# calvus in 20 gallon long?



## Florida-Guy (Jul 15, 2010)

Hi everyone I'm new to tang setups so I have a few questions. I was thinking of getting a pair of calvus for my 20 gallon long is this a good idea? If so should they be alone with maybe some zebra danios or is ther some shellies I could add? I read they may eat the small shellies and they maybe ok with adult size but how small is to small? :? Is 20 gallon long to small for a tang biotype tank? I also have a 29 gallon I could use what would be best? Stocking help would be great, going with calvus for sure though, and is it best to get a pair? Will two males or two females work? Sorry so many questions!!! :-? Thanks to all


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## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

To answer a few of your questions...
1. A calvus pair is great for a 20 gallon long
2. Zebra Danios or shellies would be great tankmates (i have a tank exactly like the one you want and have the calvus pair and 3 zebra danios, but i want to switch the zebras for some multies because they are supposedly more interesting)
So i would say, yeah, go for it!

Manoah Marton


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

Hi Florida-guy,

Some Multies, a pair of Brevis, or a pair of smaller julies works well, in a 20 gallon. Where are you? I have a pair of WC Brevis I could let go......P.M. me if you are near Panama City..


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## Florida-Guy (Jul 15, 2010)

Thanks guys and girls I was hoping the 20 would work.  Time to start the set up tomorrow, as for close to Panama, sorry more like Tampa but thanks none the less. I will consider some multies for sure. A couple more things is Caribsea Aragonite ok for the substrate? I think so but just to be sure. Love your Frontosa by the way Floridagirl  Can you post some pics of your tank Manoah Marton? thanks


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

I always prefer pool filter sand or playsand. It's much less expensive and the shellies love it. So, are you getting a proven pair? If not, it's best to buy 6 and let them sort it out, removing the extras. Same with the Multies. Honestly though, sometimes it is best just to spend the money and get adult fish. Especially with Calvus , as they take forever to grow.

If I was aquascaping, I would place less than an inch of sand, a bunch of escargot or turbo shells 50+ on one side of the tank, with some rocks/plants for sight breaks around the middle and a few larger murex or similar shells for the calvus (they love shells to breed in).


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## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

Full tank shot...


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https://flic.kr/p/4932893747

Female...


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https://flic.kr/p/4932892437

Male...


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https://flic.kr/p/4931254408

Sorry for the links, something doesn't work when I try to put them in.
I plan on putting the multi group in the left side of the tank where there seems to be a lot of open sand. 
Thanks, and good luck with your setup!

Manoah Marton


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Will this be a pair that has already produced fry together?

Would there be any concern pairing up calvus in a 30" tank?


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## Florida-Guy (Jul 15, 2010)

sorry took so long to post back I've been busy setting up tank  First off let me thank Manoah Marton for the pics their great, very nice set-up. I have changed plans a little and decided on a 29 gallon instead (same footprint as the 20 long) almost but wanted the extra room for some dithers. I have aragonite substrate (the benifits out way price) and about 25 or so great sized shells on one side with a nice rock formation in the middle going up to a higher substrate right hand side with some bigger shells and smaller rocks for the calvus. I was at my LFS sunday they have some black calvus I'm going to get with some brevis multis also. I was thinking of getting three of the calvus and maybe four brevis to start, what do you think? Calvus are small and I was told the LFS could not tell sex, although I was told all had come in together (same batch and age) two days ago and I noticed two were somewhat bigger so I was gonna take the biggest one and two smaller ones hoping for a male and two females. I will be going on wed. Can someone give advice on sexing them and the brevis? I just don't want two male calvus,should I buy more than three?


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## jrf (Nov 10, 2009)

If it were purely random, buying 3 gives you an 87.5% chance of ending up with both boys and girls (Binomial Distribution Calculator). Since youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re hand picking them it may somewhat improve your odds. The typical number to start with is six Ã¢â‚¬â€œ which gives a 98.43% chance of mixed sexes.

However, I agree with DJ on this. The footprint of that tank may be a bit small to go with six and hope for a pair. I did that in a 40 breeder ( 36 x 18 ) and quickly found out that there was no way I could get all 6 to coexist in the tank. I ended up getting more tanks to house the rejects.


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## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

Thanks! From jrf's helpful stats. I would get the three that you were considering. About the brevis, although I've never kept these, I believe the male is larger and more colorful than the female (again, please take this advice with a grain of salt...)
Also, please post pics. of your tank when your finished!

Manoah Marton


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## Florida-Guy (Jul 15, 2010)

Picked up fish today  Pics are not good but I didn't want to spoke my new little guys anymore than they r already. I ended up getting three CALVUS and three multis (the only three they had left) I will try to post more pics soon of my calvus when they settle in some more. About how long until calvus start to feel comfortable? I know alot of things can effect this but just an estimate.

multis
http://i797.photobucket.com/albums/yy25 ... AG1041.jpg
http://i797.photobucket.com/albums/yy25 ... AG1054.jpg
tank shots
http://i797.photobucket.com/albums/yy25 ... AG1046.jpg
http://i797.photobucket.com/albums/yy25 ... 1053-2.jpg
http://i797.photobucket.com/albums/yy25 ... 1047-1.jpg
calvus
http://i797.photobucket.com/albums/yy25 ... AG1055.jpg
http://i797.photobucket.com/albums/yy25 ... AG1056.jpg

about one hour after put in tank


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## jh82 (Oct 26, 2007)

Maybe it's the quality of the pics or my poor eyesight but those multis look like Brevis to me.


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## fiupntballr (Jul 7, 2004)

yep
sorry to burst your bubble but those are brevis for sure


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## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

Yep, those are brevis. They'll probably work well to, just if you sell fry, don't label them as multies  
Nice looking calvus, do you have a shot of the whole tank?
And after about a week or two they'll get a little braver and you'll see them more.
Good luck!

Manoah Marton


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