# Mixing Calvus with peacocks and yellow labs



## Rayhaan Traboulay (Jun 26, 2006)

Hey All, I was wondering if I could mix Calvus with peacocks, yellow labs and blue dolphins.
I know Calvus are non vegetarian but I'm not sure of the other fishes diet. 
Also what is a good food for these fish.


----------



## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

Most "vegetarian" fish are not really vegetarians as they're generally after the tiny critters within the algae/veggies thus incidentally ingesting the veggies along with their meals. This, however, means that their digestive tract is longer and therefore, in short, not fat friendly. My point is that I feed My Calvus Dainichi Veggie FX regularly as a supplement because the vitamin c is good for them etc. They can survive very well on it as a staple though. Just stay away from foods with high fat, especially animal fat. Honestly, all rift lake cichlids would benefit from low fat high protein.

For example Dainichi Veggie formulas have something like 6% fat 40-42% protein whereas, lower quality foods tend to elevate the fat content as the protein goes up. Low Ash, low fat, high protein no matter what formula, usually equals good food for most adult fish around the globe. Crustaceans and aquatic insects, after all, aren't high in fat or "Ash".

The only other concern is aggression. I think the Peacocks and Dolphins will not even notice their Calvus Tank mates, however, labs may harass and even injure. The Calvus won't acknowledge any of them but are generally stressed by robust, hyper, bossy species like labidochromis or Tropheus. I wouldn't do it but I don't mix lakes either because I'm a prude!  HTH


----------



## TDSapp (Dec 18, 2008)

Rayhaan,

I did this when I first set up my tank. I had 3 Yellow Labs, a couple Electric Blues, and 2 or 3 Peacocks, and a couple Calvus. I was told by the LFS that it would not be a problem and that I just needed to add "Turbo Start 400" to cycle the tank.

So... I later discovered that the Turbo Start does kick off the cycle and the ammonia dropped quickly. However, it did not start the rest of the cycle and it was hard on the fish. I had to do many water changes and discovered that the Calvus were very sensitive to water issues and ended up losing them both.

Besides the water issue I did not have any major problems with the Calvus being picked on by the other fish. It might have been because all the fish were Juvies and being in a 55 gallon tank with plenty of covers and places for the fish to hang out.

What I did have a problem with was during feeding time. One, I was originally told that the Calvus were herbivores when they are really carnivores (thanks DNA). Two, the other fish were really aggressive eaters and would eat just about everything I fed them before the Calvus saw the food and decided to come over to eat. They are very slow, laid back fish that do get a bit stressed with the other fish being so active.

From what I understand the Calvus are also very slow growers and the other fish are going to get bigger faster. It might cause you more problems in the future when they get bigger and the Peacocks and Labs get older and more aggressive.

The biggest problem I can see you are going to have is this; You are going to get endless amounts of harassment from forum members every time you post a stock list or photos of your fish. There are plenty of folks out there that say you should never mix the fish from different lakes, and are more than willing to tell you about it.

Tim


----------



## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

They can be mixed, but the calvus are not likely to be at their best.


----------



## Darkside (Feb 6, 2008)

I always found that comps mixed better with fish from Malawi when compared to calvus. Its doable if you take the time and care to make the setup comfortable for all the parties involved.


----------



## Rayhaan Traboulay (Jun 26, 2006)

thanks guys !


----------

