frontosa

[silllywilly86]

I bought some mpimbwe frontosa a couple months ago and they are in a grow out tank before I put them in my 75. They seem like they've only grown a little. Does it take a while for them to get big? They are only maybe 2 inches

 

[Mogurako]

From my understanding the grow about .40-.46" a month.

What size grow out are they in, how much/ what do you feed, what's the temp at, how often do you change the water?

 

[silllywilly86]

They are in a 55. I feed them omega one super color twice a day.

 

[silllywilly86]

The temp is 82 and we change the water every week about 20-30%

 

[Pam is here]

Hi, I was given 3 small frontosa from a friend that breeds them. I kept them in a 30g tank for about a month I seen little growth. I put them in my 125g tank and grew quickly. Same food, I think the large open water made them have a growth Spurt. They are fantastic fish. I just love them. Mine just love blanched spinach.

 

[Mogurako]

If your really wanting good growth change 20-30% every other day, I have found that to be a key factor along with the size of the tank . When I was growing out Phenos ( took almost 2 years to reach 6") I would change 50% in a 125 every third day and their growth increase was noticeable.

I would also try switching to a different food, maybe New life spectrum or Kens. A color enhancing food may not be the best choice for growing out fish. Make sure it's low protein and high fiber!

 

[Pam is here]

Ok, thanks. I will give it a try also

 

[Fish madness]

Yes fronts grow slowly. I have two red and a blue and mine tend to grow quickly from fry. I do a 50 percent water change weekly. Clean the filter every three weeks and feed mine brine shrimp peas and zucchini and they sure have grown quickly. Lol.

 

[silllywilly86]

Sorry I'm late on this, but thanks for the advice. I'll try the different things you've all mentioned.

 

[kay-bee19]

I've had 1"-1.5" fronts reach 5"-5.5" in a year's time.

Their growth rate is perhaps the fastest when they're small.

After they hit 6" or 7", the growth rate slows to about an inch or maybe a little more annually (at least the males in my tank did; the females I have seem to max out at 6.5").

 

[Mogurako]

I've had 1"-1.5" fronts reach 5"-5.5" in a year's time.

That's only about .33" a month, that's pretty slow.

 

[cichlid_tank619]

I got 15 frontosa fry from a friend of mine in march and the largest one is about 3" now. They are Ina 55 gallon grown out tank. I'm in the process of setting up a 100 gallon and will only be keeping half of them. From what I've seen and heard they so grow slower than other cichlids. I have been feed the NLS Thera A and Cichlid Formula. Once of twice I feed them blood worms or brine shrimp. Skipping Sundays for to keep them from bloating and to clear their systems. Check out my pictures if you'd like..

 

[kay-bee19]

That's only about .33" a month, that's pretty slow.

Yeah, that does seem kinda slow! (I was going off of old memory there as I acquired my frontosa's in 2005).

I've just now gone back and referenced a different web site where years ago I had posted frontosa pics with size descriptions. All sizes are 'eye-ball estimates'.

I had purchased my fronts in Apr 2005 (I had described their size at purchase as 'barely an inch'), I'll go with a nominal 1.25" here.

Dec 2005: One kigoma is described as being 5" to 5.5" (I'll average that to 5.25"), or 4" in 8 months (0.46"-0.5" a month).

Feb 2006: This kigoma is described as 'approaching 6" ' (it was probably 5.75", estimated monthly growth rate 0.45").

I don't describe this kigoma's size again until Dec 2006 when I list him as being 7" or a little more (probably in the 7"-7.25" range; so since growth rate slows after 6" so at this point in time his average monthly rate from time of purchase drops to around 0.36").

This particular kigoma was the largest of the group during the years and usually had an inch over most of his peers, though he was eventually surpassed in size by one of the others (one front is noted at 12" by the time this kigoma reached 11").

Here's a link from another site where a frontosa owner takes monthly growth shots for nearly a year:
TR6's Images - Cyphos Photo Gallery

 

[Lady_Alia]

They are slow growing but with a larger tank, quality water and quality food (lotsa protein like bloodworms, brine shrimp and krill) they grow much quicker!