Frontosa Tank Advice

[Mike_G]

Personally I like SA cichlids more, but the wife wants a Frontosa tank. She's proven herself capable of taking care of her 35 without any help from me, so I'm going to spring for a new tank for her.

Is a 125 OK for Frontosas or would a 150 be more appropriate? And how many fish in a tank of those sizes? The guy at the LFS said 8-10, but that seems a little cramped to me. Since they're cichlids I assume they eat and poop like pigs, so what kind of filtration is recommended? I have a FX6 and AC110 in my 125 and there's no problem at all keeping the water clean. Will a similar setup work for these guys?

I appreciate any advice. Thanks.

 

[mattison187]

I would say 5. In a 125

 

[Imsobored152]

Personally I like SA cichlids more, but the wife wants a Frontosa tank. She's proven herself capable of taking care of her 35 without any help from me, so I'm going to spring for a new tank for her.

Is a 125 OK for Frontosas or would a 150 be more appropriate? And how many fish in a tank of those sizes? The guy at the LFS said 8-10, but that seems a little cramped to me. Since they're cichlids I assume they eat and poop like pigs, so what kind of filtration is recommended? I have a FX6 and AC110 in my 125 and there's no problem at all keeping the water clean. Will a similar setup work for these guys?

I appreciate any advice. Thanks.

Make sure its a 6ft 125 and not the shorter taller footprint. Id say 6-7 and youd be full.
Same qty for a 150 imo

 

[Mike_G]

Thanks guys. Wife and I appreciate the advice. After I posted we talked more. Ideally she'd like to go with either two males and four females if that's workable.

 

[Grinch]

Thanks guys. Wife and I appreciate the advice. After I posted we talked more. Ideally she'd like to go with either two males and four females if that's workable.

That should be fine in a 6 foot tank. Be aware that it is very difficult to sex Fronts, so getting that ratio will be more of an educated guess. They are very slow growers and take a few years to mature... so you could get a few more small ones than you intend to keep long term and plan to lose a few down the road either to attrition or getting rid of fish that don't match your desired sex ratio or are too aggressive etc.

 

[Imsobored152]

Arent fronts a harem fish? I would think youd want more females for 2 males.

 

[Mike_G]

If they're tough to sex as juveniles I'll probably recommend to her that she start with 6 and see what happens from there in terms of M/F ratios and personalities. Thanks.

 

[wild bill]

I would actually go for a 220 with a 6x2ft foot print. Do a sand bottom and a big pile of rocks in the middle but not sharp rocks. If you can find them a nice group of Kapampas will give the nicest color but they are not usually cheap. In the 220 you can put a few more fish and spread out agression as they mature. Two males is a good number and try to get 6 or 8 females then if you can do a 220. If you go this route get 2 fx6's should do a good job. Fronts do like to eat but are not as friendly at meal time as other cichlids.
I have not noticed with ours that they make as much of a mess as some fish do while eating.

Good luck and all the best with this project.

 

[punman]

I have 5 adult frontosas in a 135 gallon. They have been together for over a year with no problems. Have had a few spawns. Years back I had a 180 which was nice but my 135 and 180 were both 6 feet long so not a huge difference. I could have put a few more fronts in the 180 I guess but at the price for wild caught I think my budget is at its limit.

 

[BIG-G]

If the two dimensions being discussed are 125 or 150 I would go for the one with the larger width front to back. I'm assuming that would be the 150 . Between these two the width would be the most limiting factor for future purchases. It would also open up a few more possibilities for aquascape.