Thinking of Gibberosa/Frontosa tank

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G

Gamedad

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 3, 2012
8
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1
Marietta, GA
I have been in the hobby for many years and these 2 species are the ones that get my attention when I walk in to a LFS. I finally made the decision to set up my tank and stock it with Gibberosa, I prefer the blue zaire or mpimbwe. I have been doing some research for a few days now and thought I was ready to pull the trigger this morning but after reading some posts I'm slowing down the project. (I was perusing some other forums, only came to MFK this morning)

My tank is 215g so big enough to handle a colony of these fish. However, am I making a mistake by putting 8-2" fish into a tank this size from the start? Do they need a 'growout' tank? When I think of growout tanks my mind goes to juvenile discus being kept in 40-60g bare bottom tanks to more easily control water quality. Is the need for the growout tank more for health/water quality reasons or is it that putting 2" fish in a big tank seems like a waste for the first couple of years?

My second question is regarding aquascaping. My intent this morning was to do a scape that is minimalist; black sand, black background, large gray stones and low level lighting. There would be one cave for the alpha male when one emerges. While the rocks are larger in size, 15lbs or more each with sides as long as 16", there would not be any additional caves for the remaining fish. The theory is that this keeps the other fish more active and visible. I've read several posts this morning on MFK that would indicate this may be significantly less than ideal for these fish. True?

Finally, tank mates. I do not want a lot of other fish in the tank. I want the gibberosa to dominate the tank, not only in size but in quantity. Would the addition of 3-4 calvus (probably black if I can find them) and 1 each of synodontis flavitaeniatus and jaguar catfish be acceptable? I understand calvus are not from the deeper waters but their overall general demeanor would make them acceptable tankmates. I wouldn't expect any problems with the synondontis but I may find out otherwise. (lol)

Any input is welcome!
 
By you mean 8-2" fish do you mean their size range or you will put eight 2" fish in there? 215. I have mine with black sand and some big rocks. I am keeping 4 adult blue zaires and 6 3" blue mpimbwes(trying to sell the pims). As for calvus they should be fine. Calvus are best tankmates for Frontosa.


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And you don't necessarily need a "growout" tank i had my 30 mpimbwes in my 125g. And they grow fast in a bigger tank :D


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Hi there first of all welcome to MFK! Sorry for the delayed reply usually you get replies a lot quicker then this, to start with excellent choice of fish fronts are awesome I love my group of Zaire's.
In regards to you question on tank size usually smaller tanks make it easier for the small fish to find the food without some being missed and going nasty, however I see no real issue growing them out in a large tank just make sure leftover food is cleaned up. (I always grow my smaller ones up in a smaller tank just because id rather be using my larger tanks for larger fish until the smaller ones need it but thats just me)
As for you suggested aquascaping the sand background and lighting sounds great however you will want cover for the non alpha male fish and even females when the male starts harassing them. so i suggest more cover for the other fish.
Calvus will make excellent tank mates just bare in mind they grow incredibly slowly so they need to be bigger then the fronts to start as the front will outgrow them and see them as food otherwise. both fronts and calvus are very slow feeders so they should be fine competing for food.
as for jaguar catfish and synodontis... synos will be ok jaguars prefer much softer water. however i tend to find synos annoy fronts and will potentially be a problem later with calvus and fronts breeding.

hope this helps feel free to pm me if you have any more questions. :)
 
A lot of people have grow out tanks because they don't have the big tank yet or they don't have it ready yet. Some people just like to grow out there fish. There is nothing wrong with putting those fish in the tank from the start. I put 20 .75-1inch kigomas in my 150gal and grew them up so you should be fine. I would rather put the fish in the tank otherwise I ll go stock it with something else if it sits empty lol.

I currently still have this colony and they are happily breeding.

