when it grows up dont breed it with any of your other fronts

gotta keep the good bars of what we have here in nz

my big male has been decleared as a hrybrid so his not goin to be breed with any thing.

but ive got a nice beta male which will be the one who will be spawning with the selected females.

there were pure female burundi in that group of perants but there is a hybrid front in there with them which has spawned with females.

To every one that has fronts select the best you have to breed we dont want fronts with split bars and so on.

please

o well

still nice fish though

Just means that we all have to make the most of what we have available here... definately beautiful fish all the same, and I'm just so thankful to have had the opportunity to get some I'm sure all the new Frons owners are

I think just keeping and raising some alone will be stimulating enough Not sure why people would be set on seeing them for money making scheme, I think things are only worth as much as someone is willing to pay for them, and in this case, we have spent thousands on the Frons, them alone and set up :lol: Just the enjoyment in having them on display is what counts, well for us anyway

If theres any question of hybrids, and all that sort, I've got no issue with them all breeding and doing their thing, but the babies won't leave my house. It sounds horrible, but I have plenty of fish that wouldn't mind a live meal.

Theres always lots of options, if you DON'T want em to breed.. :lol: But when it comes down to it.. I guess I'll do what has to be done, whatever works best at the time. I adore my Fronts, wouldn't change a thing. I especially adore my lil 7 bar/6 bar munta. But.. alas... I really don't think I'll keep *too many* of their children.. considering their huge life span. :lol: Good excuse to turn the Front tank into a Tang tank though!! :bounce:

What do u mean by that there was a hybrid front in there with them. What made you think that?

my big male has been decleared as a hrybrid so his not goin to be breed with any thing.

but ive got a nice beta male which will be the one who will be spawning with the selected females.

there were pure female burundi in that group of perants but there is a hybrid front in there with them which has spawned with females.

The fronts you have in NZ will be the same as all the old school fronts in Australia & around the world.

Here is an article linked from Brad, any research you do will bring you back to this.

In the beginning, all the outside world knew of was the Burundi six-stripe Frontosa. From the African Cichlid explosion of the early 1970's to the present, this fish has been a staple of the Cichlid hobby. Many hobbyists, exporters, importers, and experts have come and gone; the Frontosa remains. I fully expect Frontosas to be around longer then any of us (including Ad Konnings). The Burundi Front was mostly exported due to the works of the Brichards. In their compound they are breeding them to this very day. I'm sorry to say that I have seen only Burundi pond raised fish and never wild ones. The pond raised, on the most part, have been of excellent quality. They have very high bodies, nice stripes, and good amounts of blue on the fish makes them highly desirable. I can imagine that the wild specimens are even better! Unfortunately inbreeding has made these fish not quite as good as their wild brethren. They do not have the high bodies that seem to make the fish that more regal.

This is what I believe NZ fronts to have come from.

This is the same story with Electric yellows. All the old school yellows show some variation of colour, form....they don't come with a location name. Then again alot of the old school cichlids don't.

Frenchy

Good point there Frenchy, the Alpha could just be a Burundi with bad stripes and mooning, that is why it looks like a hybrid, I have posted my fronts to other forums and they all recon its Burundi, so hopefully you are right.

yea that could be true.

shelly said there was a kig or hybrid front in there which has breed with some females.

not really to sure but most of the people in nz with the fry,the fry are lookig realy good,good baring hardy any mooning.

so i think we will just call them burundi for now.

every one please keep updating the fronts that you have.

so far they are awsome :bounce:

If people wanted to get really picky, how much would it actually cost to DNA test a fish? And who would do it? I'm just really curious, I've never struck this before?? :lol:

Thousands to DNA test one fish of the many fry around NZ? How useful would that be? As in, would it be cost effective if lots of people with the fry chipped in for a DNA test.

lol

some of them have different colours

too 2 of my fronts are blue yet my others have a little yellow

and my alpha has yellow written all over him.

can you post some pics of yours mystic please.

heres one on the blue ones

it will be fun watching them grow

im love mine so much and just like you i spend to much on them trying to make them happy.

but i enjoy them too much to care.lol

I just got some bala sharks for mine so see how that goes.

should make the fronts come out more.

still a bit scared

has any one else got tank mates with the fronts?????????

just a trial see what happens

if they dont like them like take them back

I have clown loaches and Juliis with my fronts and they seem to be doing well.

Nimbochromis_freak: At what size did yours start showing the yellow colouring? Keeping an eye on our ones, so far no yellow.. just wondered what stage they developed it?

We have our Frons in with Julido, a Lelu and a Alto Comp...

Our Frons don't seem to be shy at all, they are starting to meet us at the front of the tank when we are near.. however, they are in the big tank in the lounge and its the busiest part of the house so they probably condition themselves to it :lol:

As far as I have been told by Importer, they can not say they are pure.

In that case, should only be called 'Frontosa' not a Variant.

Thats the same here with all old school fronnies, they are just called frontosa. Then again, breeding fish against each other since the 70's. That is over 30 years of breeding against the same lines. Explain the odd 7 bar, variance of colour, they aren't as high bodied....Australia is a prime example of now poor quailty Cichlid species. Americans especially, nowhere near as nice & as colourful as they were 10 to 20 years ago.

People have other theories,{I used to be one, but could never source proof} funnily enough those others that follow some theories can't prove them either.

eg; Surely other fronnies were exported. Fish exporation was limited Lake Tangy in the old days with civil wars, technology, alligators, hippos.... fronnies also live in deeper water so the catching them & getting to the surface without killing them used to be a problem.

eg;People could of mixed variants once new ones were sourced. Possible, but remember that when new variants were sourced & then exported{many years later} they came with a very hefty price tag. Mostly it was just the fanatics, people in the know...jumped on them. They would sell them on with proper name too.

Frenchy

I keep mine with a featherfin (who is very friendly and always swimming around) and they are out and about the whole time too... Especially when you go up to the tank and they think they are going to be fed!

they started having yellow when they were young

Brad's big thing is the yellow colouration. {Thats why he thinks they have been cross bred at some stage.} It is meant to be only in a couple of variants. {Brad is away in Singapore at the moment, so may comment when he gets back.}

The yellow colouration in the old school fronnies, only seems to appear in the dull ones, that as in those showing little to no blue. Is the yellow colouration the base pigment of the northern fronnies? Why do I ask? The yellow colouration only appears in the Northern variants of frontosa's, of which Burundi is one. The Burundi is the bluest of the northern variants, therefore no yellow would be visible. So if they having been line bred since the 70's, would dull fronnies show yellow?

Frenchy

the only part of the fronts that is yellow is its dorsal fin and the the rest of the fish is a nice blue

the only part of the fronts that is yellow is its dorsal fin

Thats the part of the fronnies I am talking about. In Burundis, it is meant to be blue.

Go to this page,

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/frontosa_corner.php

& go to this page, there is a location map.

Cyphotilapia Species Map by Ad Konings, Marc Elieson, & Eric Glab

Frenchy

Thanks for the input over the Frons Frenchy, much appreciated 8)

I have been keeping an eye on our lot, and haven't noticed any yellow colouring in the dorsal of our lot, so will be interesting to see if any develop it.

Mekhaela