Frontosa Tank Size for new arrivals

[G8zzaj]

Hey everyone,

I currently have 6 Frontosa in a 75G aquarium and was looking to grow them out and upgrade. They are around 4-5 inches at the moment.

My upgrade plans have been accelerated as I have the opportunity to take someone’s colony of 9 frontosa that are 5-9 inches.

what tank size should I be looking to upgrade to for these?

is a sump or canister better?

 

[duanes]

Nothing under 150 gals.
Bigger would be better.
Since I use sumps, that would be my choice, and I would do a heavily planted sump to aid in reducing nitrate (something canisters rarely do)
My 125 gal planted sump below., used to filter my 180 gal cichlid tank.

 

[neutrino]

I've had Cyphotilapia for over 20 years, done some breeding, etc. Imo to keep them all long term you'd eventually need larger than a 6 ft tank.

People debate sumps vs canisters. It's a matter of opinion and personal preference as far as I'm concerned.

 

[ken31cay]

Though they could do for the time being in a 6ft tank, I would want to put these in an 8ft tank.

I currently have a new colony of 16 Kitumba (all 4" - 6") in an 8ft 450gal. I have a 6ft 180gal and yes I think they would have been fine in that tank for perhaps another year but I've found that a proper Frontosa colony needs bigger than a 6ft tank. IMO.

 

[Caperguy99]

Nothing under 150 gals.
Bigger would be better.
Since I use sumps, that would be my choice, and I would do a heavily planted sump to aid in reducing nitrate (something canisters rarely do)
My 125 gal planted sump below., used to filter my 180 gal cichlid tank.
View attachment 1506184

If I may ask, how many fronts did you have in the 180 and were they content there long-term?

Also, that’s a crazy looking sump. Any insight on the setup? Is it just a whole lot of plants with a grow light, or is there also a mechanical/chemical filtration element to the sump?