Information on types of Frontosa

[Red Devil]

How do you tell the diff types of fronts when they are small?

I would really like some Zambia blues but have no idea how to tell.

Thanks

i am working on ID of all of them... in the near future... so we have a reference to follow... the only thing i can tell you is make sure you buy your fronts or gibberosa from reputable breeder .... someone you have checked out and trust...

 

[cichlidgirl]

This thread has some great info, sorry i missed it earlier on. I personally keep two different "variants" or "strains" . I keep 6 stripe burundi (I will continue to call them "frontosa" until the discussion is completed LOL) and also a Tanzanian Variant known as Mpimbwe or Mpimbwe blue. I have noticed and heard some things about these two types of fronts that i can share. These are mostly things i have seen in my own fish and are my own thoughts on it :

1. The mpimbwe (as are the zaire and zambians) are a much more intense or brighter blue than the burundi.

2. The mpimbwe have a thin lone ranger type mask around the eye area instead of a long vertical stripe that goes up and down over the eye like a burundi. The zaire have a similar mask but slightly wider.

3. All tanz, zambian, and zaires have a mask instead of a eye stripe.

4. The mpimbwe seem to have much more personality and interaction with me than my burundi. If i put my hand in the tank they will come over and eat right out of my hand, the burundi on the other hand hang back and just watch...

5. Zambian and Tanzanian look so similar it is extremely hard to tell the difference.

6. Zaire are also so similar it is often almost impossiable for the regular guy to tell what type he has purchased just by looking. Even experts can often only make a guess. You will see them often ask the person "what did the seller say they were ? " That is because they often cannot tell. It is the same for most of the Tanz. variants as well.

7. There is often a different look or shape to the masks and quality of blue color that will tell tanz from zaire though.

8. Burundi is the most common frontosa found in popular LFS. Burundi is the type that has been around the longest .

9. All Burundi get humps on the head, even females. Alpha males often get truly "massive" humps when kept in same conditions as tankmates.

10. All Gibberosa also get humps on the head but they are often much smaller and more refined looking.

11. It is very hard to tell juvie fronts apart until they start to mature and develop masks and color intensifies. One thing i noticed is that my Tanzanian juvies do not often (if ever) display what is known as "the stress bar" (a dark horizontal line going down the sides of the body in the light stripes that comes and goes with mood). My burundi juvies all displayed this and it would photograph easily. The mpimbwe almost never had that. One other thing i noticed is the blue on the mpimbwe fry at one inch or larger was more evenly distributed over head and dorsal than the burundi and was a different shade of blue, burundi was more ice blue/white and mpimbwe more robin egg blue or sky blue. The burundi blue also seems to be most concentrated on the lower parts of the body getting lighter as it goes up. Mpimbwe seem to have even bright blue all over.

12. I have noticed that it is often the case when someone is not sure of type of front they bring out words like " poor quality or hybrid". I have also found if you buy your fish at a LFS that marked them as "frontosa" and did not specify a location or collection point that even if they are pure burundi or other variant you will most often be told that they "must be low quality or hybrid" simply because of the belief that these stores do not order good stock. I find this to be true at most frontosa specialty sites. While in general you should get better stock from a breeder i have not always found that to be true. I personally have seen nice fish come from Lfs just as often as from a breeder. Its simply that most LFS dont specialize in fronts and dont know the difference, that does not mean the breeder or supplier of those fish didnt know either. That said i have also seen horriable stock from breeders. Use common sense when buying from a LFS, do your research first. I would recommend that you attempt to get good stock from a reputable breeder but if you cant find one in your area and the fish look healthy with nice stripes and good form and color at your local LFS then get them and dont worry about what other "experts" say. My burundi are from Petco and look like burundi and act like burundi. I am perfectly happy with them. I had one expert tell me once i should flush them and buy some "pure" fronts from him instead. Unless its some genetic faults such as lip deformity, broken stripes, 6 stripes on one side and 7 on other etc... avoid those.

Here are some pics :

Here is one of my 2 inch mpimbwe juvies (notice how the intense blue is not just on the lower fins but also the whole body and head area and dorsal fin ?)

Here is one of my 4-5 inch burundi (notice the fins are nice and blue but the body stripes are much lighter blue almost a ice white ):

The two larger fish in front are burundi (notice the stress bar i mentioned earlier on them?) notice the smaller mpimbwe behind them do not display that mark .

 

[Red Devil]

i will be adding more as i go but here are some to start off ...

 

[cichlidgirl]

Mature fronts of all variants grow fin extentions called trailers. Mature fronts are often prized for these extentions. They can grow quite long, often trailing several inches behind the fish as it swims. trailers grow on the dorsal, anal and pelvic fins. The pointed tip of the anal and dorsal fin grows in length till it passes the caudal (tail fin) . The pelvic fin will continue to grow and reaches the tail , often extending behind as well. In a front colony the alpha and beta males are often the fish with the most trailer growth, often their tankmates can have nipped off trailers from the alpha showing his dominance if your alpha is a bit on the aggressive side. The main reason that care has to be taken when housing fronts with other african species is these fish (most often peacocks and also sometimes haps) will chase and nip off these trailers. The trailers can grow back if the part biten off was in the soft area at the end of the trailer but if it was biten off very short , all the way up into the bony area it often will not grow back. There is nothing more beautiful or graceful than a large adult front with spectacular finnage.

