# Update on my calvus and comps.



## spitfiretjh

There not the best. i plan on adding cyps and julies soon.


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## Hoosier Tank

Another Tanganikian with some nice little Altos! How many do you have I think I see 3 but maybe more... can't wait to see the Julies and cyps
What size is the tank? thought it looked like a 55g or 75g with a sump, SWEET!


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## spitfiretjh

its a 55gal. 4 comps and 2 calvus, 2 gold heads. 2 tanzanian blacks. 2 ink fins. i plan on adding shells and stuff too for the julies and the comps and calvus and i just got that sump yesterday it has a 500 gph pump and i think the current from it is a little too strong right now but im still working with it.


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## Furcifer158

Looks good I see you went out and got the best filter IMO 
Do you know how many cyps your going to do yet?
Can't wait to see pics of the alto's when they are all grown up  
they just look amazing when full size.
Here's a pic of my wild fire fins.
they have some more growing to do
and if you look close at the left side you can see there eggs.   









he's alot lighter most of the time


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## spitfiretjh

those look great. its a slow process to get them that big. i dunno i was going to get that group but there holding right now alot. so i think im just going to get 3 Cyprichromis Leptosoma "Bulu Point".
3 Cyprichromis Leptosoma Chituta Neon Head "Blue Flash". i also was considering getting red fin altos.


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## Furcifer158

I have F1 Fire fins if you want some. there about 3/4 of an inch right now
try and find someone else out there that has a wild fire fin with this much red, and they are breeding them. :lol: 
the fry should look twice as good as him when they grow up.
hears another pic of the father.
this is a pic of when I first got him. he has now a little more red in his dorsal


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## spitfiretjh

here are some more pics  and more detailed of my sump and overflow. and my home made pvc return lol. also some more of some fish there not that great with a digital cam. do you ship fish and are you selling the f1's?


























































:fish: 
:fish:


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## noddy

Don't get 3 blue flash and 3 bulu point cyps, they will cross breed. If you are only going to get 6 (which I wouldn't suggest) get all the same type. Your tank will look great with a group of cyps in there. :thumb:


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## spitfiretjh

ok so same type but how many do you suggest?


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## Furcifer158

noddy said:


> Don't get 3 blue flash and 3 bulu point cyps, they will cross breed. If you are only going to get 6 (which I wouldn't suggest) get all the same type. Your tank will look great with a group of cyps in there. :thumb:


I agree with noddy
I can ship and yes they are going up for sale here soon. I'm just waiting for them to get a bit bigger :thumb: 
I have about 70 of them so just let me know If you want me to put some aside for you


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## Furcifer158

O ya tank looks good spitfiretjh


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## spitfiretjh

thanks for the comments and yes i would like some. how much are they? i am also worried about my calvus and comps cross breeding but i wont be selling or anything so i dont think its too big of a deal?


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## Reel North

If they cross, leave the babies in there - they will be snacks.

The fish you have, the calvus are by far the most valuable, so in a 55, it is best to stick to one species per type (yellow comps only, etc). Then if you get fry, you can always offset your hobby expenses, and not risk the temptation to sell crossbreeds.

My 2c


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## blkg35

I would add about 10 paracyps niggripinnis in there instead of the cyps. IMO, they have the best coloring and look amazing.


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## spitfiretjh

you sure 10 wouldnt be to much i was thinking of adding about 6 more of something


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## Furcifer158

The Fire fins will be $15 to $20 a fish due to they high quality
and yes do paracyps. You could put 20 of them in there and they would be fine


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## spitfiretjh

ok well let me know when they are ready!!!! you do air cargo ?


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## Furcifer158

ya thats the only way ship :thumb:


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## Furcifer158

the only way I ship


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## spitfiretjh

sounds good! let me know when the babys are ready.


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## MidNightCowBoy

Looks good dude.

Hope you have plenty of patience waiting on those altos to grow!!

:thumb:


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## Hoosier Tank

Comps seem to grow faster than Calvus at least IME...


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## spitfiretjh

also im having quite an algae problem on my rocks and my sand any solution?


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## DJRansome

Feed less, change water more, reduce light time and if all else fails, get a bristlenose pleco.

Or add live plants like I did.


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## Gibbs

What colour is the algae?


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## gman87

If you have trouble finding blue flash cyps or paracyps I may be able to help you with some F1s.


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## JWerner2

Furcifer158 said:


> The Fire fins will be $15 to $20 a fish due to they high quality
> and yes do paracyps. You could put 20 of them in there and they would be fine


That is so cool. If you are willing I may be up to purchase some but what would be the cost of shipping?

