210 gallon Frontosa build
- Thread starter Caperguy99
- Start date
In have a question for other Frontosa keepers about their exposure to light in the wild.
I know they come from deep in the Lake. What is the general amount of light they are used to?
As the days grow shorter in my neck of the woods, I realize that the basement room my tank is in stays fairly dark during the day. Unless I happen to be around, my tank light is only set to be on for ~1 hour a day.
Should I be leaving a light in the room on for them during the daytime?
I know they come from deep in the Lake. What is the general amount of light they are used to?
As the days grow shorter in my neck of the woods, I realize that the basement room my tank is in stays fairly dark during the day. Unless I happen to be around, my tank light is only set to be on for ~1 hour a day.
Should I be leaving a light in the room on for them during the daytime?
Can you define “fairly dark”? If the room gets any light through any kind of window, then they’ll be fine mate. My tanks are in our basement with a walk out. The tanks are about 30’ opposite the door that has a small window in it. When I go down in the morning the room has enough ambient light for all the fish to be awake and swimming around already. Fish tank lights are really for the owners viewing, not the fishes benefit, unless of course you have plants 
You just need enough light to make the fish able to differentiate between day and night. If your room has enough light during the day for you to walk through it without problems, and it's darker than this at night, it should be enough for the fish to know it's daytime.
One of my guys has been champing at the bit lately for feeding time.
I usually throw the sinking pellets at the surface of the water so they sink immediately, but he’s so excited to eat he comes right to the surface and tries to suck them down. He’d probably take them out of my hand, if he could.
However, from reading I know that frontosa eating at the surface is bad and can cause bloat or float or something. My question is: to what degree should I be discouraging this behavior? Does it really matter that much?
I usually throw the sinking pellets at the surface of the water so they sink immediately, but he’s so excited to eat he comes right to the surface and tries to suck them down. He’d probably take them out of my hand, if he could.
However, from reading I know that frontosa eating at the surface is bad and can cause bloat or float or something. My question is: to what degree should I be discouraging this behavior? Does it really matter that much?
The actual % degree of risk is unknowable mate, but what is known is that there is some experiential data out there that surface feeding can make cyphos prone to float.
If it were me I would discourage it by changing the way you feed. 2 options;
1. You could either pre soak the pellets in tank water and tip them in so that they sink immediately upon entry to the water column, or,
2. As you mentioned, a form of hand feeding. Put the pellets into your grip, submerge your hand in the top 1/3 of the water column and release.
Have you increased the amount of your feeding recently to take into account their size & increased metabolic needs? Perhaps an increase in your routine feeding might curb the excited behavior at the surface some also
If it were me I would discourage it by changing the way you feed. 2 options;
1. You could either pre soak the pellets in tank water and tip them in so that they sink immediately upon entry to the water column, or,
2. As you mentioned, a form of hand feeding. Put the pellets into your grip, submerge your hand in the top 1/3 of the water column and release.
Have you increased the amount of your feeding recently to take into account their size & increased metabolic needs? Perhaps an increase in your routine feeding might curb the excited behavior at the surface some also
The largest two males in my tank sit just below the surface when I drop the food in. If any of the krill happen to float then they proceed to suck it in there at the top. After seeing this I just make sure all the food sinks when I drop it in. So far no issues with bloat.
