# Altolamproloogus calvus (BCWP)



## Razzo

Hey Guys,

It has been a very busy summer for me with work and I haven't spent much time photographing my fish. I had a shipment of F1 calvus earlier this week so I thought I'd take a few photos. I probably had close to 200 fry in this group and now, with Monday's shipment, I am under 50  I guess it is time to start saving some new born fry again.

In any event, I pulled a group of the larger fry (at 2", I should probably call them juvies instead of fry) and put them in a 10 gallon tank for photography purposes. I got my photos and shipped most of the group on Monday. Here are some "no flash" pictures of them...

Please click on the images to see them "full size"

*F1 Altolamproloogus calvus (Black Congo White Pearl)*


















In addition to having the largest white pearls of any calvus, the BCWP's have a yellow trait that appears on many of their foreheads.
It is hard to say; but, I'd guess that well over 60% of them have yellow foreheads.



























I hope you enjoyed the photos 

Russ


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## des

Great photos Razzo! You ever think about doing full size prints?


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## Norm66

Beautiful fish. and great pics as always. Thanks for sharing.


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## Razzo

des said:


> Great photos Razzo! You ever think about doing full size prints?


Thanks guys 

Hey Des, what do you mean? Whatja thinking?

Russ


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## starplayer

You seem to have a never ending supply of nice Altos Raz.
Great pics.


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## jrf

Even without a flash, those photos turned out great. Very nice looking Calvus - wish I had some extra tank space for some of them.


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## Razzo

Thanks guys - I'll try to put up a couple more pics soon. October has been a very busy month with my normal job and seasonal farm work on the weekends.

Russ


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## DrgRcr

Great shots! I'm hoping to get a pair of Calvus in the near future when I switch over a 75g to a Tanganyika tank.

What is the fish in your avatar?


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## Razzo

DrgRcr said:


> Great shots! I'm hoping to get a pair of Calvus in the near future when I switch over a 75g to a Tanganyika tank.
> 
> What is the fish in your avatar?


Thank you 

That fish in my current avatar is a wild Enantiopus kilesa male who is displaying.

Russ


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## DrgRcr

I thought so! Awesome!


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## sdsimmons

awsome fish.


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## Razzo

Just an update on the calvus - they are almost two years old. I kept a couple for myself and have recently added them to my Muzi gold head tank. The wild Muzis males are significantly bigger but they don't seem to care about the calvus. Here are a few pics from the past couple days. They are somewhere between 2 and 2.5 inches.

Hope you enoy the pics 

*Altolamprologus calvus (Black Congo White Pearl)*


















Looks like he has taken on a little battle damage


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## Razzo

A few recent pics of their wild caught parents


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## skurj

I am gonna make that drive to Indiana one day this summer!

My blacks look nothing like those, but they weren't sold to me as BCWP either.


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## endoice

Wow. Not only are the altos amazing but the photography.... breathless.

Are there any **** available by any chance?


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## Razzo

endoice said:


> Wow. Not only are the altos amazing but the photography.... breathless.
> 
> Are there any fry available by any chance?


Thank you for the kind words 

endoice, I do sell and ship fry. I will send you a private message 

Russ


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## bigwaverider

Razzo you got at any white calvus??????

Not that I need them now but probably in 6 months.


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## Razzo

bigwaverider said:


> Razzo you got at any white calvus??????
> 
> Not that I need them now but probably in 6 months.


Sorry big W, I do not


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## Razzo

I have been having fun photographing the F1 juvies. The two that I saved to grow out have been adjusting nicely to their new digs in the Muzi tank. They are starting to feel comfortable, are coloring up, and moving around a lot without fear. The two of them are working out their pecking order and when they do that they can get really dark (which I love).

These first two pics are not the greatest but they do show some interesting behavior and how dark they can get when they want


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## Razzo

A few more pics that I liked... the gape


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## Razzo

And a few more,... portraits 

That classic yellow/gold forehead that most of my Black Congo White Pearl calvus fry have


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## Razzo




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## Razzo

I thought that would update this post: I saved a couple calvus BCWP fry for myself and have been growing them out in my Muzi gold head tank along with a few orange fin comps that I am growing out too. These calvus have got to be getting close to 4"  My plan is to grow out a few altolamps from several species and to put them in a show tank featuring some Mikula gibberosa. Here are a few pics of the calvus BCWP that are in my Muzi tank. Hope you like...










