C. Frontosa
Contents:
photo by
Erik Olson
- VERY UNIQUE CICHLID-FRONTOSA
by mattk-at-netnews.usl.com (Kaufman M.E.) (22 Mar 1994)
- Breading Frontosa questions
by horus-at-netcom.com (cis productions) (Sat, 30 Jul 1994)
- Lettuce for Chiclids
by snapshot-at-praline.no.neosoft.com (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) (Thu, 24 Aug 1995)
- cyphotiliapia frontosa
by jerry mayer <jerrold_h._mayer/hud.gov> (Fri, 02 May 1997)
- frontosas
by Cliff Edwards <mbuna/eden.com> (Thu, 4 Apr 1996)
by mattk-at-netnews.usl.com (Kaufman M.E.)
Date: 22 Mar 1994
Mark Roxberry (MKR106-at-psuvm.psu.edu) wrote:
: I just wanted to find out if anyone has ever heard of a FRONTOSA--It is of
the
Perhaps I'm spoiled living in NJ, but you often see them in better
pet shops. Big, blue, black stripes, humped heads.
Supposedly vegetarian. Always available, never cheap. Not 'rare'
by any means. A couple folks in the local club used to turn that fish out
in quantity; takes *big* tanks and a spawning group of 6-8. Kinda touchy
about water chemistry (likes it clean and well oxygenated.) Odd that
it would be 'rare' in Pa, heck, I think I saw some very unhealthy
looking ones at Martin's in Jenkintown a couple weekends ago. By the
way, this was one of the worst pet shops it's been my experience
to ever visit. I wouldn't be suprised if the paltry few fish that were
alive 2 saturdays back were dead by the following monday, not like the
owner's would care. I hadn't seen a store with sick *mammals* before, either,
unhealthy dogs and cats. Almost as bad as that Aqua-Tropics place that
advertises in FAMA sometimes, but not quite as disgusting. So, don't
go to Martins to find tropheus, the point was made for comparison.
Steve Somermeyer, an ACA board member (at least at one time) and big-time
cichlid hobbyist dude breeds them as well. His secret is feeding huge
adult fish baby brine shrimp and lots of veggies. He gives an excellent
presentation on tanganyikans in general and mouthbrooding tanganyikans
in specific like Tropheus and Frontosa.
He also strips the fry and eggs from mouthbrooding females. Apparently, fry
with eggs sacs will also consume some baby brine shrimp. Kinda cool to see.
As with all cichlids, best to start out with a group of youngsters and
wait for a pair to form. I believe they're harem polygamists - a male
will spawn with several females. The biggest tank you can
fit and afford, the better. 8' tanks work well, from what I've been told.
Matt
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by horus-at-netcom.com (cis productions)
Date: Sat, 30 Jul 1994
Newsgroup: alt.aquaria
well, first of all, i'd bread them with flour and breadcrumbs. heat oil
to 350 degrees, etc.
> - 130 gal. cylinder tank 3' diameter 3' deep with lots
> of lace lava rock and a gravel bottom.
> - Lots of plastic plants and hiding places.
> - Temp. set at 78 degrees.
> - Water is Slightly alkaline.
> - 3 Frontosis which are 4 to 5 years old and 7-9 inches long.
hmmm, have you established for a fact that out of the three frontosas,
that there is at least one male and one female?
i think this is the most important issue here.
>The list of questions I have are..
> 1. How do they lay there eggs (ie. vertical surface,
> horzontal surface, mouth broders)
they will breed in a small open area usually in the gravel. the male
will "mark" the territory and it should be fairly obvious when they
are in breeding mode. i first spawned a 6" pair in a 26 gallon tank.
> 2. Should I move some of these other fish out of the tank
> or will the change in the social order and keep the
> parents from breeding.
i doubt if any of the other fish are stopping the frontosa from
breeding.
> 3. Is gravel all right or should I change to sand.
IMHO, sand is preferable, but i've spawned them in gravel and in sand.
> 4. Are they good parents or do the eggs need to be removed
> from the tank.
generally, they hold pretty well.
good luck,
jeffrey
--
[invisible sig.....just add water.]
by snapshot-at-praline.no.neosoft.com (Quintus Horatius Flaccus)
Date: Thu, 24 Aug 1995
Newsgroup: alt.aquaria
stuff deleted
>
>This depends on the cichlid(s) you are talking about. If you are refering
>to algae eating cichlids from L. Malawi or Tanganyika, this will help
>supplement the diet. Of course if you have something like a C. Frontosa, it
>will not eat the lettuce it will shred the hell out of it and not eat a
>bit.
