like a 75. The will stick to the rocks, but will also spook. I dont really like lace rock or tufa as you risk eye damage if they freak out. I just used booulders from a landscape place to make some cave, but the rocks are smooth. I used crushed aragonite for a substrate, and they will pick food from it.

Buy from auqubid if you like, but i have seen a lot of "calvus" that are actually comps.

Get yellows if you can - they are more money, but are absolutely stunning
 
Aa typically has 2-3 different kinds at any given time I think.
Pretty pricey there though.... I had a mated pair, I'll try and track down the original owner and new owner and see if they'll sell anything
 
They are awsome fish. I have a wild caught trio of white calvus that I breed in a 20gal long. The smaller tank is better for breeding them. It keeps them focused... lol We have no substrate to make it easier to notice the fry. These fish like shells and breeding in shells so we have plenty of shells in the tank. Between the two females, we get about 150-300 fry every other month. Here is a link to our cichlid channel. We have videos of the fry and the parents. Feel free to check it out. http://www.youtube.com/user/greenearthlawns
 
MonsterFishKeepers.com