Frontosa

COMMON NAME: Frontosa.

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Cyphotilapia frontosa.

SYNONYM: Parattlapia frontosa.

DESIGNATION: Tropical.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION: LakeTanganyika.

SIZE: Up to 30 cm (12 in), but usually smaller.

WATER PREFERENCES: Hard, Alkaline water between 22-28°C (71.5-82°F).

DIET: All foods, particularly live foods.

BREEDING: Eggs are usually laid in caves but are brooded orally by females for several weeks. 'Quiet' tank conditions are recommended for spawning.

DESCRIPTION: This is a spectacular, rather sedate, deep-water species which, despite its size, is generally peaceful. It should not be housed with fast-swimming, rumbustious species.

Frontosa Information

• The fish is native to the lake Lake Tanganyika located to the eastern part of the African continent.
• This fish rarely comes close to the shore line and is pelagic in nature. The fish remains at the bottom of the lake. The fish swims at deep water levels that are about 30 to 50 meters below the surface. It hardly comes close to the shore like other cichlids to eat shoaling variety of fish like those belonging to the specie named the Cyprichromis.
• As a responsible pet owner before buying the fish you should be well aware of certain facts related to the fish. You must be ready to give a lifelong commitment to the fish as it can survive up to 25 years if properly take care of. You have to also arrange for quite a bid aquarium as the fish can grow to a size of 35 cms even in captivity.
• The coloration of the fish is characterized by 5 to 7 vertical black marking in a bluish or whitish base. It has training fins with a bluish hue. Another very distinctive physical characteristic of the fish is that it has a well developed nuchal hump. The hump is more pronounced among the male species of the fish.
• This fish is quite popular among pet owners as aquarium fish. Due to its popularity as an aquarium fish it is easily available in almost all pet shops. As already mentioned above the fish requires quite a big sized tank but the specie is not quite active in nature and rather sedately. To rear a single frontosa one has to arrange for a tank that holds almost 29 gallons of water.
• Keeping a lone frontosa in an aquarium will not be a good idea as the fish prefers to stay in groups.
• Introduce rocky caves in the aquarium so that the fish gets a good hiding space and feel comfortable.
• If you are up to keeping a single frontosa, you are advised to go for a female one. As the tendency of getting insecure and attacking other fish species in the tanks is more common among the males. The female fish has been found to be satisfied by acquiring a certain space of the aquarium near the ground.