Nice photos everyone BTW!


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## spitfiretjh

shipping. it depends on the amount of fish and what company delivers them. i recently bought 6fish and it was around $60.00 and they were delivered same day !


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## spitfiretjh

also the algae is green and i found out that algae destroyer does not work!!!!!! :x


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## JWerner2

Yeah the cost of shipping is always a good kick in the mid section for fish.


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## spitfiretjh

well tonight im ordering 6 to 10 paracyps  ill have pics as soon as i put them in !


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## Furcifer158

nice they are amazing fish. My wild grou just started breeding for me


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## spitfiretjh

well i pick them up at 240 in the afternoon today and i will have some pics up. *** heard there amazing fish by lots of people and i ordered 8! and they are juvies  i went and picked up some NLS for them today also. so check up later and ill have some pics posted :fish: :fish:


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## Dmoney2780

spitfiretjh said:


> well i pick them up at 240 in the afternoon today and i will have some pics up. I've heard there amazing fish by lots of people and i ordered 8! and they are juvies  i went and picked up some NLS for them today also. so check up later and ill have some pics posted :fish: :fish:


awesome i cant wait to see them. :dancing:


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## spitfiretjh

well i got the paracyps they are awesome!!!! i will have some pics up as soon as my roommate gets off work she has the camera!! :x also they bring my altos out from hiding which is cool. :fish:


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## Furcifer158

nice congrats :thumb: :dancing: :dancing: :thumb:


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## JWerner2

Awesome. How big are the alto's?

I am thinking on getting either some leleupis, Brichardi, or Julies for my Comps tank and am hoping not only do they respect each others space but it brings the Comps out more often. They have become very shy :zz: .


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## JWerner2

> Awesome. How big are the alto's?


Nevermind


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## spitfiretjh

yea well i have done some research and i dont suggest brichardis because if they pair up they will wipe out everyone else. *** head leilupies are ok but from what i know id go with cyps , paracyps, orrrrr julies . i plan on adding a coupke of alto firefins and some julies to complete my tank. :fish: :dancing:


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## JWerner2

Cyps and Paracyps have not been around my area for a long time and no offense I just would hate to have to pay 50+ for shiping. I have heard that Brichardies would be ok in my 75 with my Comps from a few people but that does not mean that I will not consider your advice at all.

One thing I do have to think of with the Brichardies is that my Comps are pretty small yet and Im not sure but I would imagine the brichardies would grow faster.

I want my Comps to be the center of atraction, how many Leleupies would work in a 75?

Oh,.. and wheres the pics :x :roll: :thumb:


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## DJRansome

I think spitfiretjh is right about the Brichardi...apparently they kill everything in the tank when they begin to breed. They are good in a single species tank populated with their own fry. Maybe do a search, there have been posts on this just recently.


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## Hoosier Tank

Do a search on "Brichardi death squad".... I wanted a pair of dafodils in my Tang tank but they have a reputation of "does not play well with others".


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## JWerner2

Yeah I have thought about it since spitfiretjh's warning and I think I will not do it.

Im still waiting on these pics but in the mean time can some one tell me with about 3 Comps how many Leleupis can be kept in a 75g.

I miss my Anthias and some of he Brichardis remind me of them. Thats a shame


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## spitfiretjh

how big are your altos??.. also if your LFS has leilupis and brichardis they should be abule to get you cyps and stuff if you request them, and your right alot of people dont want to pay the 50+ for shipping but for me its worth it because i dont have any lfs that sells tangs aroung here its all malawis  but anyways i wasnt abule to steal the camera yesterday but i will have some pics up dont worry . hopefully today


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## JWerner2

My altos are only about a inch and a quarter maybe a bit bigger. Ill ask about the Cyps and all but I dont think they can get them. Its been a long time since anyone in my area even had Altos. Really Brichardis and a small amount of others are all anyone has around here as far as Tangs go.


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## spitfiretjh

im going to have the pics up here in about 5 min but try a little treo of leilupi. im just not sure i havent heard that they are bad to mix but *** never had them myself. if you do get them get juvies but i know that if your altos are over an inch they should be abule to hold there own..


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## spitfiretjh

:thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

i cant take good pictures though but you can still see for yourselfs. im not sure when they will really start to color up but at this point there only in the 1.25. to 1.5 inch range.


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## Furcifer158

This is one of my Wild female paracyps holding  
You can see a little cute eye of one of the fry in her mouth :dancing:

All my tanks that I have altolamps in have paracyps or cyps in them. It just makes the alto's feel safe. These are in with my fire fins.