>A good book is The Cichlid Aquarium by Paul Loiselle (TFH)
>
>mike
>
>*******************************************************************************
> Mike McLaughlin. - not-at-hooked.net -
> really.
>*******************************************************************************
respectfully disagree. I have six fronts who do tear it to shreds, but
big pieces disappear down their throats, not to reappear. I have a 90
gallon with tang cichlids and they all seem to like the greens. I've
used frozen husked green peas, endive, red leaf and romaine. They
don't seem to care for spinach. The piece I put in is usally about 2x3
inches and it's gone in about 20-30 minutes. I always wash well, but
don't use organic.
John
by jerry mayer <jerrold_h._mayer/hud.gov>
Date: Fri, 02 May 1997
To: eriko/elmer.wrq.com
re: the articles posted on c. frontosa
1-the frontosa is not a vegitarian-per fryer and iles, cichlids of the
great rift lakes of africa, the dentition of the species is not that of
a algea eating rock scraper-in fact they consume shrimp, mollusks and
small fish.
2-they do not eat lettuce.
3-i have been breeding frontosas for many years. if you strip the fry
from a brooding female at the yolk sac stage you will fail to "imprint"
the fry properly. although many assume this method may yeald greater
commercial quantities of fish for sale it will produce fish that do not
know the correct and natural brooding behaivour for this species. fry
produced by stripping will grow up to be egg eaters.
4- frontosas begin with small broods of 4-6 fry and after a year an adult
female will produce 30-50 fry. do not confuse small initial broods with
"lost" fry due to consumption by properly imprinted adults. females
generally are ready to breed every 60 days.
5-i have had success breeding frontosas in a 125 gal tank with 1 adult
male and 15 females. they like clean water kept at 78 degrees. ph
should be very alkaline 7.5+ and very hard, and no salt should be added
to the water. lake tangankia lacks sodium chloride as part of it's water
chemestry. they do well on tetra min, krill or fresh shrimp. a large
selection of females keeps the male busy and prevents the male from
focusing on any single female and causing damage to her through sustaned
agression, this saves wear and tear on the females.
6-the reference to "plants" in the on-line article does not make sense.
the natural habitat of the frontosa is some 35 meters deep. this is a
rock and sandy substrate species, there are no plants to be found in this
strata of their lake tanganika habitat, therefor placing plants in the
tank serves no purpose as far as the frontosas themselves are concerned.
live plants (except for tanganikan valisanria) will wither and die under
optimum frontosa water conditions in any case and plastic plants look
crappy.
7-sexing c. frontosa. believe it or not a trained eye can sex frontosa
from as early as 2 month of age. males are heavier, more aggressive and
most important like to hover closer to the bottom than females. this
bottom hugging behaivour by males is a typical mating/social interaction
behaivour. a female that comes down in the water colum to the substrate
nest of a dominant male is signalling her desire to breed. once you know
what to look for it is easy to tell at a glance which sex is which from
their hovering height over the substrate. even in young specimens. they
do like to hover. the typical secondary sex charachteristics to look for
in adults are the pronounced dorsal hump of adult males. dowager females
may also exhibit a hump. longer dorsal, anal and pelvic fin extensions
on the male. also adult males will outweigh adult females by a large
margin. frontosas will live for at least than 15 years and probably
longer. i have one that is that old.
by Cliff Edwards <mbuna/eden.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Apr 1996
Newsgroup: rec.aquaria.freshwater.cichlids
Cyphotilapia frontosa is showing up as several variants these days, 6 Bar
from Burundi, Tanzanian 7 Bar, Kavalla, Kigoma, so called "blues",
most noticeable is the Zaire Blue, then Cape Mpimbwe Blue, also the
Zambian blue. Some of these are subtle differances, others are strikingly
recognizable such as Zaire.
Most Frontosa mature at about 4 years of age. This is a major factor most
people attribute to their challenge in spawning them. They see a large
fish and asssume it must be mature. I have kept a frontosa to almost 10
years of age, and heard stories of much longer, like a 14 year old
breeding pair.
Frontosa are "oportunistic piscavores" that can attain lengths up to
14-16" for males. I have never persoanally seen a female crest 10". They
are mosty active at dawn and dusk, awaking before the other inhabitants
and more than willing to snatch a "groggy" small fish for breakfast
prior to their waking. In the aquarium they adapt readily to good
quality prepared foods including flake, pellet and frozen foods. I feed
alot of homemade frozen "shrimp mix" and Table type Shrimp. They are a
very docile aquarium inhabitant, and generally never show any signs of
being a piscavore unless housed with "bite-size" tankmates.