This one is my favorite. He's got a little bit of battle damage at the front of his dorsal fin (shame bc he could have been a show fish). He also has some gold lace around the edge of his fins.


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## Deeda

Beautiful pics, as always.

Wow, 4" already? Must be the Indiana water.


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## Razzo

Deeda said:


> Beautiful pics, as always.
> 
> Wow, 4" already? Must be the Indiana water.


Thank you 

I stand corrected, I measured, they are 3"


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## Razzo

I put some green plants behind a normal photo spot to see how if it helps. The calvus were a little shy after the change but I was able to zoom in a bit and get a few pics.


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## Jaimemuffin

beautiful pics! Do you still sell some of these beautiful fish? I'm looking to get into tang tank keeping!


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## Razzo

Jaimemuffin said:


> beautiful pics! Do you still sell some of these beautiful fish? I'm looking to get into tang tank keeping!


Thank you and yes. I have a group of fry that are just starting to reach 1.25"

Please shoot me a PM if you would to continue this discussion 

Russ


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## Razzo

I noticed that my favorite female calvus was guarding a shell pretty closely. So, I decided to start watching to see when some new born fry might be peaking their little noses out of the mouth of the nursery shell. I had saved a clutch of Muzi gold head comp fry the week before; so, I thought, "why not a clutch of calvus fry too>" :roll:

Call me crazy 

I added these little calvus to, approximately, an equal number of Muzi gold head comp fry in a 10 gallon nursery tank.










No more!


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## Dawg2012

Razzo said:


> No more!


Right :lol: . How many times have you said that?

I hope I have a small fraction of the luck you have with these guys . I lost one Calvus but the others are doing well. They don't like food so much but love live brine shrimp.


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## Razzo

Dawg2012 said:


> Razzo said:
> 
> 
> 
> No more!
> 
> 
> 
> Right :lol: . How many times have you said that?
> 
> I hope I have a small fraction of the luck you have with these guys . I lost one Calvus but the others are doing well. They don't like food so much but love live brine shrimp.
Click to expand...

Hmmmm :? They were really great eaters and would readily take anything I put in front of them. Can you get that two week sample of the HBH Staple Flake that I packed for each you and Stori? They also ate NLS Grow readily too. Call me when you get a chance today - they should be good eaters again by now.

Russ


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## Razzo

Dawg2012 said:


> Razzo said:
> 
> 
> 
> No more!
> 
> 
> 
> I hope I have a small fraction of the luck you have with these guys .
Click to expand...

Once they get closer to maturity, I would be happy to download what I have learned over the years. With altolamp fry, it has been one big learning curve. I just refused to except that altolamps will have a mass die off and I have obsessed to overcome it. I have had some good success and do have a set back once in a while. Trying some new things on this latest batch of calvus fry that seems to be working really well. Doing pretty good at the 1 month point but the real indicator of how well you are doing is to get them to the two month point without the massive die off. You think you are doing great and then you wake up one morning and half of them have die. There has got to be a reason for that. I haven't had a massive die off in a long time and Lord willing I won't with this newest batch.

I have learned that new altolamp fry require a lot of attention.

Russ


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## Iggy Newcastle

My batch of 10 calvus from Russ ate the provided flake within hours of being introduced. Dawg- do you have any intimidating tank mates with them?


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## Storiwyr

Razzo said:


> Hmmmm :? They were really great eaters and would readily take anything I put in front of them. Can you get that two week sample of the HBH Staple Flake that I packed for each you and Stori? They also ate NLS Grow readily too. Call me when you get a chance today - they should be good eaters again by now.


Mine are eating well. Maybe if you're feeding them brine shrimp they are like "Screw the healthy stuff, we want candy!" ... have you tried not feeding them BS and just doing the NLS? I DO still have the Staple Flake if you want it, Dawg.  You can come pick it up from me whenever, or if we're in your area, we can drop it off. Just text me and let me know.


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## Iggy Newcastle

One other thing to add- tried NLS cichlid formula for the first time and they went crazy for it.


