Hey, just got Frontosa delivered and need help sexing them. They were sold to me as “w.c MOBA 1M 3F”. I just added them to the tank and my Burundi male looks like he has more color. Any help would be greatly appreciated
Looks like 2M2F to me.
As to whether they’re moba or not you’d have to post some tank shots.
After shipping it will take them some time to settle and darken up again.
A full tank shot would be helpful as well.
Question though, why are you mixing Burundi and Moba together? The mutant offspring will be worthless
Thanks for the response! I have been hearing the same thing about them being 2m 2f. Seller insist on 1M 3F. I’m not mixing the 2 species of Frontosa. The Burundi is going back in my 180 with my other cichlids. Attached is the photos of them.
Glad you’re not mixing variants. I’ve seen a ton of pics lately of mixed front tanks, some with fry for sale. A terrible practice for gene pool manage
In the first 2 vent pics the vent is almost exactly the same shape, not your classic oo male look, but slightly triangulated and very distinctly different from the last 2 which are huge donuts, clearly female.
Did you buy them privately or from a retailer? Local or shipped? If you had them shipped, there’s prob not much you can do about it now that they’re in your tank, unless purchased from a retailer, and you paid using a credit card that you could dispute
A small business in the Midwest. Not really looking to call anyone out so I won’t mention the name. They were shipped via next day ups after a failed drop off from air cargo the day prior. This isn’t my first Frontosa group as I had a f1 colony about 12 years ago that had way more blue in them. I’ll just learn from my mistake and just support more reputable importers of wild fish from Africa. I doubt I’ll see any money back
No worries mate. I understand. The last 10 years the size and availability of wild Zaire’s has really changed.
I haven’t seen anyone consistently bring in high quality wild Moba since Greg Micelli of Little Africa Aquatics stopped importing.
The most consistent importer since Greg bowed out has been Allison at Cichids & Herps. She had a recent shipment she was selling as 1M2F for $495 shipping included.
Your dominant male has decent color for a new arrival. Your physical environment is very bright w the light background. Once they settle in if they stay lighter colored maybe you could try hanging a black sheet over the back? If that works as a trial, leave it or get something more permanent installed
My F1 group is looking pretty decent against the black acrylic background, but they’re 4-5” atm I have a 6’ light bar in the 10’ tank
Your tank looks amazing! I got my f1 group from Greg that I grew out into a colony. Quality was definitely different! I’m definitely going to paint the background black. I did it on my 180 w/ black sand and my cichlids look great.
Thx brutha. I’m actually gonna replace the Texas holey rock with rock the same as yours or with black granite. Once winter has finally passed I’ll be scouring the landscape supply yards for my new hard scape
Black background and time to settle should help their color... shipping issues, new in the tank, white background; really, it's no wonder they're faded.