17 replies to this topic

[frankincow]

Hey everyone i am new to this site. Has anyone got D.Compressiceps for sale?

[yaldaraisamonkey]

Just wondering... what size tank you gonna put them in?

Also this might do better as a Wanted Ad in the Classifieds board on the forum.

Someone asked a few weeks ago and I think someone said "Fish N Stuff" had some... although I could be wrong. Maybe just give one of their stores a call if no1 is selling any privately.

[frankincow]

Tank about 6x2x2.
Thanks for that I am only new to this site and a beginner hobbyist.

[BT]

Heya

This is a nice choice of fish, but understand that he grows very big, very quickly and will not let you keep him in a community tank, with bigger fish or not.

I have heard that his common name is well deserved, especially as a juvi so if you do keep him in a community tank when he is small, be prepared for your other fish to lose their eyes.

This fish does has no prejudice. If it fits into his mouth, it is gone. Oscars and Firemouths have nothing on this guy in my experience...

As a species only tank, keep the plantings and rocks very low, because he will swim high in the tank otherwise. I believe this has to do with the way he ambushes prey in the wild, and he needs a lot of open water to do this (as comes naturally.) With 6 feet of tank I would keep 2 at a maximum. 12" of compressiceps is quite common.

He is a spectacular feeder, moves incredibly quick and his colouration has definite wow! That mouth!!

Good choice, dont let me put you off. But make sure you know what you are getting yourself into.

Good luck, and happy fishkeeping!

Kind Regards

BT

[bigfish]

hey,
sorry to disagree with you here BT but in my experience with malawi's my comps weren't the most agressive fish i had in my COMMUNITY TANK.

i had no problem keeping this beautiful fish with other large haps and mbuna. red empress, borleyi, fusco's, rostratus, greshakie, electric yellows, electric blues, barlowi and blue dolphins were all apart of this tank and the most aggressive were probably the fusco.

go for these fish just make sure the other fish can't fit in their mouths as it can open quite large and they love a challenge.

p.s the whole eye bitting thing is a bit of a myth

any way cya Anthony

[wysiwyg]

I agree with bigfish - never had an issue with dimis taking eyes or being overly aggro. Now Julidochromis sp.....talk about taking out eyes!!


wys

[Mazimbwe]

I just thought that if you are new to the hobby you should do a bit of reserch coz the problems that would worry me are not ones about missing eye's and community tanks.
I think you need to walk B4 you run...in saying that the biggest problem you will encounter, in the early stages of setting up a D.comp tank, is finding stock that is of a high enough standard. Be aware that there are plenty of facial problems with D.comp, like bent snouts and lumps and bumps along the snout, that should be avoided.
When buying Dimi fry it is nearly imposible to tell if they are straight or not so you need to keep this in mind when looking for your fish. You need to take your time and look at the face from the front and in profile...and you need to take your time.

HTH

[eX024]

I was considering getting a calvus, but if I can't find any maybe a comp... I have rarely seen these fish around the place and I also want to know where I can get some.

[BT]

Heya

No problems Bigfish, just going by my experience. I have had a breeding pair of Comps round up everything into a corner, and then make a meal out of them in their spare time. There was not an egg or fry anywhere to be seen.

I pretty sure as with all fish that temperaments vary from fish to fish. It may be that my tank was too competitive, not a balanced environment, or it could have been the water quality. Still, I would keep a close eye on these fish.

D. Compressiceps = Conviicts in disguise. Hehehe.

I agree with Mazimbwe, good fish are hard to find. And being new to fish a lot of homework should be done before trying to care for a fish like this.

Last time I saw Comps for sale, I think at Veba's in Freo. Silver fish and brown, not a trace of blue and they were a decent size already.

Look at the fish from above also gives an indication as to the quality of the fish. They should be very sleek. If there is an abnormality with the fish it will be in the jaw / snout of the fish and you can tell straight away from above.

eX024
Calvus are my favorite african's. I have successfully bred Altolamprologus calvus many times.

Again, hard fish to find and can have some abnormal traits if from many generations of aquarium stock.

These fish are a very beautiful addition to the aquarium, but keep in mind that they are not a big fish, growing to about 4 / 4.5 inches.

They are, unfortunately an expensive fish, and very very hard to find in Perth. I would not buy one of these fish at a time, rather try to get a colony going from the start. It is worth it if you can dedicate the money to it, but it can be quite restrictive economically.

The last time I saw this fish in Perth was in my own aquarium. If I was still keeping african's this would be the fish I modelled my tank around.

I would put my name down at every shop in Perth and keep the pressure on. Good luck.

Regards

BT

[eX024]

ok, thanks, I was thinking of just keeping 2 or 3 in a tank (along with other tangs...)

