Question about frontosa?

Question

The frontosa is about 3 months old after purchasing date and it's still the same size since i bought it. now i know it lives around 25 years but shouldnt it have grown since then, after all it was only an inch when i bought it. It lives in a 55gallon with 2 peacock cichlids and 4 tiny convicts(2 1-inchers and 2 2-inchers). I do weekly water changes of about fifty percent, remove ammonia nitrate and nitrate when they appear in my tank. i keep water with a high ph of about 8.9 and hard and alkaline and feed him/her spectrum pellets, frozen cichlid delight, beefheart, bloodworms, and some hikari gold sometimes. The filter is a fluval 305 with 2 powerheads for airation. There are 5 caves so i dont see why he wont grow. Could it be that im just impatient?

PeeTee · Accepted Answer

You seem to have every thing right,the only thing you didn't mention was temperature, it should be 78 to 82 degrees F. If the fish was purchased from a private breeder it may be a runt(unlikely) or much older than its size would indicate. Check with your supplier and if you don't see results in a month or so look for another fish. Also be careful with the rich meaty foods,they can cause digestive problems with Rift Lake Cichlids. -------------Good luck.-----Peetee.

Kay B · Answer

Frontosas are relatively slow growers. Even so, their rate of growth is greatest during the first year or so of life (my group of frontosas grew from 1" to 4" to 6" in the first year).

Your set up isn't ideal for frontosas. They're relatively slow movers and passive when kept with more aggressive fast swimming cichlids which can intimidate them during feeding. 

However, it will grow (and ultimately require a much larger tank) if it's getting a fair share of food.

Anonymous · Answer

Frontosa should definatly grow more then that when they are young. If you bought it at an inch, it should have doubled by now.Its possible that it is being dominated by the peacocks and convicts(bad mix) as fronts are actually happier in groups. Dont worry about the meat in its diet as they are carnivores. I actually feed my front juves bloodworms quite often. But the meat will be bad for your peacocks. Another reason these 3 types should not be housed together.

Question about frontosa?

Related Questions

Trending Questions