Here are a couple photos of my juvie fronts, the alpha and beta are just now starting to develop fin extentions now after 8 to 10 months of growth. The fish pictured are approx. 4-5 inches long.

Here is a pic of my alpha when he was 3 inches (notice he has just had a fin nip on his pectoral fin on the far side ) :

Here he is a couple months later (notice the tiny extention growing from the tip of his dorsal fin ) :

Here he is in January (almost 4 inches) Notice how his nipped fin is now growing multi extentions instead of one thick one :

Here he is this spring :

Here is a recent pic of him :

 

[Hobby]

I keep both Moba and Burundi and in the past I have kept Kigoma. These first two pictures are of my alpha males.......the hump, the coloring and the mask are their main differances. Both are the same size. Notice their long trailors and long finnage they have developed as they have matured.
This is the Gibberosa WC Moba alpha male.

This is my sp North Burundi alpha male.

 

[Hobby]

Here are my Moba in action. I thought seeing some Moba in action might be helpful in identification. They move so gracefully.......Notice their long fins.
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Here are some babies
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[Red Devil]

1. The genus name Cyhotilapia is derived from the latin word cephalicus meaning head and Talapia a native Bechuana African word for fish.. a reference to be pronounced Head Hump.
2. Cyphotilapia Frontosa is one of the largest of the cichlids collected from Rift Lakes.
3. They are lathargic and slow moving fish even in the lake ..they don't expand much energy hunting down their food ..
4. Frontosa are a popular food fish in Zaire...
5. Analysis of stomach contents of wild adults shows mostly fish remains..
6. Frontosa have an unusually long life span of over 25 years.

 

[Red Devil]

General care and Feeding
Since frontosa and Gibberosa are Carnivorous the cichlids will generally eat all kinds of live foods... -
In the wild they feed on shell fish such as snails and molluscs ..in the aquarium it is a slow feeder and will eat pellets as well as a variety of meaty foods such as worms, feeder fish, crustaceans,mysis, shrimp, and krill and frozen foods such as brine shrimp is also considered a good protein source.

You can house a single specimen but they do best in groups of at least 5 and ideally 8-12..a minimum 125gal tank will be needed with larger 200 gal being better. They need good water movement along with a very strong efficient filtration. The males are quite shy and need rocks and cave formation for retreat. Make sure all rocks are firm and secure on the bottom as these fish are quite clumsy when they do move quickly if startled.. They need plenty of open swimming areas, plants are not essential though they do not harm them although can uproot them once in awhile.. Do normal water changes of 10%-20% a week or more.. frequent depending on nitrates. .. They can not tolerate large water changes as easily unless the new water is the same chemistry {or closely matched} being they come from very deep Lake Tanganyika where the water tends to be stable.. these fish swim all levels of the home aquaria... top,middle and bottom.....

 

[Red Devil]

Breeding Frontosa and Gibberosa is not considered easy but they have been successfully bred in the aquarium many times.
In the wild it swims deeper down in the lake then most cichlids.... they feed on shoaling fish in early morning before diving back down into the depths of the lake.
Housing one male with three or four females is the right way to go. If you want to breed you should also ideally create a small "spawning area" in the aquarium that a couple can claim and feel safe to breed in. You can for instance use stones to confine a part of the aquarium for this purpose. Feed your potential breeders a varied diet to promote optimal health and promote breeding.
When you notice the female starts to develope a more rounded belly and gain the attention of the male ..it is time to do a water change to induce spawning...hopefully the female will start to show her breeding tube and it will only be a matter of time before spawning takes place.
They are mouth brooding cichlids and the female therefore will pick up the eggs and quard them in her mouth. Sometimes the female never understands that she is suppose to quard the eggs and will instead devour them . If this happens after several times you must strip the eggs from her and incubate them in a separate aquarium. Use water from the spawning aquarium when you set up the rearing aquarium and make sure the water is identical temperture in both aquariums...
You need to use powerful airstones to rotate the eggs otherwise they will succumb to fungi with out the care from the female.
When it is time to get the eggs from the female turn lights off in the spawning aquarium and in the rest of the room and give fish 30-60 minutes to settle and calm down. Fill a small container with water from spawning tank and use a net to catch the resting female. Gently open her mouth with your fingers and force her to spit the eggs into the container before promptly returning her to the aquarium.
Place the eggs in the rearing aquarium and make sure the airstones are powerful enough to rotate them.
Infertile eggs should be removed as soon as possible to prevent them from turning into a breeding ground for fungi and bacteria.
With a little luck and alot of care the eggs will hatch and you will have fully developed fry within a month.

 

[Red Devil]

One of the most recently discovered Cyphotilapia types {1992} The C.Gibberosa Mpimbwe has one trait that stands out among the rest ..."personality". This fish is much more active then other types and is an aggressive eater.. according to info i have found written about them. They said it is common to have this fish eat out of a strangers hand instead of darting back in their hideaway cave or rocks..Like the other types many hobbiest choose this fish after seeing them in person and watching their outgoing nature.
The Blue coloration on the mpimbwe is very nice and out standing on the dominant male in the group.. the fish has typical interorbital stripe {Long Rangers Mask} This pic is Oddballs Mpimbwe Colony.. they are 10"- 12+" in size.