Are there any other big Fronts on the forum?

[Demjor19]

As the title says...do any of you other members on here have any larger Frontosas out there? If so i'd love to see them! Even if you have baby Frontosas i would love to see them too! I'll start it off with my 9" male Front.

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t244/KaraJ0/Monster%20Fish/DSCN2558.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t244/KaraJ0/Monster%20Fish/DSCN2600.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t244/KaraJ0/Monster%20Fish/DSCN2552.jpg

Mods: if there is a better section for this thread...feel free to move it.

[Demjor19]

there are no other fronts on the forum? :c2:

[Nautilus291]

None of my lfs carry them. Nice looking pictures though. Am I right in saying that they are a more peaceful cichlid?

[tropfish]

Fronts are one of my favorite fish! sadly, i don't have room for one right now. How big of a tank is he in?

[Demjor19]

None of my lfs carry them. Nice looking pictures though. Am I right in saying that they are a more peaceful cichlid?


thanks!
my front is a very passive cichlid...which is good. at his size he could do some damage.

[Demjor19]

Fronts are one of my favorite fish! sadly, i don't have room for one right now. How big of a tank is he in?

He is in my 180 with my gar.

[kaybee]

there are no other fronts on the forum? :c2:

Old thread for sure, but since you're still active and no other pics were posted in response, I figured I'd post some of mine (I keep three types of frontosa):

The smaller of these two kigoma's is a about 6"
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a259/y2kenny19/African%20Cichlids/01_largesmallkigoma.jpg

Burundi (he appears to be just under if not at 10")
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a259/y2kenny19/African%20Cichlids/jun08burundi.jpg

Southern tanzanian variant (about 8").
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a259/y2kenny19/African%20Cichlids/01_southern_species.jpg

[sailor]

Very nice pics and thanks for sharing. I've got 9 Kitumba Frontosa in my 125 gal tank. They are getting close to 2 yrs old now.There are some pics of them through the various stages since i've had them in my AC photo gallery.
I'm on the hunt to add at least 3 more females to the colony.

[kaybee]

I checked out your Kitumba's. Very nice!

[nanaglen2001]

Really great looking animal. Man we can call ourselves lucky this fish stays that small. Just imagine this animal 2 or 3 metres long.......:laugh1blue: One of my LFS has a really big Show tank, occupated by Frontosas, even though some of those guys are pretty big, they are more peacefull to each other than Guppies.

Even though some of the East African Cichlids are real lookers, they arnt my thing. I just stick to my Central Americans.

[Demjor19]

Thanks everyone for adding to this "ancient thread"...all your fronts look awesome! They really are a neat cichlid in the fact that they are so pieceful and docile...

[kaybee]

Here's another photo of the burundi compared with a 12"/30cm ruler up against the glass (with the burundi being about 1 to 2 inches distant from the front glass). I wanted to see if I was over-estimating size or not. It's probably closer to a little over 9", than my previous length assessment:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a259/y2kenny19/African%20Cichlids%202008/burundimeasurejun08.jpg

[NewBie with Fronts]

I have three Frontosa's. Only had our tank and fish for four days. Would love to find out more about them? How much are they worth? What type of Frontosa's mine are?
The big boy with the very prounced bump is 9"
The other two are around 6". How can I tell what sex these two are???

Thanks

[NewBie with Fronts]

I have three Frontosa's. Only had our tank and fish for four days. Would love to find out more about them? How much are they worth? What type of Frontosa's mine are?
The big boy with the very prounced bump is 9"
The other two are around 6". How can I tell what sex these two are???

Thanks

[NewBie with Fronts]

:18:

Sorry I posted the same thing twice. I forgot to attach the pics first time.
See I told you I'm new at this!! lol

[sailor]

You have Burundi's. The only sure way to sex them is to vent them. Tho I am pretty sure the big one is a male.

[cocoa_pleco]

I have three Frontosa's. Only had our tank and fish for four days.

is your tank cycled?

[NewBie with Fronts]

Yeah.

We are changing the water ever 3days by about 20% for the first couple of weeks to build up some good bacteria

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

OK, next question, do you really understand the term "cycled?" The previous answer would indicate that you don't.

