# Venustus



## cicklid (Feb 15, 2011)

Can venustus make good tankmates for frontosa?Have had venustus in the past and did not find them that aggressive.I think the difference in colors would make the tank pop.


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

I've never kept venustus myself, but if they are as peaceful as people make them out to be, they should make good tank mates for fronts. The catch is that like fronts they like to live in groups of 1-2 males with several females, plus they get large. By the time you want to accommodate a group of frontosa AND a group of venustus, you need a pretty decent sized tank. Even a 125G is going to feel very crammed.


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## cicklid (Feb 15, 2011)

thanks for the heads up.I knew the fronts needed a couple males and several females,but the venustus i didnt know, read up on them but dont remember anything about that.Had a couple venustus in the past but went a different way with ca/sa cichlids.So how many fronts and venustus bare minimum would be alright to start a tank with?Thanks again.


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

My wisdom comes mostly from the species article, and I didn't even quote that correctly:



> Sexually active males can be quite aggressive; therefore, several females should ideally be housed with just one male of the species. The recommended tank size for an adult is at least 125 gallons.


That author seems to think just one male with several females is best, but hopefully somebody else who has actually kept venustus can ad their 2c. I'll move this to the Malawi Section in the hope to get more input, and leave the shadow in the Frontosa Folder.


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

I've seen them mixed together successfully. Plenty of big caves for the frontosas, and the venestus typically get pushed out of the caves.


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## rgr4475 (Mar 19, 2008)

I have a male Front and a male Venestus in my 180g for about a year now. So far they ignore each other. However they are not fully mature.


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## fox (Jun 11, 2009)

We keep venustus but no front's. We do keep other large Haps though and the venustus do their own thing. He will need a place to call home or he will get stressed. Our male maintains two bowers that he trys to lure the girls towards. He can get assertive with that.

The male does get aggressive when he wants to spawn and will try to clear his real estate, this seems to be the only time he gets out of hand.


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## cicklid (Feb 15, 2011)

Would between6-7 Be the ending amount of each.Does that mean i need to raise more until the sex becomes known,Then take out the extra males?Can i keep 1 male and 3 females of both vens and fronts?thanks for all the replies anymore would be read and appreciated
Cicklid


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