Frontosa Diet

[nightshinobi]

I have an eight inch frontosa who is not eating much.
It appears to have a hard time getting frozen/dry krill and pellets down.
Attempts are made to swallow them, but it always spits it back up.
Feeder shrimp frighten it and I don't know about guppies.
Frozen bloodworms seem to be the only thing it can hold down.

Are there any alternatives?

[Crispy]

Try some chopped up raw market shrimp. :fish:

[kaybee]

Or thawed mysis cubes if the chopped shrimp are rejected.

I wouldn't recommend providing it feeders yet (or at all).

I'm assuming you acquired the frontosa at its current size?

Do you know what it was previously fed? Hopefully you can get it to accept quality pellets. How large (or small) are the pellets you were offering?

[nightshinobi]

Yes, I acquired it from an old couple who couldn't take care of it anymore.
They fed it Hikari Cichlid Gold Sinking Pellets, and they look like the mini variety.
I was told that the frontosa would only eat them once they were soggy.
I haven't seen this because the other fish eat up the pellets as soon as they enter the water.

[Crispy]

Frontosa are very shy fish. What else is in the tank? He may be spooked by other tankmates and could be the cause of him not eating properly.

[nightshinobi]

A 5-inch yellow lab, 4-inch convict, 7 smaller convicts, and 2 large corys.
If anything the frontosa seems to bother the lab from time to time and the convicts are preoccupied with each other.

[Crispy]

A 5-inch yellow lab, 4-inch convict, 7 smaller convicts, and 2 large corys.
If anything the frontosa seems to bother the lab from time to time and the convicts are preoccupied with each other.

hmmm... convicts are notoriously aggressive and CA, while your front is african. I would think that the front is intimidated by all those convicts. Not the best mix of fish and it could be causing your front some stress. Fronts prefer to be in colonies also. Have you tried raw shrimp yet? What size tank is this? Whats your ph?

[nightshinobi]

Haven't tried the raw shrimp yet.
Its a 55 and the ph is at 8.0

[sailor]

Sorry to tell you but a 55 gal is way too small for your 8 inch front. I would either rehome him to someone who has a more suitable tank and set up or get a much larger tank. As stated in a previous post his tank mates are way to busy and aggresive for him. Fronts are large but pretty peacefull fish who do best in colonies of their own.

[Crispy]

Sorry to tell you but a 55 gal is way too small for your 8 inch front. I would either rehome him to someone who has a more suitable tank and set up or get a much larger tank. As stated in a previous post his tank mates are way to busy and aggresive for him. Fronts are large but pretty peacefull fish who do best in colonies of their own.

Agreed 100%.

[nightshinobi]

Alright then.
I'll be looking around for new homes.

However, this thread was made for the frontosa's diet.
Until I find it a new place I'm still going to have to feed it.

[sailor]

Alright then.
I'll be looking around for new homes.

However, this thread was made for the frontosa's diet.
Until I find it a new place I'm still going to have to feed it.

Agreed......what you have been feeding the front will normally be eaten with gusto, but probably because of the busyness if the tank he is probably a bit stressed. You might try feeding with the lights out.I have a colony of Kitumba fronts who seem to eat more readily when the lights are out.