Slough Shark Posted April 23, 2007 Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 Just throwing around ideas here, can a Calvus be safely housed with a Leleupi? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGr8Blade Posted April 23, 2007 Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 Shell dwellers, tang. rock dwellers would be great. I am sure leleupi would be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop Eye Posted April 23, 2007 Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 I have mine with them and they get along fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slough Shark Posted April 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 (edited) I think I'll just do one Calvus, is that ok? Will it need to be paired or need smaller fish to thrive? Is the Calvus plant safe? I need a black substrate to show his best colors, anyone know a brand of Black Sand that keeps the right pH? Can I house an Upside down Catfish with the Calvus? Still pondering the leleupi Edited April 23, 2007 by Slough Shark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGr8Blade Posted April 23, 2007 Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 You can see how they look together here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishytime Posted April 24, 2007 Report Share Posted April 24, 2007 (edited) I think I'll just do one Calvus, is that ok? Will it need to be paired or need smaller fish to thrive?Is the Calvus plant safe? I need a black substrate to show his best colors, anyone know a brand of Black Sand that keeps the right pH? Can I house an Upside down Catfish with the Calvus? Still pondering the leleupi You can go with one but will miss out on observing potential spawning behavior. You need to be sure of a male and a female if you go with two. Unless you have a huge tank two males will likely end up being one. Calvus are actually rather timid as far as africans go(with other fish). Calvus do seem to do best with some sort of dither fish. Cyps or congo tetras if you want to stay african or any other fast swimming schooling fish. I've used zebra and leopard danios( cheap and very adaptable to water conditions) rainbows, and cpys as dithers. Any synodontis would be ok.Not sure about the sand or plants( only ever used plastic with my tangs).Just a heads up, if you do go with a leluepi and the dark substrate, you can expect the leluepi do get rather dark in color(almost orange). Edited April 24, 2007 by fishytime Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap'n Posted April 24, 2007 Report Share Posted April 24, 2007 I really enjoyed having calvus with my leleupi, both for behaviour and colour contrast. I had the best luck with a couple seperate piles of slate; large pile for calvus, small pile for loopies. I second the recommendation for keeping a trio. Much more interesting. Also keep in mind how slowly these fish grow, so it's probably wise to buy older fish which can be easily sexed. Absolutely plant safe, same as most tangs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slough Shark Posted April 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2007 (edited) I doubt many Cyps would be able to fit into the 30 Gal that I would use if I was to carry out this plan. I would like to do some smaller shellies, but they're so dang pricey I could just roll with some Zebra Danios, I'd like to keep the most expensive fish the Calvus. I spose I will go for a pair if you say so. I'll forget the Leleupi and keep the Upside Down Syno. I second the recommendation for keeping a trio Trio? Do you mean Male and Female Calvus with a Leleupi? Thank you all for being so helpful, I may have more questions for you... Taylor Edited April 24, 2007 by Slough Shark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slough Shark Posted April 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2007 Ok, I've compiled a list, not even close to a biotope, but I don't have room for a 40 Gal and none of the Tangs (inexpensive ones) are small enough to be dithers in a 30 Gal... 30 Gal Calvus: 2 Alto. Calvus 5 Moenkausia pittieri :shock: I think... yeah, I just got an idea :shifty: Could I use Tiger Barbs rather than Diamond Tetras? 1 Syno. nigriventris That's all i guess, I just don't see the Leleupi fitting in with all that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyasa Posted April 24, 2007 Report Share Posted April 24, 2007 I don't think you need dithers with calvus. They come out and about plenty. You could consider keeping them in a Tang community with Julidochromis sp. as well or even a nice male Aulonocara. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slough Shark Posted April 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2007 Alright then its either the dithers or the leleupi. I dunno which to chose. The latter keeps it african, but green tiger barbs would look really good... I dunno Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishytime Posted April 28, 2007 Report Share Posted April 28, 2007 Tiger barbs and other asian and south american tetras do best in softer water and dont adapt as easily to the hard water conditions africans do best in. That why I suggested zebra or leopard danios A) they are cheap( so if 1 does end up getting attacked it not that big o deal) they are very agile swimmers (again to help them to not get attacked) c) they are highly adaptable to a wide range of water conditions. But just my .02 cents. Let us know what you decide to go with and how it works out for ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slough Shark Posted May 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2007 I don't know what to do for sand in this tank! Should I do natural rift lake sand? Pure white sand with shells? Or Black moon sand with lava rock or those gray and white rocks (can't really explain them) to bring out the colors in the calvus? I know I just want to have some Vals in the Tank for plants. Are Calvus and Leleupiu shell dwellers, I know Calvus are shell spwners, but I'm not looking to breed them. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyasa Posted May 1, 2007 Report Share Posted May 1, 2007 Sand is certainly the substrate to go with. A lot of people recommend going with darker sand for black calvus and lighter sand for white calvus. They also appreciate and make use of shells. They will often duck into these to take cover ie. during water changes. I can't really comment on leleupi, other than to say many people keep them with calvus. From what I've read they will need a rather large tank to limit conspecific aggression amongst the leleupi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slough Shark Posted May 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2007 Ok, I'll go with either the Natural Sand or the pure white (I think looks better). My tank is only 30 Gal, so I guess I won't be keeping the Leleupi with the Calvus pair, unless he'll fit :shifty: I think I will get a pair of white or gold Calvus and plenty of shells in case I do decide I want some shell dwellers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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