I have never actually heard of a frontosa until just now... I was wondering if anyone knew what kind of fish they would go well with, if they are common, and how big they get as well as their agressiveness. I am semi-interested in getting one, but am not too sure what I am getting myself into. thanks!
Frontosa
- Thread starter CalebsCichlids89
- Start date
Frontosa are african cichlids. They go best with other fish from lake tanganyika, I am not entirely sure which though as I have never kept fronts. The can get up to 13" I believe and they are pretty calm fish.CalebsCichlids89;2492508; said:
Frontosas are awesome!CalebsCichlids89;2492508; said:
Gental giants!! I want to say they get about 14'' in size. They are an African cichlid that will get very big in size! They are generally nice easy going fish. They usually don't even try to eat the small fish in with them. There are a few different types. I believe there is a 5 stripe and a 6 stripe or maybe its 6 and 7... Anyway, its the stripe pattern on them. They also can come with more blue edging rather than white.
Someone else will chime in and correct me on some of this!
Here's a bunch of articles and info about fronts-
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/frontosa_corner.php
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/frontosa_corner.php
A front gets waaayyy too big for a 55. It might work for a short period of time, I am unsure how fast they grown. And if your other africans are Mbuna there will probably be problems as mbuna are too fast/aggressive for fronts.CalebsCichlids89;2492550; said:
Frontosa grow slow and are non aggressive..slow moving... and belong with a colony of 7 or more ... they do not as a rule go well with african cichlids...they are too fast for them and it is harder to make sure they get the proper nutrition... to answer your question about a 55 gal... they could not stay there long term... they get very big.. 10- 16 inches in maturity.. check up on top of this page in sticky ..information on frontosa
Sounds like your getting some good info here. Fronts tend to get very large, slow growing and peaceful. They are wimpy when housed with other species so extreme care must be given if they are not kept by themselves.
Typical frontosa tank : six foot or larger, 6 to 8 frontosa (1 or 2 M/ rest females), sand substrate with rocks and caves, Higher PH's (7.5 and above) and hard water.
In bigger cities they are more common but still pricey compared to other cichlids, in more rural or isolated areas they are more rare and command very high pricing. Several good breeders online are doing shipping and offer a more reasonable option.
A 55 gallon tank would make a perfect grow out tank for a group of juvie frontosa but if you get them keep in mind in 6 months they will have to have to be moved to a six foot or larger tank due to size of fish and more important their aggression to each other (even though they are wimpy to other fish they are not wimpy to each other and will squabble and fight bad in a small tank.) You can often save hundreds of dollars by purchasing a used six foot tank out of the classifieds in your local area.
Burundi type frontosa are most common and both male and female get a huge hump on the forehead . Their colors are still nice, with bluish white stripes. Typical price in a shop : 20-30 dollars each fish. Price from online breeder : 10 each plus shipping
Tanzanian and Zaire types have a much smaller hump but are very blue compared to the burundi fronts. These are much more expensive and sought after compared to burundi but can be purchased online from breeders for more reasonable pricing. I went with Tanzanian (mpimbwe strain) and love em, they were online purchase and i got 10 of them for 120 dollars including shipping (they even tossed in two extra for me since i ordered smaller sized juvies under a inch that were onsale). Most shops dont carry them and when they do they can be super expensive, best to order from reputable breeder.
Typical frontosa tank : six foot or larger, 6 to 8 frontosa (1 or 2 M/ rest females), sand substrate with rocks and caves, Higher PH's (7.5 and above) and hard water.
In bigger cities they are more common but still pricey compared to other cichlids, in more rural or isolated areas they are more rare and command very high pricing. Several good breeders online are doing shipping and offer a more reasonable option.
A 55 gallon tank would make a perfect grow out tank for a group of juvie frontosa but if you get them keep in mind in 6 months they will have to have to be moved to a six foot or larger tank due to size of fish and more important their aggression to each other (even though they are wimpy to other fish they are not wimpy to each other and will squabble and fight bad in a small tank.) You can often save hundreds of dollars by purchasing a used six foot tank out of the classifieds in your local area.
Burundi type frontosa are most common and both male and female get a huge hump on the forehead . Their colors are still nice, with bluish white stripes. Typical price in a shop : 20-30 dollars each fish. Price from online breeder : 10 each plus shipping
Tanzanian and Zaire types have a much smaller hump but are very blue compared to the burundi fronts. These are much more expensive and sought after compared to burundi but can be purchased online from breeders for more reasonable pricing. I went with Tanzanian (mpimbwe strain) and love em, they were online purchase and i got 10 of them for 120 dollars including shipping (they even tossed in two extra for me since i ordered smaller sized juvies under a inch that were onsale). Most shops dont carry them and when they do they can be super expensive, best to order from reputable breeder.
