Blue Zaire Frontosa

[samir]

anyone got any info on them or could point me in the right direction ? how long would they take to grow to adult size from approx 12 cm ?

[mcloughlin2]

At 12cm if they are wild caught they would be approx 2yrs old.

So really they are already adults, maybe some will need a few more months to mature. Males often mature slower then females (Same as discus)

A TB (Tank Bred) frontosas can grow to 5-6" in the first year of their life but it then slows down.

There is really know definant answer, as it depends on conditons.

[samir]

the guy who's importing them told me that they take up to three years to mature and can grow to 12". there doesn't seem to be much info on them.

[mcloughlin2]

Does he mean at 3yrs of age?

Or 3 yrs after he imports them?

I have sent you a PM btw.

:wink:

[samir]

at 3 years. are they easy to keep ? I have absolutely NFI about african cichlids.

[mcloughlin2]

I've kept frontosas on two occassions before.

The first my tank cracked the night i got them and they all died.

The second i had them for 8months before i followed the advice of a LFS and killed them. :roll:

They are fairly easy. You just have to keep your water stable, supply a nice ig tank and feed them quality foods.

HTH

[Ben]

I can get wild caught frontosa's 'zaire moba'
Cost a pretty penny at 18cm though!

Stunning fish!

[samir]

I saw an ad at petlink
18cm @ 450
12cm @ 375-400
:shock:

How long from 12cm to 18 cm @ 100% wc/day ?

[mcloughlin2]

Those prices are very expensive. I know of LFS who charged only $300 for 15cm zaires (Moba, kitumb and kapampa) when they were first imported!

I think changing that much water would actually not help with growth at all. Sure it would keep the water nice and clear but frontosas need stable water conditons and don't appreciate large and frequent waterchanges.

I think it would eventually cause them to stop feeding. Its better to buy say a 6x2x2 and put them in there with WC once a week (20%)

[samir]

thats it I have to have them now. I'm moving the BD pair to a breeding tank immediately. :lol: thanks guys for the advice :wink:

[skyedge]

Hi Samir,

Just make sure you get the locality of the fish. Zaire Blue could mean any frontosa that comes from Zaire.

Check the cichlid_forum or cypho.com, they have a lot of information on the varient, tank size, growth rate, etc.

HTH,
Chandra

[samir]

thanks, I'll have a look at this lot just to be sure.