# Frontosa



## leftguitar (Nov 23, 2014)

Hello. I'm new to the forum and new to this type of on line communication so please bear with me. I have been a hobbyist since I was a Boy. I have raised and kept many types of fish (Tropical ) and currently have several different species. Particularly Cyphotilapia frontosa. I have a Male and Female I've raised from Juveniles. they are a between two and three years old. At least 10 inches long. I wouldd like to share notes with any other Frontosa keepers/Breeders out there. As I said, I've been doing this for a long time, but have never kept frontosa before.


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

leftguitar said:


> Hello. I'm new to the forum and new to this type of on line communication so please bear with me. I have been a hobbyist since I was a Boy. I have raised and kept many types of fish (Tropical ) and currently have several different species. Particularly Cyphotilapia frontosa. I have a Male and Female I've raised from Juveniles. they are a between two and three years old. At least 10 inches long. I wouldd like to share notes with any other Frontosa keepers/Breeders out there. As I said, I've been doing this for a long time, but have never kept frontosa before.


Welcome to the forum!

Share away mate 

I've been keeping frontosa for approx. 15 years. Here's my history with fronts:
- My first Cyphos were a group of 10 F1 Cyphotipia gibberosa Mpimbwe (Tanzanian) - courtesy of our own Eric Glab many years ago.
- Moved and got into a group of 10 F1 C. gibberosa Kapampa (Zaire) - sold them off.
- Had/sold a group of wild caught C. gibberosa Kapampa (Zaire).
- Have a group of C. gibberosa Mikula (Zaire) in a 240.
- In April, I add a 2nd wild caught group of C. gibberosa Mikula (Zaire) in a 125.

I LOVE these fish and hope, Lord willing, I can hang onto them for many years to come.

I'd be happy to correspond with you.

Cheers,
Russ


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## leftguitar (Nov 23, 2014)

Good to hear from you Russ. I've bred all types of Tropicals. Live Bearers, AND egg layers. I Have Red Parrots now as well as plenty of scavengers, Wild Silver angels, plenty of Red Cherry Shrimp, and of course...my Frontosa's. I know I have a Male and a Female. They are close to three years old. Gettin' pretty big...at least 10 inches now. Very beautiful with long fins. They seem to mostly stay in ( what I call ) their "Dark" state. Only occassionally do they display their lighter colors. Do you know why that is? They can be pretty finicky eaters. They eat pelletts but prefer live earthworms. I don't know if they will breed when the time comes but I am hopeful. My Male is blind in His left eye from banging into something during one of their "sparring" routines a year and a half ago. He gets by fine though and you can't tell he is blind. His eye looks fine . I would appreciate any insight you might have to keeping these giants. 
Thanks again for your response.
Vinnie


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

Hey Vinnie,

My first thought is, 1 male + 1 female, 3 years old and 10" each is that you may have two males???

Darker coloration: there are several things that contribute to them displaying their darker color mode - one of the biggest influencers is light. Fronts will turn on "dark mode" in lower light conditions and with dark tank decor. What I mean by dark mode is that they will turn on the blue pigment in their white stripes, sometimes you may not see any white at all (I am speaking primarily of Zaire gibberosa).

Here is one of the females in Mikula Group Nyatzi (my 125)


Here's a recent pic of Nyatzi (the alpha in my 125 gallon tank) in dark mode


Here's an older pic of Nyatzi, in battle mode, when I had him in the 240 (unfortunately, this image is a little over exposed)


Here's Tau (my Alpha in the 240 which I call Mikula Group Tau) in contrast mode


Here's Tau in a little bit more darker mode (he's top/center)


That gives you a little bit of an idea of some of the color variation they can display


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## leftguitar (Nov 23, 2014)

My "Male" (Truck ) is a little larger than the "Female" (Dozer) and His "Hump" is much larger. His Hump is really pronounced. I have pics but have to resize them somehow to get them onto this site. I tried putting a few on but they were rejected for being too large. 
I have Rocks in the Tank and they both have their own custom made caves. I keep plants in there also even though they like to tear them up from time to time. They like to move "Earth" . In their Dark Mode they look practically Black. Definately one of the more interesting Species I've ever taken on.
But I can say from everything I've read, that they are Male and Female. I'd like to get some of their pics on here to show them to you. 
I hope to learn more from you and the forum about these beauties. There is not a lot of detailed literature on this species. I believe they are Cyphotilapia Frontosa. Hope to hear from you soon.
Vinnie


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## leftguitar (Nov 23, 2014)

/Users/leftguitar/Desktop/IMG_0567.jpg /Users/leftguitar/Desktop/IMG_0565.jpg

Here are two pics of my Frontosa's. "Truck" L & "Dozer" R


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## leftguitar (Nov 23, 2014)

Having trouble trying to get pics on the page for you.


