Frontosa
Cyphotilapia frontosa
moderatesemi aggressivemiddle swimmerCichlidae
- Adult size
- 25 cm10 in
- Start with
- 4
- Tank length
- 180 cmabout 6 ft (71 in)
- Lifespan
- 15–25 yrs
- Temperature
- 24–26 °C75–79 °F
- pH
- 7.6–9
- Hardness
- 10–30 dGH
- Diet
- carnivore
A slow-growing giant that eats small fish at night; plan for a 180 cm tank and a colony from the start, not a juvenile in a small tank.A slow-growing giant that eats small fish at night; plan for a about 6 ft (71 in) tank and a colony from the start, not a juvenile in a small tank.
Tank sizes
Good tankmates
Avoid with
- Banded gourami
No shared pH rangeNo shared pH range
- Bandit cory
No shared pH rangeNo shared pH range
- Black kuhli loach
No shared pH rangeNo shared pH range
Black neon tetraNo shared pH rangeNo shared pH range
- Black phantom tetra
No shared pH rangeNo shared pH range
- Blackline rasbora
No shared pH rangeNo shared pH range
- Bleeding heart tetra
No shared pH rangeNo shared pH range
- Blind cave tetra
No shared pH rangeNo shared pH range
- Bloodfin tetra
No shared pH rangeNo shared pH range
- Blue acara
No shared pH rangeNo shared pH range
- Blue emperor tetra
No shared pH rangeNo shared pH range
- Blue lyretail
No shared pH rangeNo shared pH range
Sources
| temperature | 24–26 | AqAdvisor (aqadvisor.com), retrieved 2026-10-04; agrees with FishBase (fishbase.se), retrieved 2026-10-04 · medium |
|---|---|---|
| ph | 7.6–9 | AqAdvisor (aqadvisor.com), retrieved 2026-10-04 · medium |
| gh | 10–30 | AqAdvisor (aqadvisor.com), retrieved 2026-10-04 · low |
| origin | Northern Lake Tanganyika, East Africa | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · low |
| notes | A slow-growing giant that eats small fish at night; plan for a 180 cm tank and a | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| beginner friendly | false | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| care level | moderate | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| color palette | #F0F0F0, #1A2A4A, #4A70B0 | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · low |
| activity | sedentary | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| swim zone | middle | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| temperament | semi-aggressive | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| fin nipper | false | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| long finned | false | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| territorial | false | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| schooling | false | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| social min | 4 | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| schooling min | 1 | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| diet | carnivore | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| lifespan years | 15–25 | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · low |
| growth to adult months | 48 | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · low |
| length weight | {"a":0.035,"b":3} | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · low |
| planted safe | true | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| min tank length | 180 | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| body shape | cichlid | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |