# General frontosa advice



## jamjam (Aug 8, 2008)

hi i have recently just set up my new 125 gallon aquarium and want to stock it with a colony of fronts. my questions arre how many fronts full grown could fit into this tank, and also what other little species could i have with them that wont make them too nervous i.e calvus, etc..


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

jamjam said:


> hi i have recently just set up my new 125 gallon aquarium and want to stock it with a colony of fronts. my questions arre how many fronts full grown could fit into this tank, and also what other little species could i have with them that wont make them too nervous i.e calvus, etc..


I think six to eight mature frontosa in a 6-foot 125 gallon tank would be OK (I wouldn't do more). Or, you could start with 10 to 14 fry.

Calvus make a nice tankmate and so do clown loaches. There are some others too.

Some comon advise you will see, on this board, is: "the best tank mate for a frontosa,... is a frontosa."

Hope that helps.

Russ


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## sawboy (Sep 18, 2006)

Some bigger synos for the bottom are a nice addition as well.


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## bitterman (Mar 27, 2006)

One thing to keep in mind is most good tank mate for Frontosa will steal eggs so if breeding is you main goal,tank mates should be let out of the equation.

For Calvus/comps you will need to be a decent size with adult fronts or they will become very expensive snacks.

Syno Multis do best in groups of 6-12 and they would need to be adults with adult fronts as well and tke a long time to reach adult size. Would suck to loose an expensive front cause it tried to eat the syno!

Bruce


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## Jorsay (Jul 14, 2008)

I have a new 300 (as probably everyone on this forum knows by now since I have said it in nearly every thread). I intend to put fronts in with a mixture of tangs. I currently have fronts in a 90 with a mixture of tangs.

*My question is:* I keep hearing that fronts will eat everything else; how big are they when they begin to do this? So far, I have never had a single front eat anything in my tank, but I have never had a front larger than 7 inches.

Here is a picture of the fronts in my 90. You can see the calvus, brichardi, cyprochromis, and leleupi. I have heard that all these are front food, but, so far, the fronts don't seem interested. I also have tiny 1 and 1.5 in julies, that the fronts don't bother.


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

bitterman said:


> One thing to keep in mind is most good tank mate for Frontosa will steal eggs so if breeding is you main goal,tank mates should be let out of the equation.


Good point, I don't keep any other species in with my Kapampa breeding group.

Russ


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

Jorsay said:


> *My question is:* I keep hearing that fronts will eat everything else; how big are they when they begin to do this? So far, I have never had a single front eat anything in my tank, but I have never had a front larger than 7 inches.


Big fish eat smaller fish (give it time). You'd be amazed at what a mature male will try to scarf down. You not only have to worry about losing the smaller fish, sometimes a frontosa will bite of more than he can chew and I have seen where a fish will get lodged in their throat and that can be fatal to an expensive frontosa.

CYL,
Russ


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## GJx (Mar 13, 2003)

What I've found is that Fronts don't always go by any prescribed playbook as to what they will gulp down & when they will do it. I could tell you that around 4 or 5 inches some of my fronts over the years have scarfed down tankmates like leleup & brichardi & I could tell you that I've had 10 inch plus fronts who shared a tank with julies & even julie fry & sometimes various & sundry cyphs & feeder guppies & never so much as made a visible run at them for lunch.

So all in all, I don't know that anyone can seriously say when fronts will begin to eat or attempt to eat their tankmates, but my experience over the years has shown me that in the majority of cases they will.

So while I have added some smaller tankmates with fronts around & inch or two, on up to 3 or 4 inches,...at some point between 3 & 5 inches, I've taken them out or some got MISSING & I took the rest out.

Hope this helps.
GJx


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## cichlidgirl1 (Sep 17, 2007)

I have a 265 with numberous small (2 inch) mpimbwe frontosa and 6 slightly larger juvie burundi ( 3-5 inches). I noticed they dont try to eat their smaller brothers and sisters but have no problem eating the fry of a pair of red empress that spawn regularly in that tank, they also dont have a problem going after larger fry/juvies of that pair that i put into the tank when i took the fry tank down. I guess it comes down to there just being a trigger in their brain that says "eat that" for some situations and not others. A good rule of thumb is if the fish is not capable of defending itself or does not grow to a big enough size to deter eating them then dont put it in with fronts. After all, fronts while being peaceful overall are still a cichlid . I put over 30 of those red empress fry/juvies (1/2 inchers) in the tank and there are still a few of the smarter ones here and there but the majority are gone after 24 hours. I noticed when one fish goes after one the others get excited and join in on the hunt. Hope this helps.


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