# Black Calvus



## dillon0990 (Jun 11, 2011)

So i have a brand new 55 that i was going to do a malawi setup in(saulosi tank), but after looking at black calvus i love them. My question is can i do a black calvus species tank. If so how many could i keep happily in a 55?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

You can do a species tank, but know that you may not be able to keep more than one male. I could not keep more than one male in a 72" tank.

This does not bother me, as I find the females just as attractive, just not as big.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

I'd suggest getting 8 juvies and growing them up together. You'll no doubt have to move some but these fish are always in demand and easy to sell. I grew out 3m/5f in a six footer, and they're still together and breeding after 4.5 years. Depends on temperment, you never know. My males sparred at maturity, but no damage and once settled all is fine. At the very least you should end up with a male and a few females. My females will school around together at times. Starting with 8 gives you better odds at geting a good ratio. They're not that expensive as juvies and they'll take a long time to grow out. You may want to get seomthing else for the tank while you're waiting for them to reach maturity. Paracyps would be nice. They'll bring the calvus out and will mix nicely, I think.


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## dillon0990 (Jun 11, 2011)

yeah *** heard that they grow very slow. how long does it take one to reach its full size? *** also read an article in the library and it says their best kept with a black sand because it brings out their color better, is that true? What type of setup do they like? rocks? i need to do a little more research. I seen some for sale online, 8 F1 Alto. Black Congo calvus for 75 bucks plus shipping. does that sound like a reasonable price? thats at 1 inch. sorry if im asking a lot of questions im still in the beginning stages of research. i have never read much about tangs so any advice you can give is appreciated. One last thing..what is their actual full size. the library says 6 inches for males and 4 for females, i think. On the website where their being sold it says their max size is 2.5-4 inches.


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## Daxx (Aug 29, 2011)

ill like to know more about these aswell.
as they will be part of my 92 comunity tank in the lets hope near future.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> yeah I've heard that they grow very slow. how long does it take one to reach its full size?


Males, maybe an inch or so per year? My males are about 5" now. My females are about 2.5".



> I've also read an article in the library and it says their best kept with a black sand because it brings out their color better, is that true?


I keep white calvus and their color can change with mood. I understand the idea behind black sand, but sort of makes fish out to be chameleons. I've not known my to try to blend into their environment that way. I don't think there's any black sand in the lake.



> What type of setup do they like? rocks?


Yes



> I seen some for sale online, 8 F1 Alto. Black Congo calvus for 75 bucks plus shipping. does that sound like a reasonable price? thats at 1 inch


$8-$10 for juvies is about right. Check the reviews section for sources. Can't get into that here.



> what is their actual full size. the library says 6 inches for males and 4 for females, i think. On the website where their being sold it says their max size is 2.5-4 inches.


I think it can vary a bit, like anything. I'd say 5-6" for males, and 2.5-4" for females is about right.



> i have never read much about tangs so any advice you can give is appreciated.


Altos mix well in many tang community tanks. Feed a good pellet, keep your buffers up so pH doesn't crash and they'll be good. I've found them to be unrattled even by more aggressive tank mates. They bend away from the aggression so their scales stick out a bit, and that provides their defense. Scales are designed to be unpleasant to bite, apparently. I've never seen them flee from aggression. Mine have been pretty laid back and docile. They've never gone looking for trouble. My 'white' calvus turned jet black when they reached maturity. Now they've gone back to more white. I also keep yellow comps. There are many nice variants out there. Never mix them. There's a good thread going here.

HTH


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## dillon0990 (Jun 11, 2011)

This helps alot thank you. I saw the pics of your calvus, they look awesome.


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## dillon0990 (Jun 11, 2011)

whats the difference between an inkfin calvus and a black calvus?


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

dillon0990 said:


> whats the difference between an inkfin calvus and a black calvus?


An "Inkfin" is a race of "Black" Calvus from one hard to collect coast of the lake. Pure "Inkfin" are rarer and are even blacker or have finer spotting. Just plain "Black" can be very nice anyway.


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## dillon0990 (Jun 11, 2011)

Which you you buy.. F1 congo black calvus or F1 "inkfin" black calvus... their both the same price


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## jrf (Nov 10, 2009)

IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢d go for a variant with a specific collection point Ã¢â‚¬â€œ like the Congo Black. True Inkfins are rare and a lot of sellers seem to misuse the term.

My Calvus were sold to me as Inkfins, and now that are full grown I can say they definitely are not Inkfins. Since I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have a proper collection point, the only honest term I can use for them and their fry is Black Calvus.


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## dillon0990 (Jun 11, 2011)

These are all coming from the same seller. Looks like he deals a lot with WC tangs and breeds them. Since he selling both black and inkfin i figure he might be telling the truth. If i have him send me a pic of them or his adults hes breeding do you think you could confirm they are true "inkfin"?


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## jrf (Nov 10, 2009)

Photos of the pectoral fins on the adults could help if youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re dealing with someone you trust, but itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not definitive if the seller wishes to deceive you. When my AltoÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s are in breeding mood or fighting with each other, they could pass for Inks Ã¢â‚¬â€œ their fins are solid black. But, in their normal color mood the fins are too translucent to be real Inkfins.

ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s also not just a problem with dishonest sellers. IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m positive my seller believed he sold me true Inkfins. HeÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a local breeder and has a good reputation in our local fish community. It turns out that he was simply mistaken.

