Calvus are here!! *updated pics*

[dogspot]

Yeah, I have my new tank picked out, even thinking of splurging for a 180 gallon tank. The wifey will kill me Hopefully will pull the trigger and buy it within a month or 2.

I get a little carried away when I hit the [acronym:a793251842="Local Fish Store"]LFS[/acronym:a793251842]... It's definitely some kind of disease or mental disorder. I'm thinking of seeking treatment. I know the fish will be cramped before I buy them, but as I am floating the bags in my tank, I'm scratching my head wondering why I bought them.

They're all still small. All 3 fronts were less than an inch before I bought them 3 months ago, now one has sprouted to about 2.5 inches and already has a bump forming... I'm thinking he's a male, and, no, I didn't inject him with steroids. The other 2 are around 1.5 inches now, and I'm hoping they are fems.

The Julis are Zongwes, and I picked them up from ecichlids.com for $4.99 each... They are about 1/2 inch big.

[mentallylost]

krap101 you are right on with the Brevis remaining in the bottom of the tank. All shell dwellers are like this. There are some sand shifting species like the xenotilapia who also remain on the sand. But it also depends on the design or aquascaping of the tank too.
For the most part, rock dwelling species like the Calvus, Brichardi, and Tretocephalus (pretty close to all of the Neolamprologus and Altolamprologus species) will swim to the height of the rockwork in the tank. If you have rocks for them that are 15" tall, they will swim up to 15". They will swim close to the surface even if the rocks are this tall.

[TankGirl]

And that is why I have tried my best to get my rocks stacked as high as possible in both my ARLC tanks. The calvus are venturing out a lot now, but you won't see them in the top 6" of the tank, which is open water beyond the highest rock. The rainbows are normally all over the tank, but I can see now that they will begin to move to the upper strata to avoid the bickering of the calvus below.

So far no-tail is holding his own and has colored up like the rest of them this afternoon. They are all picking on each other but they do not seem to be inflicting any damage. It is really a bad idea to have this tank adjacent to my desk, since I actually do have to work every day.

[mentallylost]

I wish that I could have a tank at work. But as a mechanic that is kind of difficult. I don't think that the fish would take kindly to the grease and oil.

Good to hear that "no tail" is still around and holding his own.

[TankGirl]

Here are some pics of the pulcher, they are not apparently afraid of my camera phone, just my digicam (please pardon the dreadful quality)

In the second pic in the upper right you can see another one hanging out - they are still very shy and spend most of the time tucked between rocks. The main fish in the picture is significantly larger than the other 4.

[Jchillin]

How in the world can any cichlid lover miss this thread? I would blame it on the outage yesterday...but you know me better.

They look splendid Liz! Congrats and hopefully, you will have a nice pair, which will lead to spawning, which will lead to breeding tanks, which will lead to having to ship fry to someone you know in NY.

[TankGirl]

You got it, Bill. I will be happy to share!

[Jchillin]

Hmmm...sounds like a "contract" Liz.

[TankGirl]

You betcha - I'll PM you in 2, 2-1/2 years when the calvus are ready....