All fish / Cichlidae

Frontosa

Cyphotilapia frontosa

Also known as frontosa cichlid, humphead cichlid, front, blue frontosa, burundi frontosa, kigoma frontosa, zaire blue frontosa, frontosa burundi six bar, frontoza, ฟรอนโตซ่า, frontosa, フロントーサ

A large, deep-bodied cichlid with bold black and white or blue vertical bars and a pronounced fatty hump on the forehead of mature males. It is slow-moving and stately, and keepers value it as a long-lived centrepiece fish for big Tanganyika set-ups.

Care at a glance

Care level

Moderate

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

30 cm

Temperature

24 to 27 °C

pH

7.8 to 9

Smallest tank

600 litres

Keep as

One male with several females, or a colony of 8 or more in a very large tank

Diet

Carnivore: quality cichlid pellets, krill, mysis, shrimp and fish pieces

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

15 to 25 years

Water

Freshwater

Wild range

Northern Lake Tanganyika (Burundi, Tanzania, DR Congo)

Breeding

A maternal mouthbrooder; the female holds the eggs and fry for around four to six weeks. Breeding happens readily in a settled colony but growth is slow and fish may take three years or more to mature.

Good to know

Adults are large and will eat any fish small enough to swallow, so avoid small tankmates such as Neolamprologus shell dwellers. Northern Lake Tanganyika populations (including Burundi) were split as Cyphotilapia gibberosa in 2003, and the trade often mixes the two names.