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## Dawg2012

Iggy Newcastle said:


> My batch of 10 calvus from Russ ate the provided flake within hours of being introduced. Dawg- do you have any intimidating tank mates with them?


Nope - they have a 33L all to themselves... Well, with the exception of one Rubber Lip Pleco. A full tank shot is below.

I think it's partly shock (traveling, and I'm sure our cats get on the table the tank is next to when I'm gone  ) and partly me being paranoid.

I've done the 1mm NLS a couple of times. I think I should presoak it. One Comp went around and took every pellet in his mouth and subsequently spit it out for the next one... finally keeping the last one lol.

I'll cut down the live brine shrimp based on your PM Russ, and see if the LFS has BBS instead. I'll try the NLS again and presoak this time... and yes Stori, I might have to brave Beaverton traffic and come get some of the staple flake - they might just want something familiar. I tried my Omega One flake and they just kind of looked at it... unimpressed.

The Calvus spend a lot of time sitting on the bottom, and are pale when they do. Mind you it's only a 12" tall tank... when I put some LBS in there they get dark and wait until one is close then suck it up and dart away like they think there's a heron watching from above lol.

I know Calvus are sensitive. It took my one at work two weeks to finally come out and eat. I just REALLY love these guys! I'm so paranoid something is going to go wrong. I take heart that they respond and eat the LBS... this tells me they're not totally in shock.

Any comment on the tank setup that may help GO FOR IT - I want them to thrive.

Oh, I have added a bunch of... whale eye shells... the same kind you get for shellies. They like the shells, and hang out by them, though they don't use them.

I'll get exact parameters tonight. There's no ammonia or nitrite, and nitrates are less than 10. My API kit says the pH is 8.2. I measured GH and KH the other night but don't remember the results - I do believe one was high and the other about mid range. I'll find out for sure.


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## Razzo

Dawg2012 said:


> Iggy Newcastle said:
> 
> 
> 
> My batch of 10 calvus from Russ ate the provided flake within hours of being introduced. Dawg- do you have any intimidating tank mates with them?
> 
> 
> 
> I think it's partly shock (traveling, and I'm sure our cats get on the table the tank is next to when I'm gone  ) and partly me being paranoid.
> 
> I've done the 1mm NLS a couple of times. I think I should presoak it. One Comp went around and took every pellet in his mouth and subsequently spit it out for the next one... finally keeping the last one lol.
> 
> I'll cut down the live brine shrimp based on your PM Russ, and see if the LFS has BBS instead. I'll try the NLS again and presoak this time... and yes Stori, I might have to brave Beaverton traffic and come get some of the staple flake - they might just want something familiar. I tried my Omega One flake and they just kind of looked at it... unimpressed.
> 
> *The Calvus spend a lot of time sitting on the bottom, and are pale when they do.* Mind you it's only a 12" tall tank... when I put some LBS in there they get dark and wait until one is close then suck it up and dart away like they think there's a heron watching from above lol.
> 
> I know Calvus are sensitive. It took my one at work two weeks to finally come out and eat. I just REALLY love these guys! I'm so paranoid something is going to go wrong. I take heart that they respond and eat the LBS... this tells me they're not totally in shock.
Click to expand...

Hey John,

Sitting on the bottom/pale is not right. Shipping shock should no longer be an issue and can be ruled out because your fish and Stori's fish came from the same tank and were shipped together and her's are doing well (eating & moving about). Whatever the issue is, it has something to do with their current environment - we just need to figure out what it is. If your water parameters are good (btw: *were you able to verify that?*), my next suspect is the brine shrimp. Did they eat that initially? I don't feed brine shrimp because their skeleton can be hard on the internals of some cichlids. If they ate any BS, this could be one of the problems????

You altos were great eaters and readily took anything I would put in front of them. I give them a variety to help them readily accept whatever their new owners might give them. They should eagerly gobble up NLS or any cichlid flake. I would get that two week sample of HBH Flake I sent that was left at Stori's house.

At this point, our suspects are water conditions and the BS you fed them. Please update with a current test of your parameters and clarify how much BS they consumed.

Thanks,
Russ


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## Dawg2012

I got some of the food from Stori. Most if not all of them ate. 

I confirmed parameters are still as stated, though I didn't check hardness as I had another tank situation come up. I'm going to do a 25% water change today.