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## JWerner2

Awesome!!

Thats what I wanna do. I want a large amount of smaller more slender fish to build a contrast against my Altos since I want them as a main focal point.


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## Furcifer158

o ya I need to clean the glass :thumb: 
I'll get a pic of my dom male later, when I clean the glass.
your going to love them, they look great to spitfiretjh


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## spitfiretjh

sounds good and yea mine is a little dirty too hah all well . yea post up some pics of your fish , you have some nice looking fish! also im awaiting the firefins


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## Furcifer158

I would take some pics of the fire fin fry but there being raised in a plastic tub  It's cheaper than a tank :thumb:

Here's a few of my fish
enjoy opcorn:

Dom. paracyp.









Two female paracyps holding









My rare Lepidiolamprologus pleuromaculatus W/ xeno ornatipinnis









My very large kipili comp the pic does not show how big he is I will have to get him my hands to show you he is around 6 1/2 inches and seem to be still growing









My sub dom male mpimbwe gib









My group of moops









And the almighty Xeno Cherry Princess


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## Furcifer158

O ya amd my
Acipenser Ruthenus Sterlet sturgeon










I have know idea how these came into my hands but there up for sale


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## spitfiretjh

those Xeno's are nice whats there diet? and what are they compatable with


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## Furcifer158

I take it your talking about the princess
The get cyclops twice a week NLS four times a week and once a week frozen brine. Also once a month live brine

They are not compatable with anything, well if you want to breed them.
I do put cyp fry with but take them out when they get to 1 1/4 inch
and plan on putting the paracyp fry with them.


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## spitfiretjh

how long does it take the paracyps to mature?


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## Furcifer158

they can start to spawn as early as 11 months, but they tend not to hold there eggs full term till around 1 1/2 years


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## spitfiretjh

furcifer how do you get rid of algae i know you will get some.. i dont over feed i feed twice a day and light for 8 to 10 hrs ????


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## Furcifer158

is it brown or green?
brown is from over feeding and if its green it might be getting direct sunlight. I have/had now lots of green algae cuz my tank were getting lots of sunlight. There all in a fish room in the basement now but I just left the green algae cuz I thought it looked natural  . I just used a razor on the front of the tank.
You could also have a plant grow light in your fixture

When I get brown algae I cut my feeding down. I also have those snails, i forget what there called but they sift through my sand in the day and at night they move on to the rock and eat my brown algae if i have some.


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## Dmoney2780

Furcifer158 said:


> is it brown or green?
> brown is from over feeding and if its green it might be getting direct sunlight. I have/had now lots of green algae cuz my tank were getting lots of sunlight. There all in a fish room in the basement now but I just left the green algae cuz I thought it looked natural  . I just used a razor on the front of the tank.
> You could also have a plant grow light in your fixture
> 
> When I get brown algae I cut my feeding down. I also have those snails, i forget what there called but they sift through my sand in the day and at night they move on to the rock and eat my brown algae if i have some.


i have brown algae all over the rocks in my frontosa tank and i really want to get rid of it.i'd love to know what kind of snails u have if u could find out or what other snails would eat the algae


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## DJRansome

Malasian Trumpet Snails? Lots of people consider them pests and tear down their tanks to get rid of them. They clog the filters, etc.

I have ramshorns and pond snails who are eating my plants (but not my algae) and can't get rid of them either.


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## JWerner2

I have some black and some golden mystery snails divided up in my tanks and they eat everything but my plants and I don't have any breeding plagues. They do well in sand!


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## JWerner2

What are you doing with the sturgeons?

Can you post more pics please?


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## spitfiretjh

i like the green algae on the rocks its not bad looking but on my sand it looks like ****... someone preffered a clown loach?? for now i am just moving my hand to stir up the sand and it get sucked up by the filter for the time being but it grows back in a different spot everyday.!


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## spitfiretjh




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## spitfiretjh




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## Hoosier Tank

Very nice Spitfiretjh! I really envy the Tang tank you have gotten so far! So much I had to take new pics to share of some of mine...
Here is a pic of my oldest Black calvus. It is almost 2" now and starting to turn black at certain times, usually when he is calm and relaxed or maybe it is when it is trying to blend in with his surroundings (aka: old silk plant he calls home)



When you first mentioned Julies I wanted to suggest a Julidochromis marlieri like this one of mine.



As you can tell I can relate to your algae questions but I would not intentionally introduce a snail to any of my tanks. "asexual" buggers are a nightmare as far as I am concerned, old bad experiance with them... 1 leads to 100 
Instead I am going to move my BN pleco in there to clean things up while a fresh crop of algae grows in the new tank I am setting up for my Mbuna... then I will rotate him for a vacation in all of my tanks.


