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i heard some things about the frontosa that dont sound right.
is it true it takes them 8 years for them to grow to max size?
is also true that they are very calm, non-aggresive fish?
but their in the cichlid family and every thing else grows fast and is aggresive.

please help me clear up my facts

thankx

I don't know how fast a frontosa grows, but I do know a little about their temperament. It's true that they are peaceful fish, in fact, they could almost be considered shy. Besides, not all cichlids are mean and aggressive. Far from it. Dwarf cichlids, rams, angelfish, some shell-dwellers, these are all examples of peaceful cichlids.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

They do grow very, very slowly - in fact, many of the Tanganyikans do, I know Calvus often take a couple of years to reach full size. I'd believe eight quite easily for Fronts, people always talk about 10 year old colonies really settling into breeding.

-Molly
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but their in the cichlid family and every thing else grows fast and is aggresive.

Not all cichlids are aggressive and not all are fast growers. Even some of the larger new worlds like the Red terror take 3-5 years easy to reach full size. Males can grow up to 16" if not larger. I bought mine in March of 2003 and my male is now around 7-8".

my mistake is i shouldve been more general on what cichlids i ment.

i was refering to the bigger cichlids like the jack d's and oscars.

could i put a frontosa with a flowerhorn, midas, or jack or is best for them to be by them selves?

could i put a frontosa with a flowerhorn, midas, or jack or is best for them to be by them selves?

I believe frontosas are best kept in colonies or with other Tanganyikans. Frontosas would definitely be bullied or killed by a flowerhorn or midas.

I agree, midas cichlids and flowerhorns are very aggressive, and would kill a frontosa. I'm not sure about the jack dempsey, but that might bully a frontosa, as well. I'd just keep a frontosa or a group of them, with cichlids of similar temperaments.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Frontosa are beautiful, graceful, gentle giants of the cichlid world.

They need the company of their own kind, and should not be kept alone.

They have the capacity to grow quickly in a short space of time - over a few years they can grow from 1" to over 6". Maximum size for adults is between 10 - 12" I believe.

They can spawn given the right conditions when around three years old, or at about 5" I think, whichever comes first. I think size has the most to do with maturity rather than age.

x

They are more aggressive when they are smaller, often chasing each other and other fish. As they grow mature, they will calm down and usually stay into their caves. After they lights have been on for a while, they usually come out and swim around.

My 2 year old colony of burundis grew "average" I guess. The alpha male is almost 6", and semi alpha was 5" (gave him away). Females are 3" to 3.5".

The fact of the 8 years is that frontosa are slow growers, usually they will keep growing very slowly. They can be 12" and still growing. The breeder where I got my colony from had a 16" male alpha.

Usually it differs. Myths are that burundis will grow larger.

Alpha males usually continue to grow until about 10 years.

is a 55usg gallon possible for a couple of them?

I guess a 55g is possible but they wont be happy. For one thing they need to be in a colony of atleast 5. I had 6 in a 180g tank.
If you do consider a 55g tank you would of course not be keeping minimum recommended fish and I have learned over time from other frontosa keepers that single and even pairs hide ALL the time, often getting sick and wasting away to nothing.
Please dont keep frontosas with flowerhorns or the others you mentioned! There are so many reasons that would be wrong.

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Before you criticize someone walk a mile in their shoes. That way you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

16" male?? I'd sure love to see a picture of that fish!!

x

http://frontosa.com/gallery/galleryDisplay.cfm?gid=995

Check that out. I've seen these dudes in real life, and they were really big. This was taken a while back (the colony was already sold). I believe the two in front were 12" or so, and the one in back 15"-16"