# calvus breeding



## DENZIO (Jun 16, 2010)

i've seen black calvus tank with dark substrate and it look gorgeous!!!
unfortunately for me, theres no black sand in our LFS but black pebbles/gravel only.

i'm into displaying and hopefully breeding my calvus.
would they breed in dark substrate?

also please show/post your calvus tank with dark substrate.
thank you!


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

They would breed in dark substrate.


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## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

They will breed. "Black" Calvus are dark because they have adapted to the darker substrates where they're collected and vice versa for the lighter variants.


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## DENZIO (Jun 16, 2010)

Wow! Black Calvus really shines in Black substrate..
is it as well NOT a sand but small gravel BoiG?

Thanks mates!

how about their tank size requirement?
i currently got some adult black calvus - 1M 3.5inch and 2F around 3inch in a 4ft tank
right now the male was on the left side and the females on the right 
should i make a divider just to lessen the tank foot print by half?

i'm also planning to put in Juvy goldhead in the other half if possible.
TIA!


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I'd let the black calvus have the "rock dweller" habitat of whole 55G, and instead of another altolamp I'd add shellies and cyps to finish off the tank.

When you bought the adults, were they a proven trio? In other words, the male has spawned successfully and produced fry with both females in the past?

If no, they may not be compatible. If yes, they may just need a couple months to settle in. How long have they been in the tank together.


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## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

I'll 2nd DJ's advice  A trio of Calvus, a dozen dwarf cyps (I know dwarf isn't right  ) and either a pair of Brevis or even 6-8 Similis could make a gorgeous tank! Although if it's a 55, Ideally, I would recommend cyps and calvus.

The only problem I have with keeping Brevis in a community, especially with cyps is that it bugs me to see the brevis swimming in the upper water column with the cyps. My Brevis will swim around with any group, classic little sheep. It just looks out of place to me but I'm a moron when it comes to that stuff :?

I would keep Similis, Calvus and Cyps in a 4 foot 65+ tank with no reservations though. It would probably work to keep all 3 in a 55 it might just look a bit crowded etc.


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## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

I'll 2nd DJ's advice  A trio of Calvus, a dozen dwarf cyps (I know dwarf isn't right  ) and either a pair of Brevis or even 6-8 Similis could make a gorgeous tank! Although if it's a 55, Ideally, I would recommend cyps and calvus.

The only problem I have with keeping Brevis in a community, especially with cyps is that it bugs me to see the brevis swimming in the upper water column with the cyps. My Brevis will swim around with any group, classic little sheep. It just looks out of place to me but I'm a moron when it comes to that stuff :?

I would keep Similis, Calvus and Cyps in a 4 foot 65+ tank with no reservations though. It would probably work to keep all 3 in a 55 it might just look a bit crowded etc.


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## DENZIO (Jun 16, 2010)

Actually its a NO 
the females where proven to spawn but with different male.
i just git this male to some other hobbyist
should i introduce another male or just wait for them to came along..

btw, my tank was a 4ft 75gal tank (4Lx1.5Wx1.5H)
also, what their ideal water temperature requirement for spawning?

TIA guys!


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

78 degrees is good for daily living and spawning, temp does not seem to play a role. I'd give the male six months and see what happens.


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## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

dj's right. initial pairing can be very quick and decisive with calvus but if females have been paired to another male it can take some time to get everyone to try something new


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## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

also that was sand in my tank :thumb:


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## DENZIO (Jun 16, 2010)

Black Tahitian?

sadly it wasn't available at the LFS.
so i think i might be staying with White Silica sand.
here are they.. the goldhead were already removed

















the setup were still pretty new


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

BioG - always like seeing your pics.

Denzio: nice altos 

Your calvus may still get dark with a light colored substrate. Several of mine will get really dark and I have white aragonite as substrate. Their color will change based on mood too. It seems like my males get super dark when there is spawning to be done.


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## DENZIO (Jun 16, 2010)

hi guys!
it was appreciated if anyone can help me re aqua scape my Altos tank that will suits breeding..
it was a standard 75gals tank (48Lx18Wx18H) and this was my current Aqua scape

(3 cascaded photos to complete the whole tank pictures)









thanks in advance!


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## zcfish (Jan 31, 2009)

IMO your scape is fine. If your male hide in one of the breeding cave all the time then I'll remove all the cave that the male can enter. They tend to be shy so too many hiding place may not be good. Not all fish will breed and the only way to find out is to wait some time.


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## DENZIO (Jun 16, 2010)

if the male can also get in the shells.
should i replace them with smaller one?


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## zcfish (Jan 31, 2009)

It's not necessary. My male just make sure the female stays in there to take care of the eggs/fry.


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## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

Mine seem to prefer the biggest conches no matter what variety of other shells I place in the tank.

The thing about shells is that they progressively get smaller the deeper the fish goes into them so, although you can fit a male in the shell, the smaller female can always venture out of reach of the male behind the curtains as it were :thumb:


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## DENZIO (Jun 16, 2010)

one of my female seems to be lost....?
it been 3 days since i last seem her
my guess was she inside one of the shells

uhmm, should pickup the shells to look for her?
or i just leave her for a while somewhere?

tia!


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## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

3 days isn't enough to suspect much. You might do a search around the tank to make sure she didn't jump out but I have had females which prefer not to come out of their shells when spawning for almost 10 days and others that just hang out a couple inches from their shells.


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