# ink fin naysayer



## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

I admit it. Being a long time ALto and Calvus fanatic, I have, of course, purchased several "ink Fin" calvus from different breeders etc. To me they all looked like regular "Congo" Black Calvus to me...

Until I recently ordered some WC Congo Ink Fins while trying out a new importer and, holy cow, I've been lied to all these years!!

The pair I got were not only huge (6-4 inches) but they were BLACK! Black fins black everything! These are true ink fins, the real deal. I now have there first brood in a fry tank too! I'm babying this batch so I can get some local circulation going. Maybe then they won't cost $125 a pair!

Here are some pics. 








I had to artificially brighten this one just so you could see him! They're both "Blacked out" wether or not they are breeding.


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## fromdaisland (Mar 9, 2010)

wow those are nice!!! i too fell in love with calvus... hopefully i could tell the diff. between those two breeds????


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## Longstocking (Aug 26, 2003)

=D> Yes you have true ink fins now 

They are very rare in the hobby and most calvus sold as "ink fins" are not ink fins.

Same thing with "fire fins". Very few and far between.

You have some stunning fish there :thumb:


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

I really enjoyed my Congo "Black Pectorals" aka "Ink Fin".

I didn't bother raising fry from my pair, so I can't verify what they look like when they grow up. It isn't impossible that a certain location has fish with varying degrees of colouration in the pectoral fins.


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## borohands8593 (Apr 15, 2009)

Longstocking said:


> =D> Yes you have true ink fins now
> 
> They are very rare in the hobby and most calvus sold as "ink fins" are not ink fins.
> 
> ...


are the "fire fins" the same as the red comp from lafubu"??


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## Longstocking (Aug 26, 2003)

I agree that there are variations within a location.

But, some "ink fins" are transparent and have white dots... I just can't believe those are true inkfins.


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## hazard (Apr 6, 2003)

I have had inkfins go white and have had black congos go jet black

What is the location on an inkfin. Is there any location or are they set aside based on color?

From the wilds that I have had the inkfins seem to have a shorter body so they look kind of long. If that makes sense


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

You have a beautiful pair! Look pretty darn dark to me :wink:

BTW: From what I understand, there have not been any "new" & "true" wc Inkfin exported from the lake in quite some time. The reason being, Thorsten Rueter (former owner ACA) was the person who discovered them and the "hub-a-bub" is that when he sold ACA to the Bucklands he did not tell anyone where he collected his Inkfin. So, the story goes, there is not been any true Inkfin exported from the lake since Thorsten sold out.

Here is a pic of a wild caught Inkfin (unedited photo - except for resizing)









For what it is worth, unless there has been any recent changes, none of the current companies exporting fish from the lake actually, physically, collect in the Congo themselves.


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## Longstocking (Aug 26, 2003)

Divers collect fish ... not companies. Some companies have regular divers but not all.


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

Longstocking said:


> Divers collect fish ... not companies. Some companies have regular divers but not all.


Yes, exporters "companies" buy fish lakeside. ACA (Thorsten) physically collected in the Congo and exported.


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

If you can see through your calvus' pectoral fin, it isn't an ink fin/black pectoral.


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## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

I have noticed that even when my inks are at their lightest, still dark by any standards, their pectorals are ALWAYS black. They also don't seem to carry much blue when spawning, at least when compared to southern congos or zambians.

They also seem to have larger pectorals and caudal fins, that could just be my male though because the female is pretty comparable to others shape wise.

I don't buy that the natives people/collector/divers don't know where to get these. I have heard they're collected on the northern congo, which would explain the rareness.

I am sure some breeders are trying to line breed "ink fin" replicas but I regular "Black Calvus" hasn't even been available in the hobby long enough to have line bred the 7 or so generations that it would take to darken a fish to the point that mine is. Let alone the fact that he himself is 6 inches (easily) and that, by itself takes up to ten years in captivity.

Even their eyes seem darker. I can't get a shot of them without their eyes appearing glazed over a bit in the photo.


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

Whatever they are they are a beautiful pair :thumb:

6" that is awesome.

Please keep posting pics :wink:


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## dmiller328 (Nov 17, 2008)

I have been looking for wild black pectoral calvus for awhile also,but I am going to wait till I see them for less than $40 each from importers.The term Inkfin appears to be used vaguely when it comes to black calvus.Razzo's looks like the pics of calvus called Kapampa inkfin,which has highly defined spots and some black in the pecs.My guess is the true black pectoral is caught near lunangwa from research. If it was found north of Kapampa,say Moba or Kitumba, they would probably use the location b/c they are well known. It would make it easier if they would provide the location like every other species being caught though.


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