FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I wanna know if i can have some of these fish in a 33 gal tank and read they must be in groups. 10x for ur help

you could keep very small ones like that for awhile but you will surely need a much bigger tank in the very near future.

chris

Cyphotilapia frontosa is a 12 inch fish when fully grown. A 33 gallon will only be suitable for small juveniles. Once they start approaching the 3 inch mark in length, they will need rehousing in MUCH larger quarters. Ultimately, you should be looking at a 125 gallon (US) as a baseline setup for 3 adult Frontosas. Move up to 180 gallons and you have space for 5 fully grown adults. Note that this is 180 gallons of true water volume, NOT 180 gallons minus whatever volume has been displaced by the rockwork. Include the rockwork that they'll need to keep them happy and you will be looking at a tank capacity of 250 gallons to do 5 adults justice. If that size of aquarium sounds daunting, then it should, because even once the logistics of construction and siting the aquarium are dealt with, the result will be a large amount of living room space taken up by an immovable object, and that's before you consider such matters as plumbing in the filtration system and readying the filter for the fishes.

The problem with Frontosas, and one that is common to all chunky, muscular fishes, is that a 12 inch specimen produces a LOT more waste than 12 1-inch fishes. The amount of waste produced by a fish is decided by multiple factors, but the important one is body mass. Compare the body mass of 12 one-inch Neon Tetras to the body mass of a single 12-inch Frontosa - the Frontosa carries a LOT more mass on its skeleton. An adult Frontosa is equivalent in body mass terms to something like 120 Neon Tetras! So, that one fish is going to eat a lot of food, and the eating of a lot of food is followed inevitably by the passing of a lot of faeces. So a single Frontosa is going to dump large quantities of nitrogen-enriched matter all over the substrate, and five of them will pretty soon prove to you that top-grade power filtration is vital in a tankful of big Cichlids of any species.

Of course, other factors influence waste production as I've already said - carnivores tend to produce more compact matter than herbivores, but compensate in that the matter is usually richer in excreted nitrogen compounds - indoles with or without extra amine groups tacked on to the heterocyclic carbon rings are typical. Once bacteria get to work on these, ammonia in substantial quantities is the result, and it takes time to mature the filtration system to the point where the later bacteria in the chain that convert ammonia to nitrites, thence to nitrates, will be numerous enough to make the conversion process continuous.

Water changes on an aquarium that size are going to be fairly interesting exercises too. Then, you have an additional factor to take into account - Frontosas are nervous fishes that are easily frightened by passing shadows, and big ones flying into a panic can dash themselves on rockwork or head-butt the aquarium glass. Some kind of laminate reinforcement of the aquarium is advisable to prevent an impact leading to a potential catastrophe as 250 gallons spills out all over the floor through a newly created hole in the glass. Plus, it has been determined experimentally that many Rift Lake Cichlids prefer to be kept in aquaria mounted some distance from the floor - I have a TFH back number in which this experiment was described in detail. So, you're looking at a large capacity aquarium sitting upon a stand that keeps it at least 3 feet above floor level, said aquarium being at least 2 feet deep, so that is going to create some interesting fun and games when you need to do a water change.

It's perfectly possible to do this, but it takes time, money and effort. Then of course you have the running costs (electricity bills are going to climb fairly steeply once you're running an aquarium that big unless your climate is naturally warm) and for sensitive fishes such as Frontosas, you need to bear in mind that a sudden power failure could spell disaster, especially if it's a prolonged one. Therefore investment in a small portable generator to keep the fishes going during a power cut is highly advisable.

Frontosas are a handful, believe me.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Calilasseial, that was wonderfully written, you would be better suited with some of the smaller rift lake cichlids. in a 33g tank a group of 4 or 5 yellow labs. may work well for you. they are not as nasty as most of the africans, plus they get a good body size and are very colorful. Also, they are very easy to breed and it is fun to watch the mouthbrooding taking place.


chris

My choice for a 'first' Rift Lake Cichlid Chris, would be Iodotropheus sprengerae, the Rusty Cichlid. It stays small (around 4 inches max SL), is practically a pacifist by Mbuna standards, is a fairly prolific breeder, and the males develop a lovely purple hue when in courting dress. It's one of very few Mbuna-type fishes that can live in less than a 55 US gallon aquarium without the risk of serious internecine warfare breaking out.

While Frontosas are regarded as peaceful fishes (certainly in relation to their large size - most similar sized Central Americans constitute an underwater demolition crew by comparison!), they still need space - LOTS of it. Given their sensitivity to pollutants combined with their capacity to produce pollutants in near-industrial quantities, unless the water volume is substantial, big external canister filters such as top-spec Eheim units are almost mandatory. This, apart from the hideous expense of buying the fishes in the first place (I'm looking at £40 each for 2 inch juveniles!) and the debatable ability of my floor joists to support an aquarium that would be big enough for me to swim in, is why I don't keep Frontosas at the moment.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002