# 75 gallon and 1 Frontosa...what do i do?



## warrenorincreed (Feb 16, 2004)

Hello all.

I have a 75 gallon tank that im in the process of overhauling and re-starting essentially. I currently only have 1 frontosa at about 7", 1 cylindricus at about 3", and 2 bushy nose plecos.

I have great water conditions for a tang tank, but am at an impasse as to what i should do stock wise. The more i read, the more it seems that i should not keep the frontosa. Pretty much everyone in the frontosa section recommends a 110gallon tank. Im wondering if i should sell the Front and start over with other tang species. I have a black background a black sand, so he also displays REALLY dark, to the point that the stripes are almost unrecognizable.

I really like the black/white/blue coloration of fronts, though, so is a Tretacephalous (mis-spelled?) a good choice? What about brichardi? I had these in the past and liked them a lot. I am just looking for ideas at this point, because i really dont know what to do. Cant make up my mind. ( i just want em all and cant afford it!)


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## Charles (Feb 25, 2003)

you can keep one tret. in a 75 gallon. More than one, you might have a war in there.

Brichardi is also a troublesome fish. Once a colony starts, your tank is most likely at high aggression level.

Try something like:
Cyprichromis standard, colony of shellies, a pair of caluve/comp, a pair of small julie. or a group of sand dwellers like xeno. or a group of paracyprichromis neon blue.


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## cichlidgirl1 (Sep 17, 2007)

How does your single front act ? Is he or she happy and normal acting ? If so and you like it alot dont worry about keeping it , a 75 gallon should be big enough for a single front. I know that most people like to keep more than one front, they like the colonies so there can breeding etc. I think that you could keep a single front or even possiable to get it another front to keep it company. I would not get 3 though because while 2 are company 3 can make a crowd and somebody will be picked on etc... You can see how you like keeping frontosa and if you enjoy them you can take plenty of time to plan for getting a bigger tank and colony in the future. Im not sure what to suggest to put in with it, what ever you get it should be peaceful (not semi aggressive or aggressive), you wont want it to be too small of a fish either or the front might eat it LOL. I know it sounds very odd but i have a single large pink kissing gourami in with my fronts (he came with a tank i got) he gets along fantastic with the fronts, i feed the fronts a sinking pellet and the gourami gets some flakes at the surface and also eats algea that pops up in the tank. The gourami also has no problem with the PH i keep the frontosa in. Stay away from all mbuna species (such as yellow labs, red zebra etc..) also stay away from the brichardi species, they wont be good for your frontosa. Larger PEACEFUL species work best.


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## lloyd (Aug 24, 2005)

here's another post regarding tangs in a 75gal. I hope my post there, helps you understand the tank size dilemma:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... p?t=191924

IME, a blackened frontosa is not a content fish.


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## cichlidgirl1 (Sep 17, 2007)

I think frontosa that are dark depend alot on situation, especially with adult fish. My alpha is always 10 times darker than the others, the color of the substrate and lighting and tank background will also make a difference. These are just things i noticed with my own fish. Just because a front is dark (especially a large adult front) does not mean that it is unhappy. You should be able to tell if its un happy by if its hiding in a cave or behind decor in your tank, never coming out. (it might have a hidey hole or cave it feels safe in, thats normal as long as it comes out to eat and leaves the cave sometimes) If it acts spooky all the time, darting for cover when ever you come near and not eating then yes i would agree its dark from being unhappy. If your fish is dark colored but is swimming all around the tank, not shy and eating normally then chances are its just a dark front, fronts will come in a variety of shades and can often change color depending on mood as well.


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