The day I got them, they were in good shape. Most were good color, and all hanging out under the rock (like in the initial pics I sent and my Avatar). One was pale and sitting on the bottom - didn't figure he'd make it, but I think he has.

When I got up the next morning, one of the Calvus had died, and all of them had moved to the far left side of the tank. Pale and just hanging out. The one pale one was still where he always was lol. They had not eaten any BS yet.

I fed them BS maybe four or five times after maybe... day 3, but no more. I stopped after your PM. They have now eaten the food you sent twice (last night and this morning). I'm going to try NLS this afternoon after soaking.

Currently they do move around a bit, and kind of jostle for territory. When I fed them this morning, it kind of took them a minute to wake up, then they all ate. They darken up when they eat. As I sat next to the tank working on a project, I did see them out and about - but easily spooked. The Calvus much more so than the Comps.

I'm thinking it's the cats. There's a table right in front of the tank. The cats aren't allowed on the table but I know they get up there when I'm not home. I may move that tank into the bedroom where the cats don't go and see if that helps. That's not going to make the GF happy but... at least we'll know if that's the problem and can go from there. I will update in the morning. I don't do the internet at home.


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## Storiwyr

Maybe you need some dithers in the tank? What do you think, Razzo? I know my first batch of Calvus were all just like Dawg describes. They perked up when we added the Cyps. Then again, those were Calvus of questionable health to begin with. I just don't have a comparison with my new guys, since the Cyps have been in there the whole time. My three cats leave the tanks alone for the most part. Hmmm.

Trying to think of things I do differently ... I wouldn't be surprised if our water came from the same reservoir and everything, Dawg ... Being in Public Health, I have some connections at the Water Bureau, I can find out if there's any difference between our water in terms of additives and the like, if you want me to check into it? I use Prime, and I believe you do too. I also use the Rift Lake Buffer on my Tang tank, that I purchased from our LFS. I know it's not necessary for the most part, but if your hardness is weird, maybe that's why? I'm not sure if it would be a good idea to change the water chemistry with a buffer if they're already acting a little weird. I defer to Razzo's expertise on that one. I know it's generally accepted that adding things to the water is not a good idea since it can lead to instability, I just started doing it when I stocked the tank and now I don't want to stop because I don't want to swing the tank's parameters, and because everyone in there now seems healthy and happy. I just wonder because of what I've read about Altos being more sensitive to water chemistry. I'm trying to think of ways our fish keeping may differ.


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## Razzo

Sounds like things are improving! That is good news.

You don't want cats on the table anyways (kitty litter paws) :lol:

Russ


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## Dawg2012

When I started with Tangs I initially wanted to make the water perfect... but then read that stability was more important. I also used to test with the test strips - but now have an API kit. All my new tanks use Seachem African Cichlid sand, and I'm finding that the pH is exactly 8.2 in all of these tanks - so now I don't do anything... which is much easier for me. I've always excelled at doing nothing.

I will test everything tonight and post pictures - in case I'm not seeing something.

Here's an updated shot of the tank with the shells... and you can see the table in front. I'm betting it's the cats. Can you imagine looking at them head level from the tank... and I wouldn't put it past the cats to get on top of the tank at night. Ugh...


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## Dawg2012

I've posted a thread in the Tank Setups area about water parameters. The 33L Comp/Calvus tank is used as an example. All parameters are listed there, as well as my tap water parameters.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=248958

Stori, yes, any information would be useful, if it's not any trouble.

I did notice a tiny fraction more activity after about a 20% water change - but mostly all the Calvus are just sitting on the bottom 90% of the time. The Comps are a bit more active.

Maybe the tank is too short... maybe they feel... too close to the surface, thus threatened?

I'm currently changing tanks all around as I'm having an issue with the guppy tank, and I have my 125 setup - so I'll have a spare 55 soon. I may set that up in the bedroom and put them in it if things don't change - that would help both with the cats and the potential surface claustrophobia.

Any input on water parameters would be appreciated. Thanks for everyone's help - I want these little guys to make it, and thrive. :drooling:

p.s. Also curious about dithers. Nobody has non-jumbo Cyps right now but I could order some


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## Iggy Newcastle

Maybe try turning the shells around so the opening is to the rear of the tank. A few of my calvus sit in their shell or right on top of it. They are still a bit skittish, and retreat when any fast movement is close to the tank. Or maybe cover up the tank with a blanket for a few days, and only removing it to feed/check on them. Just an idea.

