# some free fish tryin to find out exactly what I got



## JDUBCICHLIDS (Mar 20, 2008)

male frontosa because of the hump?








female frontosa? no hump








what is this guy dark blue some stripes starting to appear


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## Gibbs (Apr 21, 2008)

The first pic does look like a front, however it is the wierdest frontosa i have ever seen. Maybe it's the camera angle or maybe it's been poorly breed or raised. They need large tanks.
The second pic is not a frontosa. might need a clearer pic for that one.
The fish in the last pic is a metriaclima callainos (cobalt zebra)

3rd pic unsure of.


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## JDUBCICHLIDS (Mar 20, 2008)

the first two are frontosa but when I got them they were in a severally overstocked tank. I also had to make a 6 hour trip and when I got home the water temp was 56*. it has been about two weeks and the fish are just starting to get there color back. the fins and color on the front as well as overall body size and shape seem tobe severally off. do u think the first is a male front because of the hump?


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## Gibbs (Apr 21, 2008)

It's hard to tell the sex. They all get the hump so you will have to vent them


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## Robchester_2000 (Nov 8, 2008)

the 'male frontosa' looks kinda creepy in that pic, its probably just the angle, but his eye looks too big, gave me the 'no' feeling. as i said probably just a bad angle! lol


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## Dave (Feb 9, 2003)

The first two "front" pics do not look right. Iridescent scales and a head that is way to big for the body.


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## JDUBCICHLIDS (Mar 20, 2008)

the angle is a lil wierd but the head is really that much bigger than the body. like I said these fish were in with the 2 black fish an albino claw frog 3 fronts 2 oscars and 2 other fish. the oscars had severe hole in the head and these fronts have the wierdest body I have ever seen. they were all in a 30 gallon tank. when i got them they were gray no blue to be thought of


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## Dave (Feb 9, 2003)

JDUBCICHLIDS said:


> they were all in a 30 gallon tank.


 The iredescence may be the flash. The body/head shape appears to be severe stunting due to water conditions, as is the hole-in-the-head. These guys really need a much larger tank, and they need to be split up.


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## JDUBCICHLIDS (Mar 20, 2008)

I got the 3 frontosa in a 55 with about 4 other fish I have that 125 I am getting set up these fish are going to move to the 125 hopefully the fish fill out. I f not I got a pair of odd ball frontosa for free I am gunna try to breed them maybe the fry will come out alright. none the less some interesting specimens.


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## Dave (Feb 9, 2003)

JDUBCICHLIDS said:


> I f not I got a pair of odd ball frontosa for free I am gunna try to breed them maybe the fry will come out alright. none the less some interesting specimens.


 What do you mean by oddball? I would not recommend breeding anything that was not of high quality and of known origins.


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## earth intruder (Oct 14, 2008)

I work at a fish store, and I showed the first frontosa pic to some of my coworkers today... Unanimous agreement that he's one of the creepiest fish we've ever seen. We wouldn't recommend breeding him, just our two cents.


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## danielratti (Feb 17, 2008)

Fronts don't pair....


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## JDUBCICHLIDS (Mar 20, 2008)

a pair as in two not a couple


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## Dave (Feb 9, 2003)

JDUBCICHLIDS said:


> a pair as in two not a couple


 A pair does not mean two fish, it means a male and a female of the same _Genus species_. Danielratti is pointing out that these fish are not pair bonding, so trying to breed frontosa with a single male and a single female is far from optimal.


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## danielratti (Feb 17, 2008)

Also he said he will be putting them in a 125 with other fish the chances of them spawning are slim to non. I have only once in my life seen 2 fronts breed in a 90 gallon tank.


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## danielratti (Feb 17, 2008)

I was thinking about it today and I will say you are the first person I know who wants to breed fronts with downs syndrome.


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## Dave (Feb 9, 2003)

Let's not get insulting.


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## danielratti (Feb 17, 2008)

It wasn't met to be insulting. I was talking to my vet today and in his office he has a 300 gallon with a colony of zaire fronts and i showed him these and he sat there for a good 5 min looking at them and he asked if they had downs.


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## Dave (Feb 9, 2003)

The fish do not have trisomy 21; they are stunted from being kept in too small of a tank with less than desirable water conditions. This has already been established. Let's move on shall we?


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## JDUBCICHLIDS (Mar 20, 2008)

I would just liek to say when I said a pair I ment number of fish as in a couple not a pair im tryin to breed.


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## danielratti (Feb 17, 2008)

The word you were looking for is group or school.


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## JDUBCICHLIDS (Mar 20, 2008)

no it was pair group or school would be like 5-6 plus imo

thanks for your opinion tho good day


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## earth intruder (Oct 14, 2008)

JDUBCICHLIDS said:


> no it was pair group or school would be like 5-6 plus imo
> 
> thanks for your opinion tho good day


Even though they'd be a pair in normal parlance, "pair" has a very specific meaning in fishkeeping (and a lot of other animal husbandry in general).

It's just a common word that has a slightly different, more specific meaning in this domain.


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