I always reccomend for "permanent" tankmates other large slow moving
Tanganyikans or Malawians especially if the the Frontosa best interest
is in mind or breeding is the goal. I generally maintain them as a
species in large groups, this is how I believe they show best. Peacocks
work well, pairs of med. lamps or lg. juli's are fine. Not much
can rival a 6ft aquarium with 8-10 mature frontosa. I reccomend more
than one male in a harem of females. The males when kept singly have too
much time on there hands to burden the ladies. Males when kept 3+ don't
really fight, they open their mouths wide and spar, they will also size
each other up by "bowing" their bodys and pushing water towards the
other. I belive this displacement of water makes the point of who has
strength and is dominant. I don't reccomend sharp infrastructure for
these fish like rocks or thin-lipped PVC, they are very deliberate slow
moving, but are prone to dashing when spooked or at feeding time, when
injuys may result. I use smooth limestone or Large flower pots for this
purpose. If pots are used theyre should be several large enough for a
male and female to get in, for example 10-12 mouth of the pot. I have
found that flower pots can really maximize the space for females and the
males will pick one to anchor a territory to.
I maintian a ph 8.5-9.2, about 78-82 degress 80 perfect, wet/dry or
lg. sponge filtration, 300+ degrees hardness, about 12-16 hrs of light
in the moderate/medium range to dim. Once frontosa mature they will need
a substantial amount of food to keep in shape, you can notice a healthy
front by a nice belly.
With all this said, the main key to breeding these fish is stability and
patience. I have grown babies to adulthood, 4 years always seems to be
the key. It is very rewarding and bonding to grow youngsters out. I have
one group that was grown out going on their seventh year, and I am
especialy fond of them, they have settled into breeding better than any
wild, or adult group I have purchased. Theyre seems to be something
about raising a fish in youre tap water that makes them more comfortable
in that environment, somewhat analgous to discus raised in hard water. I
get asked all the time how to get frontosa to spawn, you don't. You set
them up, keep it stable , and be patient. If they are in good health,
mature, and they decide it's time they will spawn. You can't do anything
to encourage this, like raise the temp etc. Just feed them well haouse
them accordingly, and most of all keep up a steady water exchange regime
of 35-50% a week water exchange. These fish consume a lot of food and
produce a respectible amount of waste, the biofilter need to be
adequete, but you have to remove that stuf by water exchanges. You can
with good exchanges grow from fry to 4"+ in 12-18 monthes, so large
quarters are definately in order from the beginning. Pairs or trios can
be kept in community's and wil spawn theyre, when ready. Not much
generally gets in the way when ready, but they are just much more at
home as species or with slow moving tankmates.
I always reccomend the largest tank possible for theyre long-term care.
But these are just a few ideas to keep them happy and comfortable. I
could go on for hours, but this should do for now.
Thanks
Cliff
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On 3 Apr 1996, MCheng2175 wrote:
> I was wondering if anyone has bred Cyphotilapia Frontosas and can give
> some insights into this achievement. Little hints and personal
> observations that aren't in magazine articles especially would be nice.
> I'd also like to know the best way to guess males from females in
Venting is the best way, however if they are the same age and raised
together size is pretty fair indicator. Females can attain noticeable
nuchal humps, although can be confusing when young, they never attain
humps that rival males when mature. They will start off slow like most
fish and can work up in numbers to almost a 100 per spawn. The fry take
ALMOST 30 days to hatch, they have very large yolk sacs and when they
emerge from the mothers mouth they are perfect 5/8" replicas of
the blue and black barred parents sans nuchal hump. They can be sexed at
3" visually if same age and grown together fairly reliably, you will
always have a couple that are marginal in gender recognition at this
stage though. I can reliably vent them at 4".
> juveniles before the cephalic hump appears. Do you just go by size? What
> should the minimum tank requirement be for 4 adult fronts? I'm keeping my
> four 2-3 inch fronts with some 1 inch Electric Yellows right now since
E. yellows are a good choice when young, they keep the front's at ease
and help encourage vigorous feeding habits. This is a trick that is also
utililized with the wild caughts to get them onto prepared and frozen
foods.
> they are all juveniles. I plan to move them all to a 75 gallon tank in a
> few weeks. Any information or stories about these cichlids would be
I would reccomend a 18" tank as minimum and 4ft in length. A 75 would be
fine for 4 fronts.
Well other than my opinion being that "Frontosa are The King of the
Aquarium"... But then I don't want to get any discus folks riled ;)
> appreciated. Thanks!
>
>
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