Good luck on figuring out if you have an issue with your water, but I bet it's okay.

The problem that I'm having is their dispostion. I'm surprised on how aggressive they are with one another. No physical damage done so far, but I'm certainly keeping a close eye on them.


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## Dawg2012

Great news! I added some dithers (Cyps and Caudopunks) on Monday and things picked up significantly. I then added some Brevis yesterday. Everyone is out and about and generally acting like Cichlids.

I know Shellies aren't a good long term thing necessarily with Calvus and Comps but... right now all are juvies about the same size and everyone just brings everyone else out - it's worked out nicely.

The Calvus are right in the middle of seemingly everything, defending little territories and harassing everyone. The Comps seem a little above the drama - but are still quite lively and active. One comp is a little larger and more colorful and has claimed dominance. Gorgeous fish. I couldn't be happier.

I got some black worms to feed. They seem to love them and they keep in the fridge much better than LBS. I feed with these once a day and one or two other feedings use the flake Razzo sent or the 1mm NLS pellets. I do notice they take both the flake and pellet in and chew, then spit some out. For the pellets this happens several times. It's tough to determine if they actually swallow any of it...

Thanks for the input and ideas. Right now all is well :thumb:


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## Iggy Newcastle

Good to hear. My calvus also chew on the presoaked NLS and spit. Thought about picking up some .5mm NLS grow...


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## Razzo

Glad to hear that John :dancing:

I know what it is like to worry about them. Glad things are improving and you can start enjoying them!

Russ


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## Razzo

Update: I still have those two F1 Altolamprologus calvus Black Congo White Pearl juvies that I saved from one of my first batches of fry. They are about 3.5 to 4" (I wonder at what point you stop calling them juvies. They have graduated to the frontosa tank 

Here's a couple pics....


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## Razzo

As mentioned above, this guy was one of the first batches of F1 Altolamprologus calvus (Black Congo White Pearl) that my wild group ever produced. He is a few years old by now.



















And here is the latest generation of F1 Altolamp fry in the fish room. This is a 55 gallon tank and I have been using it to grow out the latest F1 batches of A. calvus BCWP fry and F1 A. compressiceps Muzi gold head fry. There was 70 more in there a few weeks ago that I shipped a southern state. My best guess, they are approx. ¾" to 1"


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## 02redz28

I miss having my breeding setups with tons of good looking baby fish. Beautiful Altos!


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## Dawg2012

Russ, that's exciting.

I still have eleven of the twelve I got from you, and I finally found a food they absolutely LOVE, so now they are eating like little pigs. Beautiful fish for sure, thanks again.

They inhabit a 75 with tons of lace rock, eight Cyps, a long Multi and a big Pleco. They are doing fantastic.


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## Razzo

Dawg2012 said:


> Russ, that's exciting.
> 
> I still have eleven of the twelve I got from you, and I finally found a food they absolutely LOVE, so now they are eating like little pigs. Beautiful fish for sure, thanks again.
> 
> They inhabit a 75 with tons of lace rock, eight Cyps, a long Multi and a big Pleco. They are doing fantastic.


That's awesome. How big are they now? Of course, as you know, I love pictures :wink:


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## Razzo

I guess I'll leak some info that I have been keeping quite for a few months.... these fry groups pictured (calvus BCWP & Muzi gold head comp) are the last altolamp fry that I will be producing/raising. I no longer own the wild parents and the current owner of them has no desire to deal with altolamp fry.

All part of the downsizing that I have been doing this past year.

So, this is it folks. My efforts will shift to my Mikula gibbs.










Take care,
Russ


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## metricliman

NOOO!!! Why'd you sell them?


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## ratbones86

WHAT?! NOOOOO! I wanted some of these guys dangit lol


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## Razzo

metricliman said:


> NOOO!!! Why'd you sell them?


