# frontosa feeding



## jamie19 (Dec 23, 2008)

hi all i am new to this this is my first post i brought a frontosa and i keep it in a 45gal tank is this big enought for 1 fish i will up grade to a bigger tank in about a years time because this fish grow slow allso why will it eat only blood worms thanks for your help sorry for bad spelling i wasent very good at school lol


----------



## cichlidgirl1 (Sep 17, 2007)

A 45 is very small for a frontosa so you will want to upgrade as soon as you can. You will want to keep your fish in a 6 foot long tank (a 125,135, 180 gallon tank) those can be expensive so i would look in classified ads , you can get them for hundreds of dollars cheaper. Example i bought a new 135 gallon tank setup for 1200 dollars and a few weeks later saw the same tank forsale , one year old tank complete setup for 400 dollars. I should have looked there first LOL.

You will want to get your frontosa some buddies as soon as you get a bigger tank. Frontosa are kept in whats called a harem colony. 1-2 males and 6-8 females. That is why you will want the big tank.

Your fish should be eating a quality sinking cichlid pellet. Go for the highest protien on the label you can find. Brand does not matter as long as it is sinking kind. I feed hikari carnavore sinking pellets and HBH african cichlid attack sinking pellets. I suppliment these with tubiflex worms , krill, and also medium sized shrimp i buy at the grocery store. You can use raw or cooked plain shrimp . I buy a bag of peeled cooked shrimp and cut it up so they can eat it. Larger fronts can eat it whole.


----------



## jamie19 (Dec 23, 2008)

i had my fontosa in the tank for about a week it seems realy active there is a plec in there if i wanted to keep 1 fish and a plec would the tank be big enought till i can afoord a bigger tank i am on a tight budget ant the moment lol  thanks for your help :thumb:


----------



## cichlidgirl1 (Sep 17, 2007)

Ok, so you only had the fish for a week. Yes that will be ok to keep it with a pleco until you get a bigger tank, if you think you wont or cant get a bigger tank then i would take him back asap and exchange him for something that will get along better in your size tank setup and wont need a upgrade.

Because you said you only had the fish for a week im just curious , you did cycle your tank before putting in the frontosa right ? If you dont know what im talking about or know and didnt do it , you will want to remove about 5 gallons of water every 2 to 3 days and replace it with clean dechlorinated water until your tank builds up enough good bacteria to filter out the toxins that all fish produce . Most people dont realise that fish go to the bathroom just like other animals . It should take anywhere from one month to 2 or 3 months. Mine took 4 weeks and that is pretty normal. It also helps if you have a test kit to know when to do this. Pm me if you need more info on this. If it doesnt apply to you and your tank then just ignore me LOL


----------



## jamie19 (Dec 23, 2008)

ok one more qusten when you mesuar a fish do u mesuar it from the snout to the very end of the fin or just the body so sory for bad spelling


----------



## cichlidgirl1 (Sep 17, 2007)

I measure from snout to tip of tail. Not sure if everybody does .


----------



## jamie19 (Dec 23, 2008)

ok thanks how do i post pic i need help on sexing my frontosa


----------



## cichlidgirl1 (Sep 17, 2007)

I Joined photobucket, its free and works well.

1. upload pics to computer

2. Join photobucket then upload from your computer to photobucket

3. click direct link and right click then copy on photobucket

4. come back to forum click img on forum and right click then paste then img again

5. when you click add reply pic should be there.

Seems complicated the first couple times you do it then its easy. Sexing frontosa is difficult even for experts. You have to look at the genital area for very slight differnces in shape of the openings , most people have alot of trouble doing it. The fish have to be 5 to 6 inches long before even bothering to attempt it. :thumb:


----------



## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

NLS Thera + A Large Fish Formula 3mm sinking pellets. I buy mine from JEHMCO (a Cichlid-Forum sponsor). I buy the 5-pound bucket (item #: NLSTALF-5)
http://www.jehmco.com/html/spectrum.html


----------

