# Calvus color changes



## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

Thought you guys might find this interesting: the following two pictures are of my wc alpha male calvus (BCWP). The first pic is from this week (notice how light colored he is). The second picture is from earlier in the year (notice how dark he was).

The main differences, that I am aware of, are...
1) When he was very dark, he was actively competing for "top dog" status with another male.
2) He is now the undisputed top dog and he is much lighter (he also struts around with his fins super erect all the time).
3) He has also outgrown the 2nd place male significantly in the past 9 months. He has grown and the other male has not.
4) When he was dark, he was in our temp aparment with lots of natural sunlight; whereas, now the tank is in our new house basement with zero natural light.
5) All other conditions, as far as I know, are the same (even water supply source).



















Russ


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## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

neat!
(lucky, i see a female peeking out of that there shell!!!!)


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

Manoah Marton said:


> neat!
> (lucky, i see a female peeking out of that there shell!!!!)


Female peaking out of a shell 

Not again :roll:

I am so over run with altolamp fry it is not even funny anymore. Those calvus (2m & 4f) produce a shell full of fry every 2 to 3 weeks. I've got about 200 calvus fry (about 1 inch) and 300 comp fry (various sizes) growing out right now. I left the last 4 to 5 batches of fry in the adult tank. I just can't do any more tanks. Once I sell off all these fry, maybe then I will raise another batch or two.

Russ (were is a smily face for nilly)?


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## Darkside (Feb 6, 2008)

My Sumbu Altos would frequently change colour drastically from black to white in the span of a few seconds when exerting their dominance among the colony. Very cool pictures Razzo.


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## borohands8593 (Apr 15, 2009)

too bad your not closer to pa i can never find comp ro calvus fry around me accept for ones at a lfs that are labeled incorrectly  would be nice to find some true inkfins and firefins


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

Darkside said:


> My Sumbu Altos would frequently change colour drastically from black to white in the span of a few seconds when exerting their dominance among the colony. Very cool pictures Razzo.


Thanks DS 

My plans for the fry are:
1) Give a kid at church some calvus & comp fry to introduce him to cichlids. He just got his first tank a few months ago and it is cycled enough to set him up with some altos. He's pretty excited.

2) If all the fry were at least 1.25 inches, I've got a buyer who would take them all off my hands. The calvus are growing slooooooooow - they are about an inch. I'll probably look to sell them off in spring.

3) Orange fin comp fry: I've got about 50 that are just getting to a saleable size and many more that are smaller. Some of the orange fin fry inherited their fathers sparkles on his fins. I might just have to set up a grow out tank to see how they develop. I'll try to dig up a good pic of the dad so you can see the sparkles.

4) If my gold head muzi's ever get romantic, I would be tempted to give their fry a chance.

Russ


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

Here's a pic my wc orange fin dad (I've posted this before). I like the sparkles on his fins and sides. I can see a fair amount of fry that have inherited that trait.


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## jrf (Nov 10, 2009)

Darkside said:


> My Sumbu Altos would frequently change colour drastically from black to white in the span of a few seconds when exerting their dominance among the colony. Very cool pictures Razzo.


Same with my Calvus. Competition, breeding, and the color of tank decor seem to all have a direct effect on the colors they wear.

In any given moment, mine range in color from a "coffee with cream" tan up to a straight black coffee coloration. I'm hoping their general appearance darkens up some as they age.


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## delmondar (Sep 13, 2010)

Razzo... I notice the same with coloring of the alto's, the males definitely get darker when a female is ready to lay eggs. I also notice this with my labs, they will get a blackish flush in the face when their is a female ready to lay eggs. Some of my alto fry are over 1 1/2" and I've got another tank with about 400 that range from 2 - 4 weeks old.


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## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

nice pics.

wish I had your luck with the alto. breeding. still waiting for my pair to do their thing... :zz: :lol:


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

Manoah Marton said:


> nice pics.
> 
> wish I had your luck with the alto. breeding. still waiting for my pair to do their thing... :zz: :lol:


Be patient.

delmondar is my sister and she was kind enough to baby sit for orange fin comps when I sold my house. The orange fin she has had not spawned before (about a year) and on moving day, when I was bagging the fish to go to her house, I found my first shell full of fry. They have had many spawns for her since.

The calvus I kept have gone crazy too. Now my gold head comps - nothing.

Dar, are those 4 cyps still alive? How many brevis?

Russ


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## delmondar (Sep 13, 2010)

Yes, the 4 cyps are still alive :fish: , want them back? I'd love you to want them back. I have too many fish in my tanks.

I have 4 adult brevis (1 pair and one very good, lone male that makes sure the baby stays out of trouble) and one baby. If you want you can have the brevis back too, I'll keep the baby though 

Let me know if you want the comps back too, after all, they are yours. I can just grow out the babes.


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## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

i'm...trying...to...be...patient...but...i'm...not...very...good...at...that...
hope they spawn soon.
actually, they did spawn before, but my blasted female ate the spawn. (good grief, and I was so excited too  :lol:


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Thank you for showing those calvus pics. The shade/colour difference in the same fish is very great. Seen this with my gold head comps, males going suddenly dark at about 21/2" when sparing for dominance but able to change back to yellow but not yet my Black Congo calvus already well over 3".

Lots to look forward to. 8)

Or do you think you need two males in the tank for them to show that dark colour?

All the best James


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

24Tropheus said:


> Thank you for showing those calvus pics. The shade/colour difference in the same fish is very great. Seen this with my gold head comps, males going suddenly dark at about 21/2" when sparing for dominance but able to change back to yellow but not yet my Black Congo calvus already well over 3".
> 
> Lots to look forward to. 8)
> 
> ...


James,

It would be just speculation on my part; however, I'd guess the compeition from another male would be a strong influencer on the color changes. Now that my alpha male is uncontested, he is much lighter and proud with his fins extremely errect (proud like a peacock).

I don't know which color I like him better in. He is fun to take pictures of with his fins being so errect.

Russ


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## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

mine go black when I've added too many females. The males do anyway. My white will spawn a harem of only up to 3 before he turns jet black and eventually kills number 4. my Congos and Zambians are much more accepting.


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