[NewBie with Fronts]

Isn't cycling the same as new tank syndrome?
Building up good bacteria in my biological filter

Sorry, is it something else??

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Yup, that's it, but if your tank is only 4 days old then unless you purchased it used or you had the filter previously established in some way, that tank isn't cycled, it is cycling.

[NewBie with Fronts]

The tank is cycled because we brought the tank and its filter that was already in use from a friend

[NewBie with Fronts]

So yeah sorry my bad, tank itself ins't 4 days old. Just us having a tank

[kaybee]

I have three Frontosa's. Only had our tank and fish for four days. Would love to find out more about them? How much are they worth?

1. How large is the tank and what else, if anything, is in with them? 125gal minimum for a trio of frontosas. What are your water parameters?

2. Generally they're slow swimming fish, moderately aggressive (more so toward their own kind than other cichlids), and semi-shy. Piscavores in nature, so choosing smaller tank mates requires consideration. Not well-suited with high-energy or very aggressive fish. Very calm fish which does best in calm settings.

3. In my opinion how much a fish is worth all depends on the person wanting to buy it. Frontosa-variant plays a huge role as well. Larger frontosa's are typically worth more than small frontosas. Wild caughts and F1's (the captive-born offspring of wild caughts) are worth more than frontosa's born from generations of captive ancestors. Quality of the fish in question is a factor as well.

[Crispy]

I'll get some pics up soon. I keep 8 frontosas in a 135 gallon with some earth eaters and clown loaches. Very docile fish. Not sure which type they are. Maybe someone will know.

[kaybee]

How big are your frontosas?

If you can post some photo's, a determination on variant can be made.

[Crispy]

okay, got a couple crappy photos anyways... lets see if this works...

[Crispy]

I'll get some really good pics of the tank and fish VERY SOON..... sorry for the poor quality... there's 8 fronts in there anyway... and some floating hyacinths...

[Northernguy]

It looks like an awesome tank.Its too bad the pic is so small,its hard to see any detail.

[cer]

Nice Pics I Wish I Had Some Fish Like That

[Crispy]

I'll definitely get some nice detailed pics up here soon... the tank looks beautiful right now. Again, sorry for the poor quality in the last pics. Hopefully with some better pics, someone can tell me what kind of fronts I have.

[kaybee]

You've got the kigoma variant from the looks of it.

[Crispy]

they're all 7 stripes, except for one male... he's a bit lighter colored than the rest and he's only got 6.

[Crispy]

okay, I finally got some good pics of the frontosas....

[Crispy]

...and a few pics of the whole frontosa tank...

[kaybee]

Thanks for posting the pix.

After viewing these lastest pics they appear to be kigoma/burundi hybrids.

[Crispy]

cool.. thanks for the info. I wasn't too sure. At least that gives me a better idea of their variation. Anybody else think they might know ???

[Northernguy]

cool.. thanks for the info. I wasn't too sure. At least that gives me a better idea of their variation. Anybody else think they might know ???

I found this map that you will be interested in.http://cichlid-forum.com/articles/frontosa_variant_map.php
Check it out!You will find all the info you need!

[sanddigger]

They look like Blue Zaires. The Pelvic fins on your Fronts are long and very Blue from the pics. a typical sign of BZ. With Fronts and the cross breeding that occurs, they could be hybrids. check out cyphos.com . I did and posted some pics of mine. They did confirm mine were BZ. your fronts, tank looks like mine with the clown loaches. I also have sunset calvus added in the mix.

[kaybee]

Definately not blue zaires (the presence of the 7th stripe and lack of a 'mask' running between the eyes and possessed by the southern variants or, 'gibberosa's) confirms that.

Crispy's frontosas possess the classic kigoma under-eye/cheek patch, yet also have well-defined bars above the eye (the latter characteristic being a burundi trait). They also lack the kigoma's 'longer' physique and have the stockier burundi build. This all spells kigoma-burundi hybrid to me. Undeniable in the last frontosa pic in post #34 of this thread.

I wouldn't recommend disseminating the fry outside of your tanks.

