Information about Frontosas please.

[richardhmc]

Hi MFK! I want to try to start a frontosa breeding project. I will have a 125 gallon tank coming in soon. How many juveniles can I fit into a 125? Do they have to live in colonies? I have heard this from some people. How long does it take before they mature?

Also, can tell me the different types of Frontosa? I thought there were just the frontosas the same as my avatar picture.

-richard

 

[richie 1]

Hi MFK! I want to try to start a frontosa breeding project. I will have a 125 gallon tank coming in soon. How many juveniles can I fit into a 125? Do they have to live in colonies? I have heard this from some people. How long does it take before they mature?

Also, can tell me the different types of Frontosa? I thought there were just the frontosas the same as my avatar picture.

-richard

hi richard i keep frontosa ive kept them for about 5 yrs now so know a little about them lol

if you want to start with a breeding colony then you would be better off buying adult fish as they take 2-3 years b4 they are ready for breeding age
but its a good idea to start off with young fish to grow on i would buy at least 10-15 fry because as time goes by you will have to remove the extra males that come along to get an even ratio usually 2-3 males -however many females yu want or your tank will hold when fully grown the bigger the tank the better as they love to have loads of cruising room i keep mine in a 7x2x2.5 and they are growing like mad!!!!!

there are many types of frontosa the 1 in your pic looks like a tanzanian of some type maybe mpimbwe blue who knows??

if you look up on the net on cyphotilapia variant map it shows you most of the types on there

these are the names of a few of them the most common is the burundi these are the ones you will mostly see in the l.f.s

the most rarest are the zaire blue frontosa ie kapampa,kitumba moba,tembwes

there are lots of different species of frontosa as they are collected from all over the lake

i can give you a link to a website that im a member of its called cyphos.com

its all about frontosa with over 2000 members you will get some exc info from there check it out hope i have helped a little with your questions

good luck

richie

 

[toehead11183]

also try Frontosa.com there is a discussion board. BobSD and TR6 are two members you want to get to know. they are very knowledgable.

in my opinion, get 10 or so juvies and sell off ALL of your males. when breeding age comes around, buy a male of breeding age so they you have ZERO chance of inbreeding,

 

[richardhmc]

I see... thanks guys!

 

[fsc46]

I see... thanks guys!

If you can afford to buy more, ~13. Three may not seem like a lot but if you get unlucky and have 7 males, that means you only have 3 females. Keep in mind you may have one or two females that may look like males. Unless you have experience venting, you and I will eventually sell some by mistake.

 

[richardhmc]

what are the best type of frontosas to get? the rarest ones? what are they?

 

[toehead11183]

burundi's are most common. ziare blues and purples are rarest. no certain one is 'best'. i have burundi and i love'em. depends on the size of your wallet

 

[mike dunagan]

see the rare ones are only rare for so long. If you get a colony and start breeding and so does 30 other people after a few years they are not rare, this is what happened to the brundi... of course still harder to find than lets say a tetra...

 

[richardhmc]

Yes, I know that fish over time get underated. I think the zaires look nice though

 

[riskistang]

Welcome to the frontosa bug!

I have 3 colonies going right now.....
My babies....Kapampa's 3M/5F, Moba's 1M/3F, and Kigoma's 3M/7F

You dont have to have a small male ratio to females.....even 50/50 will be fine....If you are looking to breed them the easy ones to try to start with is burundi's, and Kigoma's.......the hard part of it all is the space provided for them, food variety, and PH! If you have those 3 right you'll have fry in no time with a adult colony.....

Front's can be very pricey per fish and colony......but no matter which type you get u'll love em just the same.....Just make sure you have a decent size tank for adults.....125 is great for a group of no more than 8 adults......with lil' deco......few potting pots...or my fav texas hole limestone! and sand....

Check out the Cyphos.com site, and cichlid-forums.com.....great sites with tons of knowledge and classifieds to find your next colony......read up on these fish and get your tank right before you get them in....so they have a nice happy home when you get them....they can be skidish at first and should not be moved around much or tank re decorated every other week....

Also check aquabid.com for a few good hits on some fronts for sale....its hit or miss there......or if you want quality got to zaire.com....Russ Ustler has great quality F0's

Good luck with your serach and psot some pics of your new lil fronts when you get them....and welcome to the front world!