hey everyone, thanks for looking.....

well, a few days ago I went out looking for fish to stock one of my almost empty tanks

After trying a few LFSs, and not finding much that caught my eye, I came across a group of G1 white Calvus Wooo hoo!! Drooly .....I got pretty excited when I saw these, for a few reasons
1) I have never seen any calvus for sale in LFS's around here (except for adult black calvus that cost a fortune)
2) I have been looking for calvus for months
3) the fact that they were white calvus (my favourite type, I dont like the black or inkfin as much, and the yellows, more often than not, have weak colouring, which I don't find very attractive)
4) and finally, the fact that they were G1, just made the find that much sweeter. Drooly

So, anyway, I bought 4 of them (there were only 6 left in the tank, but the other 2 were half the size of the ones I picked, and looked pretty close to death because they were so badly beat up.) .....I have no idea what my m/f ratio is

I got them home and put them in a bare 65g tank (it used to be a growout tank, that's why it was bare)

For the first day or so they just huddled up in the corners.....heres some pics of them





Then I added some pool filter sand, some nice big rocks, and a few small shells, and their colours really brightened up, and they started acting a little more lively.
(BTW I know I'm not the greatest photographer, but I try....and these small guys aren't the easiest to photograph)









for the first few days they weren't eating at all, but yesterday they finally started trying some of the NLS and the flakes I was feeding them.....

they pick up a pellet, or a flake, chew it up a bit, spit it out, then eat the crumbs, and repeat the process until they have either finished the pellet (or flake), or until another fish grabs it.
I'm not sure how normal this is, but as long as they're eating, I guess they're ok.



now, I need to think of tankmates, because 4 fish isn't really enough for a tank this size.
I want to stick with tangs only for this tank.

I was thinking shellies, but what type, and how many?
I was also thinking about cyprichromis/paracyprichromis to add some activity to the upper portion of the tank (its a 24" tall tank, and the shellies and calvus are more bottom dwellers, leaving the upper 3/4 of the tank bare.), but again, how many should I get?
I'm not sure where I'm going to find the shellies, or cyps/paracyps......ill have to make quite a few calls around to some LFSs

I'm also looking for any other suggestions on tankmates, so please, let me know what you think.
The Calvus are my main concern in this tank.....so I want to make sure that they are going to be happy, and not be bothered by the other fish.


thanks again for looking, and thanks in advance for any help/opinions that you can offer Tres Bien!
-Matt

noboby has any comments?.....that's a little strange Hmmmm .....oh well

here's my latest update:

stopped by the LFS today....picked up some frozen mysis shrimp (because I hear calvus love it, and apparently it makes them grow faster)......I also bought a bunch of plants (cabomba, and val. spiralis) to help control my nitrate levels
I also bought some "Had-a-Snail" which I was told is good for killing snails quickly.....I'm using a strong dose in a bucket (because I don't want this stuff in my tanks) to sterilize the plants.......I also went thru the plants leaf by leaf and picked off very snail I could find.....luckily no eggs have been laid on any of the plants (probably because they have relatively fine, thin leaves) .....so far I have killed and removed about 5 small snails
as you might be able to tell, I really hate snails....and I don't want an infestation.


well....anyway,

thanks again to anyone who took the time to read my post

Matt

Hi Matt,

Congrats on finding what you've been wanting! I wish I could have that happen to me once in a while.

I know absolutely nothing about calvus, except that they are cool-looking, so I can't help you with your questions. It's good to hear they are adjusting and starting to eat for you.

Good luck with them. Tres Bien!

Nice pick up Matt.

I have had some exp. with these Altos. I too fell in love with them. But my Favorites were the Comps. Very similar in many ways.

I would suggest you be very careful with whatever you choose to put in the tank with them. As you probably already know,,,,,,,,,,,they take a long time to grow.
Very slow growers!!!!!! And I would be afraid that the new tankmates would eventually become the dominant ones. JMO.

M/F ratios???? To early to tell. Although,, I would start by putting some Conch shells in the tank,,let them get used to them and pick out their "home".

Calvus and Comps are "fry eating machines", be careful what you put in the tank with them,,,you may loose some fry.

Matt,,,there is a thread in this same forum that has alot of info on these fish,,,very helpful stuff from a few members here. Check them out,,,you may be able to see some tankmate suggestions.

