# Altolamprologus calvus in 40 g breeder tank?



## frosty1 (Mar 6, 2010)

HI,
I am keeping a wide variety of Malawi fish and have room for 1 more tank, a 40 gallon breeder. I am interested in trying some Altolamprologus calvus. Can I keep any number of them in this size tank? The cookie cutter article shows for a 40 gallon long tank. I'd like to give this a try, does anyone have any experience with this?
If so what else can be kept with them and how many is possible?
Just starting to research this, appreciate any feedback.
Thanks,
Frosty1


----------



## jrf (Nov 10, 2009)

A 40 breeder will be fine for a mated pair of Calvus and some shell dwellers - such as Brevis, Multies, or Occies. For both, youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢d start out with 6 juveniles and remove the outcasts as they grow. If everything works out, youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll end up with a breeding pair or possibly trio of Calvus and the shell dwellers.

Calvus males donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t tolerate each other well once the breeding starts. So, youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll end up weeding out all but the Alpha male of the group. The Alpha males will sometimes tolerate more than one female, but the dominate female may not be as willing to share the tank with another female. So, most likely you end up with a pair. If your lucky, you may get a trio (1 male, 2 females) to coexsist in a 36" tank.

For shell dwellers, if you went with either Brevis or Multies, you may never have to pull any of them. The Brevis arenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t very aggressive and the Multies live in colonies. The Occies, on the other hand, are a bit more territorial. You'd likely have to weed some of them out before all is said and done.


----------



## amdusias (Feb 24, 2012)

Hello, I also have a 40gal breeder stocking question. I don't want to hijack the OP's thread, but since my questions were similar I didn't want to post another topic about it so soon.

Basically I still consider myself a novice fishkeeper (~3+ years exp), but I'm very interested in branching out to Tanganyika cichlids. I'd like an aquarium that's fun to watch, but not overly aggressive. A 40gal breeder (36 x 18 x 16) is the largest aquarium I can feasibly possess right now. Hopefully a 75gal or larger will be in my near future...

After trolling the forums/reading articles--and then this thread, I came to the conclusion that this would be a viable stock list for a starter 40gal:

-5 (or 8?)x Zebra Danios (I'd like them to add some upper water activity since I think my aquarium is too small for cyps/paracyps)
-6x Lamp. Multies (I'm interested in their colony/breeding behavior)
-6x (juvenile-eventually I would end up with 1 pair) Alto.Calvus (I think these look cool and they also grow slowly from what I've read)

However I'm not interested in super shy fish. I've had "shy/timid" fish before and it wasn't my cup of tea. I'm not particularly interested in only seeing my fish at feeding time. So would this setup provide ample enjoyable/behavior viewing experiences? I'm going to set it up near my computer so I can watch it all the time at home.

I was also wondering if it was possible to add another species to this list...particularly a small school (maybe 4?) of synodontis nigriventris or petricola--or would this conflict with the shellies? Ideally I'd like to add a splash of color in the aquarium somehow but if that's not possible I would be fine with interesting behavior. I read that julie's or leleupi's might cause trouble and I don't think trying to fit them in would be a good starting experience. I'm also leaning towards having a couple more 'drab' fish then fewer colorful fish (which is why I'm on the fence about Occies or Multies.) I was thinking I might be lucky and be able to acquire 'yellow' calvus to accomplish this...

Also I was interested in constructing an UGJ (under gravel jet) system. I intend on using sand as a substrate. Would an UGJ system disrupt the shell dwellers? I realize they might "unearth" the jet system, but I was going to glue some sand to the top to make it less noticeable if they do. I was planning to use that and a Rena Filstar xp2 as my filtration.

I really want to do this right~, so I would appreciate any advice/comments or other suggestions


----------



## frosty1 (Mar 6, 2010)

Looks like the options for a 4foot tank really open up,so I may relocate my 4 cynotilapia haras to my 40 breeder and really try to set up a nice tanganyikan community tank in my 55to with black calvis as the stars. Gonna research the topic more while i set this tank up.


----------



## jrf (Nov 10, 2009)

amdusias said:


> -5 (or 8?)x Zebra Danios (I'd like them to add some upper water activity since I think my aquarium is too small for cyps/paracyps)
> -6x Lamp. Multies (I'm interested in their colony/breeding behavior)
> -6x (juvenile-eventually I would end up with 1 pair) Alto.Calvus (I think these look cool and they also grow slowly from what I've read)


That stock list looks good to me. IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m not really qualified to answer your questions about the Synodontis. IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve never owned any. But, I can say I personally donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t like crowding Tang tanks. I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t think the behavior is as natural.

I have 5 Calvus split among a few different tanks. One is a 40br with some Brevis and a handful of outcast Cyps (I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t recommend the Cyps in a 36in tank). My Calvus vary widely as far as shyness goes. My one and only female is out all of the time. One of my males comes out to greet me (he wants food IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m sure), and he follows my hand around when IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m cleaning his tank. But, my other three males tend to hide if I walk towards them or if I make a sudden move. When IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m just sitting around, theyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll come out if they feel the need. However, they also like to spend a fair amount of time just sitting in their caves. The Danios and the Multies will help them feel more confident for sure. Nevertheless, my experience with Calvus is that they can vary a lot from individual to individual. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s actually one of the things I like about them.

Overall, I think that your stock list would have plenty of activity. However, I have to admit the Malawi, constantly on the move, style of tank is not my cup of tea. I prefer more subtle behaviors. If the Calvus sound too sedate, its really because I didnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t do justice describing them. Nonetheless, you could swap them out for one of the smaller Julies, like the Ornatus, and the Multies should be all right.

As long as the UGJÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s are not overly forceful, it really shouldnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t be a problem. Although, your assessment is correct. YouÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re going to spend a lot of time covering the plumbing back up.


----------



## jrf (Nov 10, 2009)

frosty1 said:


> Looks like the options for a 4foot tank really open up


Yes they do. Good luck on the research. :thumb:


----------