[bigfish]

calvus ain't a rare fish at all at the moment!

there is plenty around i was out at aquotix and they have lots of adult stock and smaller ones varying from about 30-85 bucs. these fish ain't all that expensive really when you by one each week before you know it your tank will be full

BT when your comps are you sayin that they eat all the egg or did they eat the fry when they were spat? this is strange behaviour maybe they were virgins or you just didn't feed them enough and they wanted a serving of caviar

just a word of advice don't get dimi comps that look like this

cya have fun

[BT]

Heya

Sorry bigfish, what I was trying to say was that the Comps weren't being territiorial due to breeding at the time, hense there were no eggs or fry because they hadnt got that far.

I didnt mean that they ate them :}

Sorry also. Im so hung up with White calvus that I sometimes forget that there exists others hehe.

If the whites are common now, it is very good news. However, I have had requests for these guys for the past month or two from lots of the stores locally.

Unfortunately for the lfs's I am doing a swap with a friend at the moment, my calvus colony for his (his wifes actually) Hypan. Zebra's.

He is going to try and breed the Calvus in his tanks and keep the fry, and Ill do the same with the Zebra's. Then we will try and breed from the offspring after they grow up.

Hope I cleared up my mess.

Happy fish keeping
Regards

BT

[Mazimbwe]

BT: You have given some good advice.
BTW, welcome to the board...can't remember if I already said hello?

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keep the plantings and rocks very low

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...I would use Vallis as I have seen the difference it has made too, a mates, Dimi's temperament. You can landscape it with ease as it is very tuff and can handle being trimmed to the hight you like/need, etc.

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I pretty sure, as with all fish, that temperaments vary from fish to fish.

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...very true and something that many people forget or fail to realise. This is why it is also a good idea to get a group of fish and select from that the final group that you keep...you can choose temperament to a large extent.

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Look at the fish from above also gives an indication as to the quality of the fish. They should be very sleek. If there is an abnormality with the fish it will be in the jaw / snout of the fish and you can tell straight away from above.

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...all good but remember time is cheaper now, so don't rush it. Take your time and look realy closely and in detail at the snout of the parent fish(if you can) because it is extremely hard(read as: Impossible for mortal man) to tell if they are strait when they are small enough to house in a grow-out tank.

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hard fish to find and can have some abnormal traits if from many generations of aquarium stock.

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...spot on.

As for their availability...I scoff at the peep's who think there are plenty around *"bigfish" hears Maz Scoff* coz the hard ones to find are the good ones. I would be very wary of putting down 30-85 for something that may be a "Calv-iceps". IMHO, they are very rare...all the morphs.

oh...and the Alto compressiceps are very nice and a viable alternative to calvus but care should be taken not to get ripped-off.

HTH

[frankincow]

Thanks everyone for your advice and ideas i appreciate it a lot. Cheers.

[wysiwyg]

Hi,
I just sold 15 beautiful D. compressiceps fry to Fish 'n' Stuff - they are very good quality; perfectly straight whichout bends and buckles. BTW Mr. Green, do you still want 10 as I have them here for you??

wys

[chuckmeister]

My experience with Dimis is that they prefer a group situation. Having only two in a tank IMO only encourages aggression between the two. The dominent male get a little pushy during spawning but dont they all. They also enjoy the vallis and quite often sit in there in their preditory position. In the wild they hunt from reeds close to the shore. I've been lucky enough to get my hands on the new german strain fish that has recently come in and can say that that they make the dimis around Perth look pretty average. This new bloodline is very good for this species of fish and will hopefully iron out some of the lumps and bumps for a little time to come.
Calvus in Perth are something of a joke atm. I'd be very wary of what you get. If purchased for the purpose of breeding, it would be preferable to view the parents before buying them. I spent 12 months trying to find nice calvus. While I have found a few around Perth unfortunately I had to purchase most from the eastern states. The spread of the so called calvu-cep has begun.
Welcome BT to the forum also. Good luck in the spawning of your White calvus as there are VERY few of these around the country ATM as you would be well aware. If you manage to spawn these I'd be interested in fry to add to existing colony.

Cheers Charlie

[frankincow]

I am interested in buying some of your fish, what size are they and how much?

[BT]

Heya

Thanks for the welcome people. Good to be here among enthusiasts with all the wealth of knowledge that it surely entails

I will post about fry as soon as I have some that I am happy with. This will be a little while however, as my colony are currently at a friends place showing them a little Calvus magic!

But, as soon as I have them back, I will certainly try and spread their prodgeny around the PCS.

Thanks again for your warm welcome.
Kind Regards

BT