Part of the downsizing plan. I traded them as part of the deal with my buddy to get his allstar F0 Cyphotilapia gibberosa Mikula group. Both of us love both species and both gave up something we both really liked. This friend had been a long time importer and I was blessed to get some hand picked wild stock. I benefited from that with some choice wild altolamps and now I have his allstar group of wild Mikula gibbersoa that he hand picked from hundreds (possibly thousands) of pieces that came into the country. So, I still get to see some of the altolamps (however, F1 fry/juvies that I have grown out for myself) and I get to enjoy, perhaps the premiere group of Mikula gibbs, in the country.

I will still get to enjoy the altolamp fry that I have grown out and kept for myself and my buddy has done the same with fry from the gibbs.

It's all good except I will no longer be pumping these rare beauties into the hobby anymore.

That's my story and I am sticking to it 

Russ


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## Razzo

ratbones86 said:


> WHAT?! NOOOOO! I wanted some of these guys dangit lol


Dude, you and I both live in the same state :wink: 

Feedback and demand for these fry the past few years has been nothing short of amazing.

That fry picture is current and I have about 200 to 300 that I will start shipping the 2nd week of February. Out of respect for this sites rules, I will not discuss sales on the forums. Private Messages are the appropriate forum for that and I will be happy to reply to any PMs.

Sincerely,
Russ


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## Razzo

Just an update: few pics of the juvie that I put in my frontosa tank 

He is showing off that BCWP yellow forehead


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## Razzo

Here's the other brother that is in the 72. Plan to add him into the 240 in a few weeks...


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## Razzo

Did some re-aquascaping and got a nice image at feeding time tonight...

Hope you like


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## Razzo

One of the treats in a threads like this is to document the development of a group of fry through the years. In this case, one fish in particular "Butkas" (some may remember that old post). Butkas is/was a fiesty alpha in the making. I had my eye on him early and kept him for a grow out group.

I first got this idea with my first group of C. gibberosa Kapampa fry

He came from my very first group of fry a few years ago


















Not long after this is when he first started to make an impression









This is when I first began to pick him out. He was the boss of this rock and he posed for a lot of pictures trying to intimidate the other calvus who liked his rock.



























A little bit larger - he had an overdose of the gold lace on his fins


















Here he is, he ended up taking some battle damage on his dorsal fin









The gold lace ended up being his defining characteristic









Here's his most recent pic. he is closing in on four inches now:


















Here's his brother that I kept from the same group too (they both are in different tanks at this time)









Hope you enjoyed the trip down memory lane....

Russ


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## Razzo

Just a couple more from the calvus BCWP that I am growing out in the 240 with the fronts. He's got to be at least four inches by now - they actually grow up :lol:


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## joehorse20

awesome, love them? Do you sell them?


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## Razzo

joehorse20 said:


> awesome, love them? Do you sell them?


Hey Joe,

Yes I do. Best if we continue this conversation via PM. Please shoot me a PM 

Thanks,
Russ


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## LouIE82

I'm turning my lap top toward my fish tank and shaking my fist at my calvus. "you guys need to look like this!!!" :x

In all seriousness, Razzo when you feed them shrimp do you thaw it in water or rinse it in anyway? I tossed some into my tank a few times and noticed a light oil layer on the surface of my tank later. I saw it as a problem since I figure the oil will coat the top and not allow oxygen so I took my time skimming to get rid of it, looks okay now. I was thinking maybe put the shrimp in a thin net and rinse? Please sir, share your secret. :wink:


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## Razzo

LouIE82 said:


> I'm turning my lap top toward my fish tank and shaking my fist at my calvus. "you guys need to look like this!!!" :x
> 
> In all seriousness, Razzo when you feed them shrimp do you thaw it in water or rinse it in anyway? I tossed some into my tank a few times and noticed a light oil layer on the surface of my tank later. I saw it as a problem since I figure the oil will coat the top and not allow oxygen so I took my time skimming to get rid of it, looks okay now. I was thinking maybe put the shrimp in a thin net and rinse? Please sir, share your secret. :wink:


LOL :lol:

Couple things, first off is the quality of the group. My former importer is a friend (he has since retired) - he hand picked some choice specimens for me. Next is the species & collection point: Black Congo White Pearl is known for having the largest pearls of any calvus. Then there is the yellow forehead, that rarely comes in from the lake and my buddy picked my group for me and I ended up with 5 out of 6 wild group with it. I am routinely told by people that I am about the only person who consistently has the yellow forehead on my F1 fry. Again, that's because the adults have it and the male that did all the spawning has it "over the top." Pun intended :wink:

Of course, I didn't not participate in the creation of these beautiful fish (wild or F1) - all glory goes to my Heavenly Father.

