Calvus spawn advice

[lkelly]

After waiting for Godot and then waiting for Guffman and then playing The Waiting by Tom Petty for an eternity, I finally achieved a Black Calvus spawn. They conveniently ignored the 2 nice shells I have in the tank and instead decided to use a small closed cave in a piece of Texas holey rock.

See a few pics:

They are in a 40 breeder along with a trio of Xystichromis phytophagus, a sole male Leleupi, and a bristlenose pleco. The piece of holey rock is pretty big. On the upside, the hole that they used for the eggs is right near the front glass so I have a good view.

What I'm trying to figure out is how to save the fry assuming they hatch. I could remove all the fish but the Calvus and let them raise them for a bit. I could remove all the fish completely although that will be a bit of a logistical nightmare. I could try to remove the fry when they are close to free swimming, but the fact that they aren't in a shell and based on the other fish, that might be hard.

Any advice? And any idea how long before they hatch and become free swimming?

 

[thedavidzoo]

I have heard around 10 days before they are free swimming. I could never see my calvus' eggs, so never knew how long it took.
You could gently syphon them out, eggs or fry. I have done that with the tiny calvus fry before.
Good luck with them. They are hard to keep alive. I managed to wipe out over 50 within minutes once
How big are the parents? Please keep us posted!!!

 

[chriscoli]

Congrats! They are very fragile, as Esther noted. Jim (Guarddog) on the forum has raised them successfully. I've had luck raising comprecisseps to a good size, but not calvus yet. I seem to lose them around a quarter of an inch. With my comps, they did hatch pretty quickly. As soon as I'd notice that there were wigglers, or saw one venturing to the edge of the cave, I pulled them into a breeder box. Once they can swim, they are OUTTA THERE! My pairs have never been overly parental. I don't think you'll have much success leaving them with the parents even if you do remove the other tanks occupants. They'll become snacks.

Also, if you do pull the wigglers, keep an eye on the female afterward. I've always had issues with the male beating up on the female after a spawn. Once, I saw the male grab the female across the bridge of her nose with his mouth and shake her like a ragdoll. I intervened and a day our two later, all was back to normal with them. I've seen this post-spawn rampage by the male in both my calvus and my comps.

Also, once they start spawning, they spawn pretty often. Mine will spawn in the calvus caves you can get from the pleco cave vendors (I get mine from SCC). They originally told me that they are meant to be used upright (with the opening pointing up), but my calvus and comps won't go in them unless they are laying down flat with the opening horizontal to the ground.

 

[chriscoli]

Awesome pics, by the way!

 

[Tangcollector]

Mine are still growing. I have never bred them but I found this. Hope it helps:

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=231650

 

[Tangcollector]

Also congrats. Great fish and great pictures.

 

[DiscusnAfricans]

Congrats! I've always liked calvus but never had any luck raising a pair. Good luck with the hatch and growing them out. I'd be interested in them once they get to a decent size, I'll touch base in about a year or so

 

[lkelly]

I have to say it is interesting to see the behavior change in the male. In the past he was very shy and just sort of hid under the rocks most of the time. Now, whenever you approach the tank he will charge the glass and get in your face. He'll retreat and hide if you make a really sudden movement, but otherwise seems pretty aggressive in defending the space.

 

[QuarterMiler]

I have spawned White Calvus a couple of times. I wait about 8-10 days, then I try to distract the female away from the shell. Usually a feeding will do this. Then I pull the shell and gently invert and agitate it lightly in a Tupperware container or similar until the wigglers come out. The latest batch of about 80 are now at 3/4-1". Clean water is essential, as they like to congregate on the bottom a lot. I like bare bottom tanks of that reason when growing out any fry, so that waste and uneaten food are siphoned off easily. I know some say that a large tank is necessary to grow more than a handful out, but so far, I haven't had that be the case. I started them in a 5.5g, then to a 10, and now they are in a 20 long. The most critical part IMO is getting them past 1/4-1/2". And they grow SLOW! Mine are 6 months old.

 

[guarddog5]

I have spawned White Calvus a couple of times. I wait about 8-10 days, then I try to distract the female away from the shell. Usually a feeding will do this. Then I pull the shell and gently invert and agitate it lightly in a Tupperware container or similar until the wigglers come out. The latest batch of about 80 are now at 3/4-1". Clean water is essential, as they like to congregate on the bottom a lot. I like bare bottom tanks of that reason when growing out any fry, so that waste and uneaten food are siphoned off easily. I know some say that a large tank is necessary to grow more than a handful out, but so far, I haven't had that be the case. I started them in a 5.5g, then to a 10, and now they are in a 20 long. The most critical part IMO is getting them past 1/4-1/2". And they grow SLOW! Mine are 6 months old.

I totally I agree with this post, I started with 30 black calvus a year and half ago, clean water is absolutely important, feeding at least twice a day with baby brine, golden pearl fry food, and white worms, and a heck of a lot of patience! I started them in a 10 gallon bare bottom tank. Good luck!

Jim


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[guarddog5]

I didn't finish my previous post, and to correct myself, it wasn't white worms I used, it was a micro worm culture that Christine (Chriscoli) gave me to help grow past that 1/4 - 1/2 inch stage. But alas I went on a business trip for two weeks and didn't change the water before leaving, and lost 24 of the 30. I presently have 6 healthy fry left, three are a little over an inch, and the other three are about 3/4 of an inch.

Cheers,

Jim


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