fish_fingers Posted December 27, 2008 Report Share Posted December 27, 2008 Was wondering what is a "standard" price/cost for buying Frontosa? Went to a local fish store and they were selling babies under 10cm for around $45 each. Can someone please enlighten me? Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted December 27, 2008 Report Share Posted December 27, 2008 That's a good price.. The cheapest I saw them was $30ea at 2cms long, rumour has it they were selling for $110 in HFF shops but I haven't been up there for ages.. Bear in mind that there are now a whole heap of colonies nearing breeding age that were sold 3-4 years ago as babies and soon enough they will be easy to find all over the country side with the price falling if people choose to breed them. Awesome fish though hope to get some one day but don't have any tanks big enough for them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish_fingers Posted December 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2008 That's a good price.. The cheapest I saw them was $30ea at 2cms long, rumour has it they were selling for $110 in HFF shops but I haven't been up there for ages.. Bear in mind that there are now a whole heap of colonies nearing breeding age that were sold 3-4 years ago as babies and soon enough they will be easy to find all over the country side with the price falling if people choose to breed them. Awesome fish though hope to get some one day but don't have any tanks big enough for them Cheers Ryan, I have a 4footer that I'm getting bored with....after the plants finally grew. I Keep on coming across big males on T/Me and thought they look very nice. Maybe it's time to have another cichlid "phase". Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted December 28, 2008 Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 Cheers Ryan, I have a 4footer that I'm getting bored with....after the plants finally grew. I Keep on coming across big males on T/Me and thought they look very nice. Maybe it's time to have another cichlid "phase". Thanks. I also keep looking at those big fronts on tm but what sort of sized tank do they need? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted December 28, 2008 Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 6 x 2 x 2ft + for a colony of adults.. Having seen the original breeders make a 1000L 8 x 3 x 3ft tank look small I wouldn't do them in anything less than a 6fter once they put on some size, your 4ft would only be a grow out for a while.. I have a 5 x 2 x 2 here that I considered for it but IMO its too small for anything but one male in a mixed tank really Heres some reading.. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/c_frontosa.php http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/f ... corner.php I see that the article recommends a 125gallon for a colony of 10 adults so a 5 x 2 x 2 would do according to that.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish_fingers Posted December 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 6 x 2 x 2ft + for a colony of adults.. Having seen the original breeders make a 1000L 8 x 3 x 3ft tank look small I wouldn't do them in anything less than a 6fter once they put on some size, your 4ft would only be a grow out for a while.. I have a 5 x 2 x 2 here that I considered for it but IMO its too small for anything but one male in a mixed tank really Heres some reading.. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/c_frontosa.php http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/f ... corner.php I see that the article recommends a 125gallon for a colony of 10 adults so a 5 x 2 x 2 would do according to that.. Yeah that;s pretty much what i had read on the net few days back.The bigger the better with caves for the shy alpha male.....might be time to upgrade??? Oh, Merry Christmas and almost Happy New Year to you both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted December 28, 2008 Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you Rhys. You planning a fish direction change maybe? I've been looking at these fish for a while - in fact quite a while as I'm getting fed up with the fact I can't get hold of really good quality solid colour male fighters. Maybe I'll have to put my big tank in the back shed into use for something else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish_fingers Posted December 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 Thanks very much! Yeah be keen to have go at a different sort of fish and have had cichlids before...still have few now. Like the shape and character of the Frontosa, very interesting. Still enjoy the fighters but good to branch out a little. Man, can imagine the big tank as a cichlid colony....very cool. Let me know how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted December 28, 2008 Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 I have a 5 x 2 x 2 here that I considered for it but IMO its too small for anything but one male in a mixed tank really Surely that size would be alright for a male and a few females? Don't they only get to ~12" and slowly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted December 28, 2008 Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 Yeah would probably be fine as that article said 125gal min I would just go bigger each to their own They don't take long to get upto 20cms and get really flighty would hate to see a 20cm front bouncing off the walls lol. It would also be very hard to just go out and buy a male and a few females you would have to start off with a heap of babies and thin them out as they grow. I have heard alot of suggestions not to keep the dominant male as they can get too agro and kill off the females but haven't done it myself so don't really know. You can't go wrong with an african tank, there are plenty of others that are very easy to keep and breed and you could do an awesome display in a 4-5ft tank.