Frontosas

[theewizard]

It has been years since i have had an aquarium.I just started a 30 gallon 4 days ago and my wife came home from work with 2,3 inch frontosas and a 1 and a half inch convict.The only additives in the water are declorinator,cycle drops and waste control drops.the tank is still a bit cloudy[i did a 5 gallon water change today,clarity has improved quite a bit]The water temperature is at 81 degrees.the fish [fronts] are a little pale but are eating,is this due to stress?they seem quite blue at times,usually when not in the light.What changes in the water do i need to make if any and what type of tank maintanence is needed in this early stage and in the future.Also, what fish can i add with these guys.Any info would be greatly appreciated TIA

[William]

An aquarium should preferable stand empty for a while (longer than yours did) before adding fish and it will take some time before the water are good for fish. Bacteria needs to build etc.

As you allready added fish I suggest feeding very little for the next week and a half and hopefully everything will improve.

[theewizard]

Thanks for the reply William. I have reduced their food and will feed sparingly for the next week and a half as you suggested. I am also doing 5 gallon water changes daily and the water has cleared right up. I s there anything else i can do to keep these guys alive until the tank has fully cycled. Their colour is good now and they seem healthy:?:,TIA

[William]

Which pH level and water hardness do you keep in the aquarium?

[niko001]

Feeding frontosas requires that the food is taken under the water and not from the surface. If they do so they will suffer as such fish are adapted to live in very deep part of the lake. They will tend to accumulate air and thus will not enable them to swim properly and may eventually die. The convict should not be placed with the frontosas as they have different requirements. The convict is a South American species unlike the frontosas which live in Africa. Different habitat is necessary.

[Coler]

...and what type of tank maintanence is needed in this early stage and in the future.

Do changes to keep ammonia before .25ppm and nitrite too. Eventually you will detect nitrate. Keep this below 20 max. Gravel Vac once a week


Also, what fish can i add with these guys.Any info would be greatly appreciated TIA

None whatsoever. Do a google search for the fronts and when you see what size they reach come back to us. Do a search on the convict and when you see how aggressive they can be come back to us.

Unfortunately you're going to need a far far bigger tank (like 150 galls) for a nice school of fronts. The convict is not a good tank mate for them as they have totally different water requirements and in a tank that small he is likely to kill them off, or them him.

Sorry to be the bringer of bad news :(

[Fishguy2727]

The frontosas will need a very high pH (approximately 9.0 for Lake Tanganyika) as well as the proper cichlid lake salts. I use and highly recommend Seachem Cichlid Lake Salt. New Life Spectrum is the best brand of food hands down, and they have an assortment of sinking pellets. This would be all I would feed them. If you cannot provide a larger tank you need to take them back and figure out what fish will best suit what you can provide. The convict shoudl not be in there for the reasons mentioned previously.

[Cichlid_Man]

Just adding my 2 cents.

Everything seems to have been covered here, but I am just adding that Frontosa will grow 14-16 inches for males and about 12 inches for females. They need a minimum of 100 liters per fish to really care for them.

Reptileguy is right. The convict has to go.

Also, your fish were added too soon. Your ammonia will soon spike(that's the cloudiness you are seeing). This is extremely toxic to fish.
If you can get your hands on Bio Spira I would get that to help cycle your tank quickly.

If you cannot get it, keep doing large water changes (50% weekly) to keep toxins down.

In the meantime, either get a bigger tank or return those Fronts.

Sorry if all this was said already but I am trying to cover all bases