Cyphotilapia frontosa
| Common Names: | Frontosa Humphead Cichlid |
| Synonyms: | Cyphotilapia frontosus Paratilapia frontosa Pelmatochromis frontosus |
| Family: | Cichlidae |
| Category: | Cichlids |
| Distribution: | Africa; Endemic to Lake Tanganyika (East Central Africa). |
| Main Ecosystem: | Rift Lake; Rift Lake |
| Temperament: | Peaceful; Gentle, even a little shy |
| Diet: | Ominvore; Ominvore |
| Care: | Frontosas are predators but in the aquarium they usually do not touch other fish. Shrimp, clams, worms and frozen fish are enjoyed, as are spirulina/algae pellets. Needs a rocky environment with lots of cave structures to establish territories. Do best in groups of 5+. The larger the tank the happier they will be. Recommend for a group 120g+. |
| pH: |
|
| Temperature: |
|
| Hardness: |
| Potential Size: | Male: 40cm (15.7") Female: 30.5cm (12") |
| Water Region: | Middle, Bottom; Middle-Bottom |
| Activity: | Diurnal; Diurnal |
| Gender: | A large nauchal hump usually indicates the dominant male but is not always the case. Males grow larger and quicker than females so if a group has grown up together the largest is most likely a male. If the dominant male is removed a subdominant male will take its place. The most reliable way to sex these fish is by 'venting', which involves viewing the sex organs. There are two holes on each fish. The one towards the top is the anus. The one towards the bottom, closet to the anal fin, is the sex |
| Breeding: | Mouthbrooders, the female will hold the eggs in her mouth until they are approximately 10-15mm (4-5 weeks). |
| Variants: |
| Comments: | Frontosa come in a couple different variants of 6 stripes and 7 stripes. As well, their colors and appearances are different from different locations that they are collected from, within the lake. The locale name is usually listed after the species name, and should be in parentheses, for example; Cyphotilapia frontosa "Burundi", is a Frontosa that was collected from a wild colony that lives in the waters around Burundi. Some of the different locales are Mpimbwe, Kigoma, Burundi, Cape |
| Main Colours: | Black, White, Blue |
| Markings: | Striped Vertical |
| Mouth: | Normal |
| Tail: | Not Specified |
| Search: | Show similar species Find compatible species |
| Image Credit: | ;Lindy |
| Submitted By: | Lindy |
| Contributors: | Jason_R_S |
| History: | View changes to this profile |
| Edit Profile: |