I have a frontosa who is spending most of his time hiding in the opening of a large piece of driftwood. He's gone quite dark in colour too. Every now and then he'll come out for a little swim and go back to his lighter colour but this is rare. He still eats but I'm just concerned because the behaviour is out of the ordinary.
Frontosa unwell?
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Termitehunter
Aquarium Advice Regular
My Fronts turn dark in color when they stress or pout. Other than that they do just fine.
Any tank mates in there? How fast is your water flow, they don't like a lot of fast flow. How big and how old is he/she. Have you tested your water? What is your PH, ammonia and Nitrites? One more thing as well. Water temperature. They like there water cooler.
Any tank mates in there? How fast is your water flow, they don't like a lot of fast flow. How big and how old is he/she. Have you tested your water? What is your PH, ammonia and Nitrites? One more thing as well. Water temperature. They like there water cooler.
Termitehunter
Aquarium Advice Regular
I to have a FX5 on my 180 where my Fronts are. Along with a 405 which I use with a UV sterilizer and I had a similar experience. I had to tune the water flow down a bit on the output nozzle of the FX5. And the 405 is set at approximately 60% flow rate. After that the Fronts came out to "hover" much more often. There color stays more consistent now as well.
HUKIT
Aquarium Advice Addict
I think it sounds a little more serious that water flow. Let us know the water conditions, tank size, and tankmates. That information will help us determine what the issues are.
Not sure if anyone said it to you guys but welcome to Aquarium Advice.
Not sure if anyone said it to you guys but welcome to Aquarium Advice.
What are the other cichlid species in the tank?
Fast swimming and/or aggressive tank mates can cause frontosa's to become reclusive and, to a degree, stressed.
Frontosa 'outgoing-ness' significantly increases whe they're maintained in frontosa colonies and in aquariums lacking aggressive fish or fast swimming fish.
Not really best to keep them in non-colonies with other types of potentially incompatible cichlids.
Fast swimming and/or aggressive tank mates can cause frontosa's to become reclusive and, to a degree, stressed.
Frontosa 'outgoing-ness' significantly increases whe they're maintained in frontosa colonies and in aquariums lacking aggressive fish or fast swimming fish.
Not really best to keep them in non-colonies with other types of potentially incompatible cichlids.
Termitehunter
Aquarium Advice Regular
Exelent question, and point.
This is why you mostly see Fronts in communities with other lake Tang species only. About the only other type of Cichlid I see with Frontosa that aren't Tangs are Haplochromis.
No Mbunas or fin nippers.
My nitrates are a bit high so I'll be doing a water change today, hopefully that's all it is. Frontosa is the biggest in the tank but he shares with some yellows, an acei, peacock, bristlenose, clown loaches, a slightly smaller frontosa and a cranky blue stripey cichlid (cannot recall his name) whose getting a bit big for his boots. Up until now I've never had any issues with the big frontosa he usually just swims around minding his own business and digging. The tank is a 6ft currently running with a fluval fx5 and an aqua clear 500.
I am convinced that the frontosa's current behavior is directly associated with the presence of the other cichlids it is with.
The way peacocks and mbun'a swim is enough to cause a frontosa to become reclusive. They're best kept with other slow cruising cichlids (such as altolamprologus calvus or a. compressiceps, but preferably with other frontosas).
Frontosa's are very cautious fish and can be quite shy. Peacocks and mbuna's aren't.
Also, the frontosa doesn't have to be the target of the aggression or displays of dominance to be stressed by it. For example, the "cranky blue stripey cichlid" deciding to chase one of your yellow labs is enough to cause the frontosa to remain by the driftwood.
The way peacocks and mbun'a swim is enough to cause a frontosa to become reclusive. They're best kept with other slow cruising cichlids (such as altolamprologus calvus or a. compressiceps, but preferably with other frontosas).
Frontosa's are very cautious fish and can be quite shy. Peacocks and mbuna's aren't.
Also, the frontosa doesn't have to be the target of the aggression or displays of dominance to be stressed by it. For example, the "cranky blue stripey cichlid" deciding to chase one of your yellow labs is enough to cause the frontosa to remain by the driftwood.
Termitehunter
Aquarium Advice Regular
Very possible.
As the fish get older and more mature they need to feel more secure with there territories in order to feel safe. Since you can't watch your fish 24/7 it's possible that your Frontosa could feel threatened by a more aggressive/in your face cichlid. (Yellow Labs when breeding for example) Fish have certain personalities, so some can be more sensitive than others on occasion.
As the fish get older and more mature they need to feel more secure with there territories in order to feel safe. Since you can't watch your fish 24/7 it's possible that your Frontosa could feel threatened by a more aggressive/in your face cichlid. (Yellow Labs when breeding for example) Fish have certain personalities, so some can be more sensitive than others on occasion.
Kat1103
Aquarium Advice Freak
They could help but it's probably best to rehome the trouble maker in my opinion. As he gets older the problem will only worsen.
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