Are fronts aggressive towards new comers

Jag586

Piranha
MFK Member
May 28, 2012
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st clair shores
So out of my 15 fronts let's say I end up with 2 males and 8 females (sell other 5 males) if I buy and grow out some females and add them to an established group will the new fronts (females) be attacked and killed ? Welcomed with open fins? Or just have to wait and see?


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Rafini

Piranha
MFK Member
Jun 28, 2012
1,930
177
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Calgary, Canada
I think as long as there isn`t a huge difference in size they should be able to assimilate into the heirarchy
 

chopsteeks

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Jun 2, 2013
418
29
61
Denver
It's 220 gallon, do I need to redecorate or just leave the setup


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You can leave the setup as is. In my experience with Fronts, there will be a few chasing around but nothing significant enough to cause any damage. In a smaller tank, this can be an issue.

Of course there are a fish or two that will be an exception to the rule. I have a Mpimbwe female that has a Mbuna type aggression in her. But her aggression is not only towards other Fronts but any fish even towards bigger Haps and Peacocks.

With my Moba group, new females will be chased here and there but in a day, everything is fine.

But in a 220, you will be fine with the decor left as is.
 

Rafini

Piranha
MFK Member
Jun 28, 2012
1,930
177
81
Calgary, Canada
I was going to do fronts in my 225 but I couldn`t find any locally bred babies for a good price so I decided against it. good luck with your introduction
 

Nutsaboutangels

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 14, 2012
9
0
0
California
All my fronts are like lazy house cats and could care less what goes in and out of the tank (unless it's food). Just like any other fish though, some might be more aggressive than others and try to nip fins but it shouldn't go more than that w/fronts IMO.
 

neutrino

Goliath Tigerfish
MFK Member
Jan 22, 2013
2,396
2,627
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Mid-Atlantic, US
Really, it's not totally predictable. Larger tank, larger group, and better odds it's no big deal. Yes, some people do find it advantageous to rearrange the tank (or temporarily remove decor and make the tank really open) so there's not established hangouts to defend and everyone has to adapt to the new territories (or no territories). A trick some use is to introduce new additions at night. When they wake up they're just there already, rather than appearing to 'invade' an established group and territory.

These steps aren't always necessary, it all depends on the particular group, oftentimes especially depends on the temperament of your alpha. It can also depend on the attitude of the new fish, whether any of them come in trying to make waves or stay low key. In some cases juvies are more likely to be accepted as no big deal, still being immature they don't really threaten the status quo in the group. On rare occasions you might get large fronts that will actually eat small fish of their own kind, fairly rare from what I've seen (14-15 total years personal experience with fronts, 8 years being on a well known cyphotilapia forum). The overall point here is that they can vary quite a bit in temperament and behavior in a tank, and with fronts you can't always take individual experience and extrapolate it to what will happen in every other tank.

So, really the answer is to some degree you'd have to wait and see, or you may have enough of a read on your own group (how mellow they are-- or not) to have an idea what to expect. But imo your tank size and group size is in your favor.
 
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