dumb question

[domjd05]

what is the name of this cichlid.. that has the large hump on his head? I've seen them purple.. blue and white striped... is it frontosa? eh sorry for my ignorance on the subject.. could someone post some pictures so I could pinpoint it.. I can only picture it in my head and would love to learn about this fish.

[domjd05]

ok so in my infinite wisdom I've established that it is definitley a frontosa that I am looking for... Can anyone give me the info on this fish... different strains.. best way of keeping them? even a link would help.. thanks.

[Northernguy]

Try this!

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/cichlid/frontosa.php

[kaybee]

... I've established that it is definitley a frontosa that I am looking for... Can anyone give me the info on this fish... different strains.. best way of keeping them? even a link would help.. thanks.

Fairly large african cichlid species (can exceed a foot in length when full grown). Can be meek and timid when kept with aggressive non-frontosa species, even if smaller than the frontosa's. Can be easily intimidated, so care should be made when considering non-frontosa's as tank mates. I wouldn't recommend keeping them with mbuna's, for example.

Frontosa's are best kept in groups of 5 or more, and in nothing less than a 6ft tank. Solitary specimens (in my opinion) aren't comfortable. And when kept in smaller groups, aggression levels of the dominant one may be enhanced.

They're nocturnal piscavores ('fish-eaters') by nature and may consume smaller tank mates if the opportunity presents itself (and with a large frontosa a smaller tank mate can be a 5"-6" fish).

They're usually cited as being "slow growers"; but that all depends on what growth rate is being compared against. Tiny frontosa fry can become 4"-5" fish in a year, and continue to pack on an inch or two annually until maxing out.

There are generally three main groups of frontosa which are further broken down into variants.

The first group is the 7-striped Kigoma variant, originating from the northern portion of Lake Tanganyika.

The second group are the Northern Species, comprised of the Burundi (perhaps the most commonly available frontosa) and the Kavala. These will typically develop the largest nuchal humps. 6-stripe variants.

The final group are the southern Gibberosa's (zaire blue, mpimbwe, moba, kapampa, kitumba, and several more). These possess more blue pigmentation. The distinction between the gibberosa's can be be murky at times. These are also 6-stripe variants.

If intending to breed frotosa's it is highly advised to maintain only one variant in the tank. If breeding (or retaining fry) is not the intent, then several variants can be kept together (I keep three different variants in my tank).