Breeding Frontosa

Hi,

As unlikely as it seems, I have a pair of Frontosa spawning in my cichlid community tank..

I had grown on two juvenile Fronts in the tank for the past two years, they're about 3.5 inches now.

I introduced a new one that I got for free that was allegedly female, slightly bigger than the existing fish on 19th of September.

Well I discovered last night it wasn't a female…

I noticed him & the bigger of the other two in the tank hanging out together & nuzzling each other.
Very cutesy altogether.

Then I copped that the females egg tube was down & she had a throat bulge.
Lookling closely I could see a mouthful of really big eggs.

I'm really surprised as they have such a reputation for being difficult and also they are still small enough & managed to breed alongside boisterous mbuna..

What to do next? Has anyone bred these before?

I did a quick google this morning & it was suggested to remove the female to her own quarters after a week or so & leave her be until the fry are free swimming & she no longer takes them into her mouth.

Cheers,
Patrick.

congratulations on that great news.

I have a pair of frontosa that have spawned about 3 times.. they usually will spawn every 90-100 days according to some. Mine did spawn exactly 3 months apart since their previous attempt.

I say attempt because the first two times the female simply ate the eggs.
Their next attempt i caught the female and removed the eggs into a seperate egg tumbler
to see if the were actually being fertilized by the male... a few days later the eggs started
to form little blood veins shortly followed by little tails. So good news that my male was up
to scratch and fertilising the eggs.

Apparently the first 5 days of a female holding are the crucial days, once youve reached
the fifth day then it is safe to strip the female of her eggs (if this is the way you want to go)

Ideally you'd catch every other fish in the tank (without stressing her)
and leave her there, i say this because she might spit the eggs if you try to net her
and move her to her own tank. But if she's a good female then she will take them back in her
mouth..

However like a lot of other species the first attempts at breeding are not usually sucessful, she might go through the motions and then swallow the eggs the first time, but she should get better at it as time goes on.

If i were you i'd leave her alone this first time, monitor how she's getting on, make sure she has a cave that only she can fit into and that the male cant harass her, and count the days she's holding for, if she goes full term (approx 24 days, maybe 28 - as far as i can remember) then you should definitely strip her at that point or move her and the fry to a seperate hospital tank.

Let us know how you get on

Thanks for the advice - really appreciate it.
I think I have seen pictures of your fish before - are these the stunning big fish Anthony used to have?

She was still holding yesterday so looking good.
I'm pretty impressed with the stud services of this male - he's only in there a wet day

Will be interested to see if he turns his attention to the other female next.

She wasn't holding any more when I got home last night

I think next time I'll take her out as soon as I see her holding.
The tank is mayhem with mbuna which can't be good for breeding frontosa...

Yes i ended up purchasing the pair of zaire blues from Anthony
but they were originally owned by derek doyle.

There's a school of thought (derek) that while frontosa are a big fish
they can successfully be housed and bred in a 4 foot tank, because
they dont swim so much and lead quite a slow moving life that as
long as you have space for the female to hide in, where the male cant
get at her, then she will comfortably breed.. as soon as she's holding you
could whip the male out and put him back in your other tank...

but again, as this is her first attempt at spawning, it was never really going to be
a success.. but hey.. you've got a pair so happy days.

Those Zaire's were stunners.
Any chance of a recent pic?
Not many people will have even seen fish like that before.

Hopefully the pair will have further attempts at spawning, I guess worst case I could strip the female immediately & tumble the eggs but I would much prefer not to.

I have my eye on a 300 litre tank so might put them into that to see how it goes.

Cheers,
Patrick.

Not many recent pics of them
the male beat the bejasus out of the female recently when i moved the tank from living room to the fish room... she was truely battered, fungus set in and she's been resting up for nearly 2 months now.
she's getting better but all of her fins were shredded and its a slow recovery.

but here are some that might be of intrest

Last May




The male in december


25th of decmeber i stripped the female


27th of decmeber eggs starting to form tails and eyes!


However you can see fungus appearing on the egg to the left of the one with the eyes... none lasted unfortunately.. but i know better now.

Hi 2poc. I agree with arabesque's reply and would just add, Frontosa are not precocious spawners. Males esp. have to be mature to successfully fertilise the eggs. Once eggs are fertilised the females are normally very reliable and will exercise good post release care. I would isolate the holding female a few days after spawning and allow her to brood in peace. Usually she will not release the young in your presence and it might be 40 days before you see the fry, so make sure the fry are being fed, even when in her mouth.

Mick. As you found to your cost the Zaire strain is somewhat more vindictive than it's Burundi cousin and it is imperative to give the much smaller female an easy escape route when she has a headache. I have found that fronts in general are best kept in crowded conditions in v. large tanks or if a pair in a controlled situation, ie. partitioned tank or tunnels or caves for female. When the female is feeling ready she can then join the male safely.
ps. did you tumble the front eggs after spawning. also most eggs are somewhat light sensitive.

Cheers guys.

That male fish is a stunner Mick.
Pity re: the aggression problems, the male I have at the moment was in a pretty rough condition when I got him too but its nice to see his fins coming back slowly but surely.

I wonder re: the male I have whether he is old enough to be fertile.
I must get some snaps to see what people think, he does have a developed hump but nothing like the male in those photos.

Thanks again for the advise.

-Patrick

yes i tumbled the second time they spawned to check the male wasnt firing blanks! although you bred these fish so not sure what i was checking for!!! pics above are taken on day 6/7 after spawning and light was only on for the photo...!

here's a good video (not mine)