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## DJRansome

I've had a great experience with plants. I did need to add lighting. But my vallisneria keeps nitrates pretty much to zero so the algae on the glass is gone. I have a little hair algae, but I think if I add fertilizer and get the plants growing even better, it will go too.

(Caution: plants bring snails, pre-treat them before adding to the tank.)


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## spitfiretjh

nice pics i cant wait until my altos grow. my paracyps should be pretty grown in 6 months but my altos used to run when i would walk up to put some shrimp in there but with my 8 paracyps they chill out in the open water and come up to the glass now    i want to add a few more fish to finish it off then im going to save up for something over a 100 gal. :thumb: but i will be posting pics every so often to show you guys the progress in the mean time i need to work on this algae!!! its not the glass or he rock that bothers me its the sand!!!!! i need something to get it out of my sand.


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## DJRansome

Your weekly vacuuming should keep it from growing on the sand. But the plants will work for the entire tank...glass, sand and rocks.


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## spitfiretjh

thanks!


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## spitfiretjh

heres an update on my tank *** added my toaster and some shells also the fish are looking good.

























































































:fish: :fish: :thumb: :thumb: 
opinions?


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## Furcifer158

I would add more rocks
But that's just me


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## spitfiretjh

heres a few pics i snapped


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## spitfiretjh

by the way i do have to two different species in the tank but the paracyps are zooming all over i usually have zero problems, if i do its a simple tap.


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## Furcifer158

they really are looking great :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: 
keep the pics coming.
I love paracyps with comp/calvus. I just started a new breeding colony of paracyps, looks to be 5or6 males and 40 females. all F1's, and the tank will also have about 10 fire fin comps as well.


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## spitfiretjh

i will have some pics up soon im going to add in some gold occies atleast 10. thats the plan anyways i looked at the shells on cichlidbreeding....this is my combination of shells im going to purchase : Gold Mouth Turbos , whale eyes , Neothauma. any suggestions?


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## spitfiretjh

they really are looking great Thumb Thumb Thumb
keep the pics coming.
I love paracyps with comp/calvus. I just started a new breeding colony of paracyps, looks to be 5or6 males and 40 females. all F1's, and the tank will also have about 10 fire fin comps as well.

i love paracyps and your the one who convinced me to get some... i have lost one not sure why i was thinking it was sleeping on the overflow box and got sucked into it because i found him in the filter. also i need to all about 10 more i have 7 right now but they are very active. those fire fins look great. and im sure it will be a great tank i need to see some pics.. how are those raganochromis?


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## Furcifer158

the raganochromis are doing great, I got 4 more that were huge from a friend but sold them off to another friend. :lol: If you need any paracyps let me know I can get you some of mine for cheap, We might have to wait for a few weeks or so so that they can get larger. Do you know what kind your paracyps are?
I will get some pics of the crazy tank in a bit, I dropped my camera in on of my tanks  , so I have to get a new one. the paracyps are only like 2 inch in there now so I could wined up getting more males but I just keep weeding them out and adding more smaller ones to get my 40 females.


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## spitfiretjh

yea im going to need more and there nigripinnis dont know what part of the lake if thats what your asking.


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## Furcifer158

ya the F1's I'm selling are paracyprichromis nigripinnis Kambwimba


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## BurgerKing

> I dropped my camera in on of my tanks


Twice for me!! :lol: One was a piece of garbage, and the other was my phone.

I like the tank spitfire, and enjoy the updates. Im getting a tang tank and you two(spitfire/furcifer) made me want to get fire fin comps now!! Furcifer, do you ship to Canada??


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## Furcifer158

BurgerKing said:


> I dropped my camera in on of my tanks
> 
> 
> 
> Twice for me!! :lol: One was a piece of garbage, and the other was my phone.
> 
> I like the tank spitfire, and enjoy the updates. Im getting a tang tank and you two(spitfire/furcifer) made me want to get fire fin comps now!! Furcifer, do you ship to Canada??
Click to expand...

Not yet but I can look into it for you. I would like to learn how to ship them that far.


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## BurgerKing

I probably wont be starting up a tang tank till the new year. Just seeing the pictures of them made me fall in love with those little guys. I know shipping would be pricey but im fine with that as long as it makes me happy. :thumb:


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## Furcifer158

ya thats good cuz by the time i could ship my fry would be around February or so. there still a bit small


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## BurgerKing

Sweet, cant wait.


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