As to feeding frozen foods: these fish mostly eat NLS pellets. Fry occasionally get a frozen treat. I thaw in a coffee cup filled with tap. Once thawed, I strain off most of the water and waste the rises in the water column into the sink.

F1 Juvie pic with that "over the top" yellow









F1 Fry pic









Hope that helps  
Russ


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## LouIE82

Thanks as always, I used your method to feed shrimp today, no oily rainbow on the surface of my water. My smallest black calvus does show yellow on his head, I'm hoping he doesn't lose coloring since he isn't the dominant calvus. I've thought about pulling him and letting him grow in a separate tank so he could be the boss later but I'm so short on space.


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## Razzo

LouIE82 said:


> Thanks as always, I used your method to feed shrimp today, no oily rainbow on the surface of my water. My smallest black calvus does show yellow on his head, I'm hoping he doesn't lose coloring since he isn't the dominant calvus. I've thought about pulling him and letting him grow in a separate tank so he could be the boss later but I'm so short on space.


Glad that helped


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## johnchor

hello guys,

how do you speed up the growth rate of Altolamproloogus calvus?
1) will increasing aeration helps?
2) weekly 50% water changes helps?

any other methods?

thanks


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## Razzo

johnchor said:


> hello guys,
> 
> how do you speed up the growth rate of Altolamproloogus calvus?
> 1) will increasing aeration helps?
> 2) weekly 50% water changes helps?
> 
> any other methods?
> 
> thanks


In my experience, with altolamp fry, the following can help speed up growth rates:

1) Power feeding with high protein foods.
2) Frequent water changes: 30 to 40% every few days.
3) Tank footprint to quantity of fish ratio.

Hope that helps.

Russ


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## johnchor

helo razzo

1) Power feeding with high protein foods. 
i am feeding hikari sinking pallets, is this good enough? how about frozen blood worms, are they good for calvus growth?

2) Frequent water changes: 30 to 40% every few days.
ok noted on this one

3) Tank footprint to quantity of fish ratio.
i am keeping 6 juviles (1.5inch) in a 4ft 67gallon tank below my main all male tank.


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## johnchor

sorry another question

how fast do they grow? 0.5 inch in 6 months?

thanks


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## johnchor

sorry one more question
how do u sex them at 1.5 inch?

thanks


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## nudge

razzo, those are stunning!


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## ratbones86

johnchor said:


> sorry another question
> 
> how fast do they grow? 0.5 inch in 6 months?
> 
> thanks


Very freaking slow...lol


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## ratbones86

johnchor said:


> sorry one more question
> how do u sex them at 1.5 inch?
> 
> thanks


You don't you give best guess to coloration, and Hope to god your right. Remember they get 5-6" so you vent later. but can normally tell before that based on coloration and also their behavior, kinda at least with the dominate one anyway.


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## Razzo

johnchor said:


> sorry another question
> 
> how fast do they grow? 0.5 inch in 6 months?
> 
> thanks


My best was 0.75" in four months.


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## Razzo

johnchor said:


> sorry one more question
> how do u sex them at 1.5 inch?
> 
> thanks


I do not.


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## johnchor

hello razzo,

wow 0.75" in four months, thats impressive. how did you do it?

btw whats the difference between black and white calvus?
is it the color on the head is black or white?
the juvillines of black and white calvus looks similar to me. :lol:



Razzo said:


> johnchor said:
> 
> 
> 
> sorry another question
> 
> how fast do they grow? 0.5 inch in 6 months?
> 
> thanks
> 
> 
> 
> My best was 0.75" in four months.
Click to expand...


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## Razzo

johnchor said:


> hello razzo,
> 
> wow 0.75" in four months, thats impressive. how did you do it?...
> 
> 
> Razzo said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> johnchor said:
> 
> 
> 
> sorry another question
> 
> how fast do they grow? 0.5 inch in 6 months?
> 
> thanks
> 
> 
> 
> My best was 0.75" in four months.
> 
> Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Power feedings with high protein foods and frequent water changes (every few days).


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