Frontosa Cichlid Fish
The frontosa cichlid comes from the depths of lake tanganyika in east africa.
Frontosa cichlid fish. Etymology of the fish name cyphotilapia is the following. A distinct feature of the fish is the hump on its head which is present in both sexes and grows bigger as the fish matures. It can attain a length of about 14 inches.
Frontosa cichlids are generally characterized by their bold color pattern of white or blue depending on the strain body with 6 or 7 black vertical bars. Frontosa or front cichlid indigenous to lake tanganyika of east africa makes for a great aquarium fish because of its striking appearance and bright coloration. Frontosa cichlid cyphotilapia frontosa also known as humphead cichlid is a typical member of the cichlidae family.
Frontosa fish are easily noticeable if you know what you re looking at they are white fish with stripes across their bodies in about 6 or 7 of these vertically. Frontosa cichlid habitat care feeding tank size breeding. Different varieties of this cichlid have evolved to live in the different parts of the lake.
Frontosa cichlid fins grow with age. Cypho from greek means a hunchback and tilapia when translated from the local dialect means fish. The translation of the specific name from latin means with a big forehead.
The frontosa cichlid is one of the more popular and larger african cichlids and grows to be 12 to 14 inches with some getting as large as 16 inches. Cyphotilapia frontosa earlier named paratilapia frontosa is a very beautiful fish and it s very popular among cichlid fans. The frontosa cichlid is a heavy bodied fish with large rounded heads and a wide underslung mouth.
Start with as many fry as you can house or afford and with the proper tank set up social environment and good nutrition they should prosper reach the breeding size spawn successfully and produce many healthy fry. Its genus name cypho means curved while tilapia translates to fish. The name of the fish comes about as a result of the.
Our selection of frontosa feature a white or pale blue body with six and maybe seven vertical stripes. Adult frontosa develop a huge cephalic hump usually more noticeable among males. In the aquarium males reach up to about 12 inches 30 cm in length with females usually being smaller reaching about 10 inches 25 4 cm.
As these fish age their fins become longer and more elaborate and the blue tint is more visible. Like sharks these fish also have dorsal fins peaking above their top although of course not as prominently placed. The frontosa cichlid cyphotilapia frontosa also called humphead cichlid is a coveted african cichlid in the aquarium trade.
A frontosa cichlid can live for over 25 years. On the other hand it gets its species name due to its increasingly large forehead. Frontosa are perfect for the experienced aquarists.