As for aquascaping, you just need hiding spots or areas to divide up the tank. Honestly I have like 7 or 8 rocks in my tank a few big, med and a few small to divide it up. I have sand on the bottom and not background - my fish are fine, but general rule of theumb the mores hiding areas the better.

As for tankmates calvus are fine for tank mates. I keep a syno cat with my fronts and he does well.
 
dragonfish70 said:
By you mean 8-2" fish do you mean their size range or you will put eight 2" fish in there? 215. I have mine with black sand and some big rocks. I am keeping 4 adult blue zaires and 6 3" blue mpimbwes(trying to sell the pims). As for calvus they should be fine. Calvus are best tankmates for Frontosa.
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Qty of 8 fish---2" each. If we weren't geographically challenged I'd take all 6 of yours. ;)

Good to have confirmation on the calvus. I don't have a jaguar yet so not big deal there. The synodontis flavitaeniatus looks a bit like a roll of the dice. That seems to happen a lot in the fish world. I don't have plans to breed them but if I should happen to get some fry it'd be nice not to have a pesky fish around.

My greatest concern is having fish that are shy and hide all the time. It's a rather big deal to have fish that you get to see more than just at feeding time if it's your main display. At least that's true for me. So my plan now is to do a growout tank to see how active or shy the particular group of fish I get really are. Given the grow out period is quite long I can do something interesting with the 215g for the next 12-18 months. I have the opportunity to get a 90g tank which should hold a few fish for quite sometime.

Now to find a breeder. I checked the 2 LFS that I frequent and neither can really do much in regards to guaranteeing mpimbwes or zaires. Both use local breeders where they can but they don't have any local source for fronts/gibs.

thank you for the input!
 
If you want active fish that will eat out of your hand get mpimbwe blues. The blue zaires are very very skittish just look nicer.


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A lot of people have grow out tanks because they don't have the big tank yet or they don't have it ready yet.
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Agreed. Or there are those with multiple tanks, with the larger and nicer scaped tanks as display tanks and other tanks for growing out fry of whatever species.

As far as trouble finding food in a larger tank? No, not a problem. If they can find food in the lake I think they can find food in a tank, it's what they're wired to do. But beyond that simple logic I know this from experience. If they like the food they'll find it. Also, at two inches (actually less) fronts are no longer fry but are juveniles with well developed senses, etc.

As far as Zaires being skittish, mine have never been, but they can be made so. Partly depends on the tank, tankmates, temperament of the alpha once they get larger, how much you're around so they can get used to you, etc. I have an adult male (Zaire blue) Kapampa from my group in a tank at my wife's business, with people coming in and out, little kids coming right up to the tank and pointing, etc. and it doesn't faze him... so much for the theory that they can't handle any traffic around their tanks, but it's mostly a matter of conditioning.

As far as having caves for them, not necessary at all for juvies, few big rocks is enough or you can be more elaborate if you want. It's sometimes a help for adult females when some males can be a little rough on them. Some alpha males like to sulk in a cave, but not all. But, not to state this as a rule, but many frontkeepers find if you give them hiding places they use them, if you limit hiding places you'll see them a lot more. Not unusual for someone frustrated with theirs hiding a lot to be advised to remove most of the caves, etc. and find out they're not really so shy after all.

Syno cats are a mixed bag with fronts. Lot of them are good at stealing eggs once the fronts are old enough to spawn, but at 2 inches, that's going to be a while yet.
 
Sometime Saturday night my reef tank crashed. I didn't notice it until I went to feed the fish early Sunday afternoon. Right now it's about a 70% loss. I am putting the gibberosa tank on hold until I decide to rebuild the reef or not.

I really appreciate the input!!
 
This what I would . Set up a tank jst the way you described it but plan on not changing anything so your fish grow out feeling comfortable. I would definitely try and get more fish so you can keep the best looking ones. Definetly dont keep em in bare bottom since they tend to spook quik. You do know you might have to get rid of some fish because u dont want more to two males but I think you can get away with 3 males.

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