C. Frontosa

[Laura Ann]

Written by: Laura Ann


Monday, May 15, 2006

Cyphotilapia frontosa

The front. One of the most popular fish in the Tanganyika family. They are also my boyfriend’s, who is also a cichlid lover, favorite fish. With their striking colors and wonderful personalities, they are defiantly a great fish to have. These guys are just like puppies, some have been known to eat right out of your hand. The wild specimens are as just as outgoing as the tank raised individuals, which is rare among piscovores.

The name

Cyphotilapia frontosa

Cypho- Greek, means hump.
Tailapia- means fish in the language spoken around the Lake Ngami region in Africa.
Frontosa- Latin, means “With big forehead”

Fronts have a big body with white or blue areas and bright blue fins. They have black, broad stripes, usually 6. There have been other morphs known to have 5. They may have light undertones of other colors; that assign more to their beauty. Fronts are a high-back cichlid that, in time, develops a large hump on its forehead. The fins are elongated that come to a point at the ends. Males are larger in size and have a larger hump on the forehead. As mentioned above, they are a large fish, thus making it lethargic and slow.

Fish make up most of the C. Frontosa’s diet. In the wild, they hunt at dusk, primarily on the Cyprichromis species. In the tank, these guys can be fed smaller feeder fish, live for frozen, with a mix of pellets.

Fronts are very shy, peaceful fish. They should be kept with fish around its own size, or it may consider having the smaller fish for a nice snack. They should be kept in a large tank, due to their size. Fronts are also bottom dwellers. Like many Malawi cichlids, this species are mouth brooders. This means that instead of laying the eggs on a rock or surface, they get the eggs fertilized, and then scoop them up in their mouth, where the eggs, which hatch into fry, will stay until the mother thinks it is time to let them out. This usually takes about 4 to 5 weeks. Females can have anywhere from 20 to 50 fry, and has been known to go even higher.


When kept in a tank, cleanliness is a must for Fronts. The water needs to be a very warm temperature, about 72 to 83 degrees F. They live in hard and alkalinic water, with the pH from about 7.8 to 9.5, and the hardness from 10-20 degrees dH.

The tank should be decorated with lots of rock that form caves, to provide refuge for the dominate male. Females usually do not hide, but males will be the shy ones of the group. The stones should be ancho*red, because these guys are strong fish, and will dig up large amounts of sand. If not ancho*red, the rock could fall and hurt the fish, or even crack the tank. Plants can do well if you find a way keep the fronts from digging them up. Fronts usually don’t tear up, or eat, plants, but will dig plants up if given the chance.

Did you know?

Fronts are a great fish to eat, and are caught hook and line by native fishermen.

Since Fronts live in such deep depths in the wild, and are so big, they are hard to catch in large amounts and get them to the surface alive. Ones that are captured must go through a decompression process before being brought to the surface, meaning they must be brought up at an extremely slow pace so they can adapt to the depth changes.






Also, please tell me what you guys think!

[Laura Ann]

Finally got permission for pics, so here you go!

Zaire Bule Male



Zaire Blue Female


Photo Copyright: Sean Evans
Source: The Tropical Tank

[IloveCichlids]

You might note that different variations of the species are at different depths of the lake. Mbibwe Zaire Blue Fronts come from some of the deepest parts of the lake and are such the rarest and hardest to find as opposed to the Burundi which is the at the shallowest depth and the easiest and cheapest to find

*note that IMO the Zaire's are the coolest looking ones out there.

I would also change your temp to 78-84 degrees. and the PH should be around 8.0 - 9.4

[TheOldSalt]

Nifty.

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