No matter what you go with, AltoÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s are great fish and I think youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll enjoy them. I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t like mine any less now that I know they arenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t true Inks. Personally, IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢d just prefer to have a better ID of what I have swimming around my tanks.


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## dillon0990 (Jun 11, 2011)

so if he says their inkfins and believes they are but end up not being it would be the same as buying the congo black ones hes selling correct? so since their the exact same price do i just buy the inkfin ones in hopes they turn out to be true inkfins? if they end up not being i still got the same fish correct? sorry if a bit confusing im in a rush lol


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## jrf (Nov 10, 2009)

If they turn out not to be Inks, and you will not know until they are adults, you canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t say with certainty what they are. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not a huge deal if youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re not selling fry, but a correct ID with the collection point is nice to know when you are selling and if you ever plan to buy more of the same variant to pair off unpaired males.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

This is why I really dislike using anything but scientific names and collections points. No altos are inkfins and they're all inkfins. It's meaningless. I can label a fish with any common name that I want to and who's to say it's not. If the seller sold you a fish labeled 'inkfin' then that's what it is. On the other hand, if the seller wants to tag a common name onto the end after the scientific name and collection point as an aid to the buyer, that's understandable.

I just did a quick check of one breeder and he does list them the proper way. At least in terms of indicating collection point.

Altolamprologus calvus Congo 'Black' 
Altolamprologus calvus Kapampa 'Inkfin'

But I found another well respected breeder who has black calvus collected from Zambia and inkfins collected from Congo.



> I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have a proper collection point, the only honest term I can use for them and their fry is Black Calvus.


That's correct. You can also call them 'Midnight' calvus or 'Dark' calvus or anything you want to. No rules when it comes to common names.



> When my AltoÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s are in breeding mood or fighting with each other, they could pass for Inks Ã¢â‚¬â€œ their fins are solid black. But, in their normal color mood the fins are too translucent to be real Inkfins.


This does not define 'species'. Inkfin does not indicate a species. If he sold them as inkfins, that's what they are.

What you are looking for instead is a calvus that retains jet black fins throughout it's life, if such a thing exists. Call it what you want to. And what you need to know is where these fish are collected from. Then you need to look for fish collected from that location. If it's Kapamba, then it's a matter of asking if they're really from 'Kapamba', are they 'real' Kapamba's.

Last thought, if you buy any calvus, black or inkfin, expecting it to be jet black all the time, you could end up being very disappointed. Common labels are marketing tools.



> if you ever plan to buy more of the same variant to pair off unpaired males.


This is how well meaning hobbyists unknowingly hybridize. Very difficult to be sure that you're mixing same collection points with these fish. I'd say almost impossible unless you have a real direct connection to the collector.

I hope this doesn't come across as a rant.


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## jrf (Nov 10, 2009)

Rant or not, can't disagree with anything you've said.


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## dillon0990 (Jun 11, 2011)

I like all the info. It all helps me out a ton! thanks for taking your time to write all that lol.


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## jrf (Nov 10, 2009)

As a side note, if we start seeing "Midnight" Calvus now, I'm blaming prov. :lol:



prov356 said:


> You can also call them 'Midnight' calvus or 'Dark' calvus or anything you want to.


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## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

lol :lol: opcorn:


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## dillon0990 (Jun 11, 2011)

Is it true that they are a hard fish to care for? I was also told that they hide most the time so u don't see them very much. Are they not very active fish?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

dillon0990 said:


> Is it true that they are a hard fish to care for? I was also told that they hide most the time so u don't see them very much. Are they not very active fish?


IME they're not any harder to care for than any other tang rock dweller. They do appreciate tankmates, as it does bring them out more.


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## jrf (Nov 10, 2009)

Calvus were the first fish I ever kept and they survived my incompetence just fine. So no, I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t think theyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re a difficult fish to keep. Trying to grow out Calvus from fry to 1Ã¢â‚¬Â


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## dillon0990 (Jun 11, 2011)

thanks guys for all the help!!


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## Norm66 (Mar 3, 2005)

Great thread. FWIW my comps and calves rarely hide but both tanks have dithers (cyps in one and guppies in the other). They'd some of my favorites.


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## dillon0990 (Jun 11, 2011)

someone told me cyps are too small for 55 gal.


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## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

dwarf cyps are not. "Blue Flash", "Utinta", "kerenge" etc.

Also, you may want to keep your top tight because some Calvus battles can take competitors right out of the tank! It is especially disappointing to find a 4 inch calvus dried up on the floor when you know it takes 5-6 years to grow them to that size!


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Altolamprologus calvus Kapampa 'Inkfin' do not breed true. If you realy want inkfin you have to see the fish as an adult.
Stuff bred from em can be a big disapointment to the buyer.

But if you get real inkfin do not waiste em in a community tank.
They are super expensive when genuine about 1 in 100 of Kapampa "Inkfin" young will show Inkfin colours when adult.

Yep a 55g is fine for breeding em.

No way if you get genuine inkfin mix em with anything.

All the best James


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## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

my family of true inks:

Dad








notice the "Ink" fin at the pectoral. Even though the rest of the body is neutrally colored up
mom








the kids... Thoght I had pics of them on the LT. got to go out to the fish room and post the kids


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## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

...and the kids!


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