new 90gal

brycemc

AC Members
Oct 21, 2005
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Perth, Western Australia
i jus bought a 90gallon tank and have decided 2 go with cichlids. i want 2 frontozas (1 male & 1 female) and some smaller colourful cichlids. any suggestions on what species i should get and how many could i fit in my tank? i only want them to be a couple of inches long so the frontozas are the main attraction.
also, what water conditions do these fish like (i cant remember if they are lake malaui or the tankanyki one).
cheers
 
look for species from lake Tanganyika, but they'd probably pick off those 2 inchers

Frontosa's grow pretty large, I'd say a 90 is a tad bit small, i have 3 smaller fishes in a 125 and it seems kind of small.
 
Frontosa (which are from Lake Tang.) tend to do better in groups and in 6ft tanks. Having only two may result in dominant of the two focusing aggression on it. They like hard water with high pH,.

A tank mate which 'only grows to a couple of inches' might end up as a snack for frontosa which can surpass a foot in length.

You could try getting some alt. calvus.
 
You may be able to get away with 4 Frontosas in a 90 but that would be it, they should be OK in a 90gal for a few years. They only get to a max of 6" in the first year then they slow down
 
Since they tend to do better in groups, and can be skiddish, I would do a species-only tank. Up to you how big you want your colony to be, but I'd do at least 3 or 4.

I've heard calvus can be good tankmates for them. Watch your lighting too, as bright lights will make them even more skiddish and drown out thier colors.

A 90 gallon would be alright, like has been said, for about a year, after that I would upgrade to at least a 6ft tank (120+ gallons).

:)
-Diana
 
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