[Crispy]

They look like Blue Zaires. The Pelvic fins on your Fronts are long and very Blue from the pics. a typical sign of BZ. With Fronts and the cross breeding that occurs, they could be hybrids. check out cyphos.com . I did and posted some pics of mine. They did confirm mine were BZ. your fronts, tank looks like mine with the clown loaches. I also have sunset calvus added in the mix.

I want to maybe add some calvus after I get rid of a few male frontsosas. But so far, I think I have 3 males and five females. I also wouldn't mind adding some cherry shrimp or ghost shrimp to the mix. It's kind of getting crowded now that the fish are getting big.

[Crispy]

I found this map that you will be interested in.http://cichlid-forum.com/articles/frontosa_variant_map.php
Check it out!You will find all the info you need!

thanks alot for the info. I checked it out and compared it to my pictures and to me they look most like kigomas.

[Crispy]

I wouldn't recommend disseminating the fry outside of your tanks.

Okay, so what would you recommend? For my earth eaters, I just catch the female after she's kept the eggs 14 days, strip her of the fry and let them go into the fry tank.

[kaybee]

...I also wouldn't mind adding some cherry shrimp or ghost shrimp to the mix...

With the frontosas? They'll end up as food.


Okay, so what would you recommend? For my earth eaters, I just catch the female after she's kept the eggs 14 days, strip her of the fry and let them go into the fry tank.

I personally wouldn't make any efforts to rear hybrid fry. You may want to replace your fronts with those from a reputable source if you intend to breed and sell them. However, if you're just in it for the pleasure and enjoyment of raising them, that's fine as long as the progeny remain in your possession.

I keep three variants of frontosa's in the same tank. I don't have the resources to rear a brood of frontosa fry (which in my case would very likely be hybrid variants). Most, if not all, will get eaten. Any that would happen to survive won't leave my tanks.

[Crispy]

With the frontosas? They'll end up as food.

Yeah, I'm gonna put some in the tank just for that purpose.


I personally wouldn't make any efforts to rear hybrid fry. You may want to replace your fronts with those from a reputable source if you intend to breed and sell them. However, if you're just in it for the pleasure and enjoyment of raising them, that's fine as long as the progeny remain in your possession.
I keep three variants of frontosa's in the same tank. I don't have the resources to rear a brood of frontosa fry (which in my case would very likely be hybrid variants). Most, if not all, will get eaten. Any that would happen to survive won't leave my tanks.

Yeah, I'm breeding them for the pleasure, maybe just sell a few, or give them to friends. They're gorgeous fish whether they're hybrids or not. If you can find them around here, they do fetch about $25/fish.

[kaybee]

...maybe just sell a few, or give them to friends...

Unfortunately, that's how mixed-variant frontosas get introduced into the 'mainstream'.

[Crispy]

If they're beautiful fish, then whats the problem? Most humans are hybrids nowadays. What about blood parrots? They don't even exist in the wild. Now thats a fish that should've never been bred and sold.

[kaybee]

With all the available frontosa variants (moba, mpimbwe, burundi, kampala, kigoma, ikola, kitumba, etc, just to name some of them), cross variants are just not desireable in breeding circles, especially when considering how pricey the southern variants can be, and be sold for (small 2" moba's can sell for $40-50 apiece, a moba/burundi cross-variant to a moba or burundi collector/breeder would, however, essentially be monetarily worthless (albeit a beautiful and perhaps sentimentally valuable fish).

Breeding colonies are typically single-variant set ups (all burundi, or all mpimbwe, etc), with serious breeders only utilizing wild-caughts and F1/F2 progeny as breeding stock (an F1 being the offspring of wildcaught specimens, F2 being the offspring of F1's).

To put it another way, if some one specifically wants to buy a beagle, a beagle/poodle crossbreed doesn't quite fit the bill, and especially has no place in a beagle breeding program, cute and cuddlely as a beagle/poodle may be.

I'd also argue that human hybrids don't exist, despite the myriad of races there is only one human species.

Definately veering way off topic subject, though! :ezpi_wink1:

[Crispy]

yeah, I guess... I'm not doing it to make $$$ or anything, just for pleasure. And I meant human race hybrids, not species... doh!