Would love to see a full tank shot of this tank.

AP.

He does speak from experience! On the Floor Laughing

Sorry AP I chuckle when I think of your gluttonous comp! Nanananaa



Make sure you keep your pH and gH up, those will be your most important factors with your calvus. I have also noticed that most Alto's are sensetive to water condtions so make sure you keep up with frequent water changes.

thanks Aura

yea...the comps are very similar...and I like them a lot, too...they come in some very cool colours.......the only real difference that made me pick calvus over the comps was the body shape, I really like how the calvus are more "bullet shaped", where as the comps have a higher body.......its all a matter of personal preference Tres Bien!

yea.....I want to be extra careful with choosing tank mates.....I'm going to wait until the calvus get to about the 2.5" mark (probably more if I don't feel that they are ready to defend themselves), before I add anything.

the only tankmate they currently have is an albino BN pleco (which is about the same size, and doesn't bother them at all)

I have a couple conch shells that I picked up on the beach etc. when I was on vacation....so I will use those for now....Im not sure where I can get more though....
I am a little scared that they will get stuck in the shells.....I have heard of young calvus/comps getting trapped inside conch shells, and other shells that spiral around like a conch....that worries me a bit...

ill get one for ya.....soon.....hopefully by tomorrow if I get the plants in....
It's a simple tank....just a couple rocks, a couple small shells, and soon, some plants
Its very simple....but I like simple.......I think it's just too hard to watch your fish in complicated tanks with nooks and crannies everywhere.

On the Floor Laughing Giggly

pH is 8.2
gH is about 180-200 ppm
kH is about 250-300 ppm
are those high enough?^^

and about that water changes......i have heard that they don't tolerate chlorine very well, so it is best to do weekly 10% water changes.....is this true?


thanks again for looking, and for you help,
Matt

Matt,
I found out the hard way that calvus and comps, need hard water.
They will tolerate lower PH better than soft water. I lost 5 nice yellow calvus, due to not knowing.
I am tring this again with 5 comps. I picked up 5 red fins at the ACA convention. I also picked up 5 dark reds lost all of them on the trip home. My red fins are fine. Not sure what the difference was.

I am using coral to help keep everything in line this time.
Just thought I would tell you that. Hope you have good luck with them, and the water changes are important. I do the 10% changes on them. I treat my water before putting it back in. They like clean water and can't handle chlorine.

I always use prime, or kordon novaqua plus before re adding water. That way I dont get chlorine when I add water back, I do about 30% a week. Dont forget that water quality is the lifeline of your fish, I do so much because I dont want to slow the growth rate of my comps more.

edit: I would say your pH is good as well as your hardness, I keep my pH between 8.8 and 9.2. You wont lose hardness so you should be good, just remember that if you dont do frequent water changes, nitrate buildup will cause pH drops.

Matt,,,as far as water changes. Your Calvus are still on the small side,,maybe hold off on doing water changes for AS LONG AS YOU CAN!!!!!

The Calvus and the AP's as you say are the only ones in the tank right now,, right?
And it's a 65 gal. tank right? Thats big enuff and "empty" enuff to hold off on water changes to at least 2-3 weeks. IMO Just do as little as possible at a time. Tres Bien!

As they get older, bigger, and more comfortable with water changes,,then you can do bigger and more volume as needed. JAT

Riggs,,,you had to bring that up 'eh? I was just getting over that episode. worry wart!


AP.

nice looking fish great pic up. I also have a 55 gallon tank of these guys and yes they take forever to grow but down the road they are worht it. cool looking guys but i agree add a lot of shells and make tons of hiding spots for them and they'll come along great

sorry to hear that you those dark reds......

I have a bag of aragonite in the filter......after about a year you can actually see how much it has dissolved.....when it gets to the point that it is as fine as sand, go up to my 125g (which has aragonite as the substrate, so it dissolves much slower) and refill it......so that should keep the water hard

I fill 5g buckets, put the prime in the bucket, and stir it up...then I let it sit for a while....then add it to the tank.

how do you get your pH that high?...do you use those pH up chemicals?
and, isn't that a bit too high?.....isn't Tanganyika only 8.6-8.8?

and the plants that I just added should keep the nitrate manageable....so I shouldn't have too much of a problem there

yup

yup its a 65g (36x24x18)............and I will try to hold off on the W/Cs

will do Tres Bien!


anyway.....as promised.....a full tank shot.....like I said before...its a very simple tank



and a couple more shots of the calvus......they are terrified of the camera Giggly





thanks again for all the help
Matt

I LIKE THAT,,,,Very quiet tank.

