# thinking about buying a front, tips & advice please



## jenandcoffee (May 3, 2008)

hello,

i just bought a new tank ( 60"L X 25"H X18"W) and everytime i see these beautys, i drool!!!!
so i'm seriously thinking of buying a front.

i have not made my decission yet , i am just starting my research on them and thought this would be the place to ask my questions...

i've heard they are very aggresive but only towards each other? do i need to do a colony? or can i buy just 1? permiting i can buy just 1 can i house them with peacocks and haps?

is my tank big enough?

thanks, and again for any tips & advice :thumb: 
Jenn


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## jenandcoffee (May 3, 2008)

i know theres lots of fronts owners out there, come on guys speak up


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## jbr230 (Sep 23, 2007)

il chime in with what i know.  a colony of fronts need at least a 6' tank, so with yours, i think it would be best to keep just one. however, fronts do best in front only tanks, so anything you mix in a tank with a front MIGHT get eaten. its not definite but dont be surprised when it happens. fronts will eventually outgrow any mbuna that i know of, and you may end up losing your fish to the front.

that said, i have a 6' front tank setup for about 3 months now with 11 burundi juvies from 1.2-2.5 inches long. i also have 2 julie marlieris and a 2 inch black calvus in the tank. *** always loved calvus and they are the more popular choices as tankmates with fronts, granted that they dont get eaten. i opted to grow everybody from juvies so as to "familiarize" them with each other, but il eventually thin out the front group by removing the males. maybe il start in a year or so. i feed mine once a day, not too much but making sure that they are well fed to avoid them thinking about eating the calvus.

the fronts chase around amongst themselves and pretty much leave their tankmates alone. i would avoid known fin nipping tankmates like mbuna due to "energy" levels and dietary differences. i dont know about haps and peacocks though, maybe others can help you with that.

- jb


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## joesfish (Mar 29, 2004)

Ok, the tank size is not a problem. You tank has a foot print of 5ft x 2ft, most people with 125gal tanks only have 6ft x 1.5ft. I would have no problem keeping 5 adult size frontosa in your tank. As for tank mates, unless you plan on breeding them, other tangs are fine. I keep calvus, cylindricus , compressiceps, and synodontis, but these fish need to be large enough that the fronts will not eat them. When buying calvus or compressiceps make sure they are around 2 inch or better. If you start with about (6-8) 1-2 inch fronts they will out grow the calvus.

As for having haps or pecocks in the tank. I do not reccomend having them because they are more active, but if you do have any make sure they are males and that you don't put more then 2 in the tank.

Your Tank Size is good for starting a Front tank.


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## jenandcoffee (May 3, 2008)

thanks for the replys, so whats this "float" i'm hearing about, is it common with fronts? it sounds like a pain...

Jenn :fish:


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## joesfish (Mar 29, 2004)

Float, this is a bladder disorder causing the fish to have air in it's stomach. Stress, diet and other things can be related to float. Mpimbwe gibberosa are more known to get float because they will eat at the top unlike other gibberosa. The Burundi and other frontosa can get float, but are less likely to have it. WC gibberosa have to be decompressed because of the depth they live at so they can have bladder problems. My mpimbwe have had signs of float when I first got them (maybe from stress), but after about a week with aquarium salt they where fine. I wouldn't worry about float too much, just use food that sinks quickly and don't have stressful tank mates. I have Mpimbwe, Kapampa, Bismarks, Bulu point, Tanzanites, and had Burundi, Nangu. The three different Mpimbwe colonies that I have had only got float problems when with overly active Malawians, when transporting them or when eating from the top. None of my fish have ever died from float. I wouldn't let this discourage you from getting frontosa, gibberosa or any fish.


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## GJx (Mar 13, 2003)

i've heard they are very aggresive but only towards each other? do i need to do a colony? or can i buy just 1? permiting i can buy just 1.

 To add on to what's been said, conventional wisdom has it that Fronts do better in a 6 ft or longer, species tank w/ more than one of them.

gjx/ljx


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## joesfish (Mar 29, 2004)

As for fronts doing better in a species only tank, Not True unless you are breeding them. They are fine with other tangs that are not more active then them. A 6ft tank is not a must as long as the footprint cubic ft is around 9ft or greater. Yes they are aggressive towards there own and should be keep in colonies. It's not that they will die, but that they live in colonies in the wild and thats natural. If you can only buy one then I would buy something else. I wouldn't keep less then 5 in a tank, although some people do keep trio's. To me a trio is not a colony and the frontosa is happier in a colony.