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## rennsport2011 (Oct 21, 2013)

HOW TO POST PICTURES


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## leftguitar (Nov 23, 2014)

http://i1321.photobucket.com/albums/u54 ... 2c2249.jpg


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## leftguitar (Nov 23, 2014)

Thanks for the tip on sending the pics. I hope the photobucket thing works out. Let me know. Thanks much Rennsport 2011.
How do they look Razzo?


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## chopsteeks (Jul 23, 2013)

leftguitar said:


> http://i1321.photobucket.com/albums/u546/leftguitar/IMG_0567_zps222c2249.jpghttp://i1321.photobucket.com/albums/ ... 2c2249.jpg


Success !!

Impressive kok on that male ...


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

They are very nice! Truck is an impressive male with a massive hump! Gonna guess that Truck has some Burundi in him and possibly something else? I'm not great at the ID game if it is not obvious. There is just something to them that makes me think there is a little gibberosa in them but I just can't put a finger on why. They do look nice well cared for.


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## leftguitar (Nov 23, 2014)

Thanks Razzo. I still don't know why they prefer their "Darker" color mode. I don't know about all the different varieties . I was just told they were young Cyphotilaphia Frontosa when I got them. They were about 3 or 4 inches long and Grey with Black stripes. I'm in the process of having two new slate caves made for them as the ones they have now are gonna be too small very soon. Where can I find some detailed info on the different strains of this species. I've looked on line but nothing I've found is very detailed, and there are no Aquarists in my neck of the woods like when I lived down in the city ( Brooklyn ). I live up North in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. 60 Miles North of Albany. I've bred many types of fish but this is my first time with Frontosa's. I sell my extras to EDDIES AQUARIUM in Cohoes . It's about 45 minutes South of my location. Eddies was featured on the TV show TANKED when they built a tank for a wine store in Latham nearby them.


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

These links may help:

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/f ... corner.php

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/c ... .php?cat=9


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## leftguitar (Nov 23, 2014)

I looked at the sites you've sent. Great info. I see what you mean by the Burundi in Truck. I guess time will tell if i have a bona fide pair or not. In any case, I am enjoying them imensely. Their new caves should be arriving shortly. If you are looking for custom made caves, I know a guy in Canada that makes breeding caves for ALL types of fish. Great craftmanship, and good prices. He makes them from different types of Slate, and also Granite.
He's built some awesome Pleco breeding caves/condo's and lots of others. I used some for my Labidichromus curreleus's ( Lemon Chiclids ) when I was breeding them. Talk about a prolific species ! 
If you like, I can give you his contact info if you are interested. I'll try and add some more pics later this week for you to look at. Right now Truck & Dozer are scarfing down some Canadian Nightcrawlers. I have to watch out for them . LOL. Truck actually bit me more than once and broke the skin. He can be really aggressive. I still love Him.  Hope to hear from you soon.


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## leftguitar (Nov 23, 2014)

http://s1321.photobucket.com/user/leftg ... sort=3&o=5
Here are a couple of shots of Truck and Dozer when they were younger. I keep them in a 125 Gallon "Long". Even at that age...you can see the more pronounced Hump on Truck.


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

Definitely C. frontosa Burundi and nice ones at that


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## leftguitar (Nov 23, 2014)

So you think they are Burundi? I don't know much about the different varieties but I'm glad you brought it to my attention. What makes you believe they are Burundi? Color? Hump size? I have a couple of new larger caves arriving for them in the next week or so. I'll take some pics of them before I put them in their tank.


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## leftguitar (Nov 23, 2014)

Been doing a lot of research on liner as to the different varieties of Frontosa's and I can see that mine are more than likely Burundi. They have all the characteristics.


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

leftguitar said:


> ...In any case, I am enjoying them imensely...


That's what it is all about 

Russ


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