Lake Tanganyika Species • 125 big enough 4 fronts?

[aaxxeell]

hey guys... I've never kept fronts before and was wondering when i set up a new 125gal tank whether i should go fronts or tropheus? (obviosly cant resist frontosa's looks)
is a 6ft 125gal tank big enough to keep a colony of fronts and breed them long term???
if so how many?

cheers.

[cichlidgirl1]

Yes its a nice size for a medium sized front colony.

IMO (others will vary) I would recommend a total of 6-8 total. Examples would be 1M/5-7 F or 2 M/4-6 F. Myself i would shoot for 1 male and 6 Females. By having only one male you would not have as much issue with males fighting each other over the females. Thats just my opinion lots of people keep 2 males . My colonies are juvies and so i cant describe any breeding issues with that size tank (I have a 135 gallon that has the same footprint as yours) . I would definetly keep it under 10 fish.

[Bearfan]

I have 10 in a 125 right now. 3M/7F. They aren't too big, 4.5-7.5 and they are happy and breeding. I plan to cut down the size in the future as they get bigger.

[Charles]

125 is good. That was what holds my colony of Kitumba. I would do either 2m/4f or 1m/5f

[Razzo]

125 is fine. I would not go with more than 2m/6f.

Russ

[aaxxeell]

WHOA! AWESOME!!!
thanx guys
gotta save my pennys and get some fronts!!!


should i buy lots of juvy's... and extract extra males?

anyone got any good tips for sexing them? any good articles or sites on venting?
thats my biggest fear... a tank full of 1 gender

[Razzo]

You could start with 10 (maybe 12) fry. Assuming you get a few a 50/50 gender mix, you could get rid of the first few males that reveal themselves.

Good luck mate

[cichlidgirl1]

I find my 4 inch burundi have been acting typical from what i hear. I had one fish that once the fish reached 2-3 inches seemed to have a big growth spurt compared to the other tankmates. He also got meaner and his color is now different compard to the other 4 fish, darker blue (more of a navy compared to Ice /sky blue of other fish. He also is the only front in the tank that will blanch a couple shades lighter and attack his reflexion violently. Right away he also selected two other fish to vent 80 percent of his aggression at, he herded them into the far corners of the tank, never lets them out of that area for anything but eating. He is allowed into their area but they are never allowed out of their area into the alpha's territory. The other 3 fish he will chase and bully but lets them stay in his area as long as they yeild and avoid him.

None of this is 100 percent foolproof. I heard that once this happens if you remove the "alpha" the next dominant male will step up into that position and have the growth spurt and faster development. You then remove that fish as well and if another male is there he will step up. You keep doing that and eventually you will have a good chance of having all or nearly all females in the tank. This is not a fast or fool proof method. But for people who are not experts at venting who have numerous juvie fish this is a way to help reduce the odds of too many males in with the females you hopefully have picked out etc..

Hope this helps.
CG

[aaxxeell]

thanks heaps 4 the info.
what size fronts should i buy?
i really dont wanna raise fry for 3 or 4 years to breed...
i think the biggest I've seen some burrundi's at a lfs is about 3inches, how old would that generally make them?

[cichlidgirl1]

I start counting age from when i buy the small juvie fish from the LFs at about 1 inch to 1.5 inches . Using that size as a guide my fish got to be 3 inches around 3-4 months later (not all grew at same rate , some faster some slower. I bought them in beginning of Oct and they were 3 inches right after the holdidays.

If i had to guess the actual age of a 3 inch front from fry i would guess 6-8 mo old ? Someone who breeds would be able to answer that better. I figure it takes several months for my other fish i breed to reach the one inch mark , usually 2-3 months from holding to 1 inch. I could be way off on that estimate.

CG

[Bearfan]

Right on, 2-3 months to get to 1 inch, and 3-4 inches after one year. Breeding usually begins after they are 5 inches or so. So about two years old. So if you don't want to wait long try to find 4-5 inchers. Kigoma and Burundi seem to bee the easiest to breed from what I've heard.

[cichlidgirl1]

Wow, thanks.

According to that my burundi must be growing faster than what is normal. They should be 8 mo old by my calculations and all ready i have 3 of the six at over 4 inches(biggest one getting hump on head and pushing 5 inches if you count tail and the other three at just at or just over 3 !! I bought all of them as one inchers in Oct and nov.

[aaxxeell]

oh only 2years to sexual maturity/5inches???
I've read on other sites it takes 3 or 4 years!

ok guys the best fish store within reach is 2hrs drive, but they have these fronts:
-6bars (burundi) $40ea (2 for $70)
-7bars (kigoma) $55ea
-F1 Mpimbwe $60
-F1 Moba's $150ea
(prices are in Australian dollars)


i have pure white argonite sand substrate, and tanks background is painted black...
i heard some cypho's look better using light substrate, which species do u guys reckon should i buy???

[Razzo]

...which species do u guys reckon should i buy???

That's what you have to figure out Look at lots of pics and see what you favor.

It all comes down to personal preference (and money). I have had Mpimbwe before and they are a beautiful fish. I like the Zaire Blues (Moba, Kitumba, Kapampa) best now. See which ones you like.

Good Luck

Russ

[aaxxeell]

i REALLY want the moba's but god darn theyre pricey!
burrundi's are cheap but im not sure how they will look in my tank (white substrate & black background)