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## jenandcoffee (May 3, 2008)

should i buy them young or do i buy big ones, i guess they can't be sexed when smalll right? what should the male/female ratio be?

ok so say i buy 5 small ones, how long will it take for them to grow? i just want to know how long my tank will look empty. because i think i will have a problem with that....i have 2 other tanks and believe me they are fully stocked...... :-? its like a sickness with me.......lol!

so now the next big question is what kind do i want...i think i like mpimbwe and zaire blue best  joesfish you have lots of different types, which is your fave and why?

as far as tank mates, i really like altolamprologus compressiceps (golden head) would this be a good choice? what would be some other good tank mates to keep it peaceful? i own 3 blood parrots, would they get along, they are very peaceful, seeing as they can't close their mouths, there would be no fin nipping, just a thought, i know most people on here hate blood parrots...

thanks Jenn


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## joesfish (Mar 29, 2004)

Seeing that you don't want a bare tank I would start off with either 5 adults or 8-10 fry or Juvies. If you start with adults have 1M4F ratio works good. You could have a pair of compressiceps and some synodontis catfish. If you put more then 1 adult pair of compressiceps in the tank then they might have a problem with each other depending on the rock cover you have.

If you decide on buying smaller fish or fry then i would buy (8-10) 1" or bigger fry. I would put 4 compressiceps that are around 1.5-2 inches and 3-5 synodontis petricola. As the fronts get bigger I would sale the largest two in about 6 months then after about another year I would keep my four smallest and sell the rest. Then buy yourself an alpha male, most likely your smallest fish will be all females. By this time you compressiceps should be 3-4 inches and they should be all able to live together.

If you plan on breeding at this point it wouldn't be a problem because you have a different bloodline with the male. Just remember that if you do breed a species only tank for the fronts is best.

Picking what variant is always fun. I like the Zaire and Tanzanian the best. I have seen Tanzanian that look like Zaire and Zaire that look Tanzanian. To me if it's a really nice Mpimbwe, Kipili, Tanzanite, or Bizmark and the price is right i would buy them in a heart beat. Most Zaires are nice, but make sure they are zaires and not tanzanian. Otherwise you paying for the name and not the fish. For zaires I like the Moba, kapampa and kutimba and Tanzanians I like the Mpimbwe, Kipili, Tanzanite, or Bizmark. When buying fry check out the parents to get a better idea of what they might look like and buy from someone with a good rep. Good luck.


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## jenandcoffee (May 3, 2008)

ok so after long thought i have made my choice- i'm going with mpimbwe, i really love the color and the face of these guys. decided to go for the the big ones :drooling: as i said before i don't think i will be able to see my tank empty for that long.....

i found somebody local who is selling 1 male 7" and 1 female 5" for $50 bucks each and i also found a place in the states (i live in Canada) that are selling for - $65 ea ( size: 5" - 7") but the only problem is for that price i was told 2 males and 3 females - do you think 7 mpimbwe will be too many in a tank my size? maybe i can ask for 1 m 3 f, i'm not sure i will have to call to discuss further. but my question is why? are females better then males? i was a little confuzed about that response.

either way, i can't wait....i ordered a 3d background for this tank (its on backorder) i wish it would hurry up because i 'm getting impatient, i really want to see my new tank set up with some beautiful mpimbwe in it......

i have a question about substrate, with mpimbwe do you think the light blue color will come out more with black or beige sand?

Jenn :fish:


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## joesfish (Mar 29, 2004)

I am glad your going with Mpimbwe's. Here is a pic of mine with black sand and background. If the sand is light your Mpimbwe's will not be as dark.


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## jenandcoffee (May 3, 2008)

what a beautiful fish :drooling: 
what kind of filtration do you use? your sand looks imaculate, what kind is it? i was thinking of Tahitian Moon Sand.


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## joesfish (Mar 29, 2004)

I have the Tahitian Moon Sand and use two Marineland 350 filters. I don't like to use to many filters and do weekly water changes.


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## jenandcoffee (May 3, 2008)

heres my numbers: 2m/4f mpimbwe, i might get rid of 1 male, want to see how it goes first.

now i have to decide what to put with them. heres what i'm thinking:

4 -6 hap moori blue dolphins

i would like to put: L. Compressiceps Chaitika gold and A. Calvus Pearly White, could i get away with putting a trio of both 1m/2f? or do these fish cross breed?

Thanks


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## joesfish (Mar 29, 2004)

Moori blue dolphins are not that good for frontosa. I had some with mpimbwe's about 10 years ago and the moori are way to active and will nip at the fronts. Comps and calvus are great to keep with fronts, but the comps and calvus will cross breed. I would pick one variant of comps or calvus but not both.

Your male and female Mpimbwe ratio is fine. If you plan on breeding the Mpimbwe's then most likely the comps and calvus will eat the frontosa eggs as the fronts spawn. Almost any other species will eat the eggs, I only keep my fronts and one or two plecos in my breeding tanks.

Good luck with the Mpimbwe's


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