Frontosa
Frontosa
Currently unavailable
We do not take backorders on live fish, invertebrates or plants. Livestock arrives on the shipping schedule our suppliers and the weather allow, so we will not promise a date we cannot keep.
What is in the tanks changes from week to week. Ask us and we will tell you what is in and what is coming, or check back shortly. Visit us or get in touch.
Free local pickup at our Lethbridge store. Livestock guarantee
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The frontosa (Cyphotilapia frontosa) is the big, slow, dignified cichlid of Lake Tanganyika — a pale body crossed with broad black bars, and in mature males a pronounced domed forehead. In the lake they live in deep water in loose groups, hunting smaller fish at night. In an aquarium they are calm, deliberate and long-lived, and they need to be planned for rather than bought on impulse.
Aquarium care
- A large fish — adults commonly reach 30 cm or more.
- Needs a big, mature aquarium with a large footprint and strong filtration.
- Grows slowly; expect years rather than months to reach adult size.
- Best kept as a group of one male with several females rather than singly.
- Requires hard, alkaline water and prefers subdued lighting with rock structure.
- A predator — it will eat any fish small enough to swallow.
Suited to a large Tanganyikan setup with other substantial, calm cichlids. Avoid boisterous mbuna, which stress them and compete for food, and avoid any small tankmates. If you are not able to provide a tank measured in hundreds of litres, this is not the right fish.
Stock rotates with each shipment, and livestock is available for local pickup at our Lethbridge store. Browse the Tanganyikan collection.
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