# coming back to cichlids



## vedderjam (Dec 13, 2005)

ok so its been over a year but i am coming back to cichlids. I have kept and bred several species of tropheus, shellies, some peacocks, haps and some victorians. I have also kept calvus and a single frontosa with them. I have always had a great interest in frontosa so i have a few questions as i decide what to fill my tanks with. 120 gallons. 
1. why frontosa's? strictly your opinions...
2. do you guys keep other species with them?
3. how mayn juvi's should i buy to set up my colony?
4. what type of frontosa will give me a nice blue but a smaller hump on the males?

Thanks alot in advance for any info you can provide

5. i have some a full grown gold comp pair i would like to put with them. cool right?


----------



## boquanzhu (May 17, 2007)

.is your tank 4' tank? that might not work for frontosa, i think 6'+ is the way to go. personaly i would go with 8'
why frontosa's? strictly your opinions... 
they are fun fish to have, i love my mobas
2. do you guys keep other species with them? 
pleco
3. how mayn juvi's should i buy to set up my colony? 
15
4. what type of frontosa will give me a nice blue but a smaller hump on the males? 
gibberosa zarie type moba kitumba tembwe and kampampa

Thanks alot in advance for any info you can provide

5. i have some a full grown gold comp pair i would like to put with them. cool right?
they might got killed by frontosa, but most people have them ok with frontosa


----------



## vedderjam (Dec 13, 2005)

thanks


----------



## daniel505480 (Feb 12, 2007)

I agree with any of the Zaire types being the nicest looking. They have a great body shape when full grown. My Kitumba male has some pretty amazing purple trailers. The Mpimbwe Frontosa are also a very nice color. My male is very deep blue and has a small hump.

You should buy as many as you can afford up to 15. If you have a 4 foot tank though I would avoid frontosa unless you can get a 6 foot tank in the future. Your end goal should be about ten fish keeping every female you have and then only one or two males on top of that. A good thing to do would be to get rid of the males all together and find a good male or two from another source down the road.

I do not keep any other species with my fronts because I am worried they will think they are snacks. A full grown frontosa is truly a site to behold and no matter how big your comp they will fit into its mouth easily. Its just a matter of if and when its going to happen.

The answer to why Frontosa is because they are extremely good looking fish and a big male with nice trailers will make anyone stop and look twice. Here are two good reasons

Reason number 1 Alpha male Kitumba









And reason number 2 Mpimbwes








the dark one is the alpha male at the top.


----------



## vedderjam (Dec 13, 2005)

you've got beautiful fish


----------



## daniel505480 (Feb 12, 2007)

Yeah, they are amazing fish.

Think about all the pictures of Frontosa that you've seen. Think about the nicest ones, and then realize that the pictures don't even come close to doing them justice. Is that a good enough why?


----------



## tirzo13 (May 26, 2004)

1. why frontosa's? strictly your opinions...
-I like that they are harem fish, i like that i don't have to keep the male separated from the females, that they like being in a group.
I like that they are big, but then i don't like alot of other big fish. They are just majestic and relaxed. They are big and yet they just chill.

2. do you guys keep other species with them?
-I have had frontosa for years. People always come up with a new "perfect" tank mate. I have tried them all. the only perfect tankmate is more frontosa. A problem with ALL other fish.

3. how many juvi's should i buy to set up my colony? 
-At least 10, odds are you will get 5 females out of it. More you can afford the better.

4. what type of frontosa will give me a nice blue but a smaller hump on the males?
-Zaire, then mpimbwe, then Samazi.

5. i have some a full grown gold comp pair i would like to put with them. cool right?
-they will eat frontosa eggs and fry, evolution made them that way. Though at least they won't nip fins or be aggressive towards the frontosa like other "perfect" tankmates such as labs, phenochilus or C. moori.


----------



## vedderjam (Dec 13, 2005)

thanks to everyone who has answered.


----------



## tunerX (Oct 25, 2006)

1. why frontosa's? strictly your opinions... 
I chose Fronts specifically for the hump... So I started with Burundis which have a monster hump. Then I found Mobas, they are blue with a smaller hump. I collect both Burundi and Moba.

2. do you guys keep other species with them? 
I only keep a single catfish to clean up the uneaten stuff. It kind of doesn't matter since the fronts will "hoover" small food off of sand.

3. how mayn juvi's should i buy to set up my colony? 
If you buy Juvies from a LFS then they will most likely be from the same brood. Buy from multiple breeders and ask about getting select juvies from different broods. If you plan on starting a breeding colony then get a large WC male first. Then add WC ladies. You need to know how many fish you want to keep in the end and what you will do with the extra fish when you complete your colony. I would say 3-5 for a 120 5 foot, 4-6 for a 125 6 foot, 5-8 for a 180 6 foot, and 6-9 for a 240 8 foot. With max numbers in mind and since juvies are hard to sex, you will need to get about 20 of them. Then you need to wait until they grow and start culling them when you can sex them.

4. what type of frontosa will give me a nice blue but a smaller hump on the males? Zaire - I prefer Mobas.


----------



## Aquatic Therapy (Sep 10, 2008)

tirzo13 said:


> 1. why frontosa's? strictly your opinions...
> -I like that they are harem fish, i like that i don't have to keep the male separated from the females, that they like being in a group.
> I like that they are big, but then i don't like alot of other big fish. They are just majestic and relaxed. They are big and yet they just chill.
> 
> ...


Very well said.


----------



## cichlidgirl1 (Sep 17, 2007)

I like fronts because of their striking appearance. I also like them because of the large size they will eventually get, i like a large fish LOL.

I agree 10-15 juvie fish to get a average size colony after removing extra males at maturity.

minimum 6 foot tank, 7 is better .

For the smaller hump size i would go with zaire or mpimbwe or zambian. Stay away from burundi or kigoma and related species since they achieve massive humps.


----------



## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

tirzo13 said:


> 1. why frontosa's? strictly your opinions...
> -I like that they are harem fish, i like that i don't have to keep the male separated from the females, that they like being in a group.
> I like that they are big, but then i don't like alot of other big fish. They are just majestic and relaxed. *They are big and yet they just chill.*
> 
> ...


I could not have said it any better.

About how many, I usually suggest 10 to 14.

I agree with CG about the 7-foot tank if you can swing it.

I like frontosa for the reasons already mentioned. They are big, graceful and beautiful. They slowly move about with those great looking fins flowing behind them. I really like the blues on the Zaires and the contrast between the black and light stripes. Also, I am not a fan of the big humps so that is another reason I like the Zaire blues.

A lot of good advise given by others!

Let us know which way you end up going :thumb:

Good Luck,
Russ


----------