IMO,,,,keep it the way it is,,,and I would also get more rocks,,,similar if possible, and make caves and crevises. They like to hide and mellow out.

I think that tank is going to look very good when they start coloring up. Tres Bien!

Is that an AP I see on the corner of the rocks edge on the one at the right???


JMO,,,,,more shells. Those shells seem a bit to small????? Are they using them much????

Thanks for sharing.


AP.

I like it too, Matt. Simple is nice. (And it looks like you have plenty of room for one of those clay caves that cichlidman has, if you wanted one.)

simple is good :)
my calvus used to like larger shells. conch shells. those large ones from the sea.
never knew why he liked such a large shell. he was only like an inch and something.

I like this one very much..

Have to agree on the quiet tank remark. I think sometimes Less is more.

thanks...I like it simple

I picked these rocks out from the backyard garden....so I can get a few more....I just gotta clean and bleach them.

I will probably add more rocks soon.....but that LFS bought stand scares the @#$% out of me....it's so flimsy looking....and it creaked when I put these rocks in it....I almost s**t myself, because I actually thought the stand was going to collapse.........when I built the stand for my 125g, I made it sturdy, like, that thing can hold up a tank...and I dont mean a fish tank...I mean, like, an M1A1 Abrams Battle Tank Giggly ........but I guess its ok....the LFS runs tanks with the same stands, and they haven't collapsed yet.

you mean this guy right here


why, yes, it is......I was waiting to see if you would spot it....and you did the Clap .......that is his favourite spot durring the day....he is either in that little crack, or climbing up and down the val. spirals (I don't know if he is eating them, or what he is doing)

ya....Im going to get more shells.....I just gotta find a place to get them.....but the ones in there are being used.....they are still a little scared of them.....but they go in quickly and check it out.
I also have this huge conch that I found when I was on vacation in the Caribbean a couple years ago............it has small holes and cracks in it, so when I put a light in it, I can follow it all the way around almost to the centre......the reason I didn't put it in, is because, it's so big, and it spirals so many times, and they are so small, that they could actually make it to the centre of the shell....and if they got that far in there, I dont think they could find their way out.....once they get to about the 3" mark, they won't be able to get that far inside it....thats when I'll add it for them......it would be a great breeding shell....it has a very long, narrow entrance, which would be a great place for a female to hide and lay eggs.

agreed Tres Bien!

Thanks again, for all the replies
Matt

BLEACH,,,,,,,,,,,, wabawhat??

How about just boiling them if they are that dirty????
I've never bleached any rock going into my tank,,,just a good scrubbing and cleaning. To each his/her own. Tres Bien!

Anything new added to this tank yet??



AP.

ya....i bleach everything that goes in my tank, that I found outside.

I have had very bad experiences with some sort of moss and came off a rock I picked up outside.......I picked up a rock in the garden (it had a little bit of moss or something on it)...I gave it a good scrub with a stiff bristled brush....and then ran super hot water over it....I thought that would kill everything..........it didnt...........a couple days after putting it in the tank, I saw some of that moss stuff starting to grow back on the rock.....within a week, my tank was COVERED with this stuff.....and I couldn't get rid of it
...I dont know what made it grow so fast....but I ended up having to take down the tank and clean and bleach everything ....... dumb dumb

so, now I bleach everything that goes into my tank from outside.

I tried to boil rocks once....one of the rocks cracked....and I later found out that a sudden change in temp, from room temperature, to boiling water, can cause rocks to crack, and even (what made me a little concerned) explode.

thats why I like bleach.....fairly safe, and it kills eveything



to answer your question....no, nothing new in the tank.....I haven't even been out looking for fish yet.....however....when the calvus get a bit bigger, I will be on the hunt for cyps/paracyps, and shellies.......and possibly others, if I get any other suggestions for tank mates

as an update.......the AP ate and killed all of my val. spiralis.....so now, as far as plants go, there is only the bunch of cabomba (which has grown, a lot)

I also got a huge brown algae bloom.....the lighting I'm using doesn't help, either.
hopefully the AP can take care of it.

Cheers!!!
Matt