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish_fingers Posted December 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 Looks to be that one must splash out and hope for the best, unless there are some breeders with babies, as you mentioned earlier. Thanks for your advice, shall let you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish_fingers Posted December 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 Cheers Mystic...much appreciated indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted December 28, 2008 Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 is your female holding mystic, its taken 18 mnihs for our biggest to get to 25cms they have always been in the 2.4 x .6 x .6 mixed african tank fairly steady fish in the tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted December 28, 2008 Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 Yeah the babies were sold cheap when they left the country, rumor has it the parents went quite cheap too, glad to see them in good hands and breeding well it looks like their future in NZ is very secure now Personally I don't think the people who plan to breed them and sell them for $100ea will sell any, it is all about supply and demand, hundreds of babies sold 3-4 years ago meaning there will be alot of colonies around breeding and most of the "serious" people who will pay good money for them will already have them. I would expect prices to get quite low especially if 2-3 people start breeding them and trying to sell them at the same time, there are only so many people who can afford and justify setting up a huge tank for them so only a limited market especially if they're popping up for $45ea in shops. I also doubt that breeders will hang onto them for the year or so it takes for them to be sexable and cull the females for a fish that is actually not that rare in NZ anymore trying to exclude others from breeding them wont work as others will sell them younger and let females out. If I was in the market for frontosa I would either snap up the cheap ones you found or hold on do your research buy some good gear and see what happens and you might pick up a bargain.. lol Then again who knows what might happen, I used to laugh when I thought petrol prices would hit $2, only time will tell and we'd all be millionaires if we could predict the future. As Ryan's said, thats a damn good price. They can be sold from $250 to $50 per Bubba. The only reason the price really dropped is because a Breeder was leaving the Country and had to sell all they had asap, which was a real shame. They were fantastic people and great Breeders, but had to let their Bubbas go VERY cheaply. I have been told that most people that will be breeding Fron's here in NZ, will be putting their prices to about $100 per Bubba, and more than likely not selling any females. Or you will get smaller Bubbas cheaper but have to buy in bulk. *Mystic* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted December 28, 2008 Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 yes ryan i wouldn't have predicted the $2.00 mark on petrol seen this many times before with different animals market gets flooded, down comes price, so people stop breeding them and they slowly become rare again serious breeders who do it for the love of the animal hang on to them and keep things going Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted December 28, 2008 Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 Personally I don't think the people who plan to breed them and sell them for $100ea will sell any, it is all about supply and demand When selling anything the quantity sold will decrease as the price increases, and there will be a happy median somwhere in between selling 5 fry for $200 each and selling 200 fry for $5 each. I agree that there's enough people with the potential to breed them that the price will drop considerably. IMO they're not that different form any other cichlids, and anything much over $20 for juvi's is too much. What did A.PROPHECY's big colony end up selling for? IIRC it was around $100 per fish (maybe less?) and they were adults and sub-adults... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted December 28, 2008 Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 yes ryan i wouldn't have predicted the $2.00 mark on petrol seen this many times before with different animals market gets flooded, down comes price, so people stop breeding them and they slowly become rare again serious breeders who do it for the love of the animal hang on to them and keep things going Unfortunately this has happened to a few of our species and caused them to disappear.. To me it seems enough people have frontosa just for the love of them that they wont all sell up when the price of them drops.. I always try and hang onto fish to make sure they don't die out it only takes a few years and they seem to have disappeared again. I think I saw apof's colony being advertised cheaply can't remember how much, I also think I saw 6 15cm ones go for $400 on here.. I think the price will come down to around $15-20ea, there is always the trade off with price set a high one and sell less or set a low one and sell heaps, if someone shows up selling them for $100 someone else will sell them for $50 and love them for it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted December 29, 2008 Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herefishiefishie Posted December 29, 2008 Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 Common fronnies go for about $20 give or take at 3cm.... They have been around for years, so that may be some indication for yas. Frenchy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dude Posted December 29, 2008 Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 HFF have them at $75 each or $250 for 5. if you wait and ask around on here someone will know someone that has them for alot cheaper they may be small ones but you'll save alot of money, i bought 5 - 1 1/2 inche fronts for $35 each which are the same size ones that HFF have now!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaat Posted December 29, 2008 Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 I bought 8 recently, they were just under 2cm and cost $30 each. I was happy with that price and they are growing nicely. I just posted on here and a breeder contacted me .. so you might get lucky if someone see's this post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish_fingers Posted January 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 Was wondering if it's the female or the male that digs that pit? From previous cichlid experience it was a join effort but an pondering which is actually responsible for this duty? To me it makes sense that the female does it. Insight please?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish_fingers Posted January 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 Both do it in my tanks. Mainly the girl starts really. :-) Thanks again Mystic.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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