Need some Frontosa help

[FrontosaurusRex]

As most of you know, i have my Mpimbwe Frontosa colony in a 125g tank with a few smaller tank mates. (nothing aggressive)
The tank is decorated with two large piles of river rocks that the Fronts have dug into and made a couple of large caves.
The problem with this, is that i NEVER see them swimming around anymore. Before, i had a bunch of Brichardi that claimed all the rocks, but since their departure, my Fronts hide all friggin day. They dont really like to eat during the day either. But at night, i can sneak into my "fish room" and their they are...swimming and eating like crazy.
I was thinking about taking all the river rock out and replacing it with XL rocks that would be more like EK's Tropheus tank. (the one he posted recently, trying to sell the rocks)
Anybody that has Frontosas please give me your advice with the types and amount of rocks you keep in your tank.
Also, have any of your Fronts stopped eating during the day?

[gotticgs]

Frontosa are nocturnal piscavores in the wild the whole hiding in the rock thing is just what they do when they are young they are out like crazy but as they get older forget it !

[Zulaab]

Fronts are nocturnal by nature. They hunt by coming up to the upper water column at night. Most likely because you have the caves they are trying to hide from the light. If you want to see your fish more often I would prolly run the tank without lights on or very little lights during the day. They are easily spooked during the day time which is why they are hiding. As young they live in higher up but as they grow out they go deeper and deeper. If you want see them more often make the caves so you can look into your tank and see your fish and they still feel comfitable.
I hope this helps..
Btw please remember Fronts dont get mature until 40-48 months into their life cycle.

[gotticgs]

ha ha i beat u too it zulaab

[Zulaab]

YEah I know.. i just dont type quick :P

[FrontosaurusRex]

not sure if you guys have seen Dan's tank at HAW, but he has about 6 or 7 really big rocks that dont really form caves but his fronts still seem happy. Do they HAVE to have caves?

[supadave]

I would get rid of the caves. Also, don't use any extremely bright lights... as everyone has already stated... they are nocturnal. As far as feeding, mine will eat anytime of the day. What are you feeding? Over the last two and a half years I have fed pretty much everything to my Fronts. But from my experience, they go completely nuts over the NLS Thera +A. Below I have included an old photo of my tank. As you can see my fronts are all over the tank.

[eklikewhoa]

supadave hit it spot on....

Dim lighting will not only allow them to be more comfortable but it will also give the nice predator tank look.

What I ended up doing with my Mobas (most skittish) was add a group of "dither" fish like giant danios (not a big loss if eaten) and this helped out some. For the scape I did more of a column type layout with zero caves and just enough rock to keep the tank from looking bare and to break line of sight for angry males.

A good amount of flow will keep them in motion as well.

[FrontosaurusRex]

i feed mine NLS Thera +A and bloodworms. I think the lighting is whats spooking em. I have two 36" OdysseaT6 lamps with 50/50 bulbs in them. Can i keep the same lamp and find a different bulb that isnt so bright? Or should i get rid of the lamps?

[Zulaab]

-Rex,

I personally would replace the bulb with a straight up 10k or keep the 50/50 (if you like the light) Use only 1x 3ft bulb, building a small stand for it which would raise it higher over the tank where the light basically is there to break the dark shadows... this will spook them less and they should be out more just from less light... and yes I would again like EK said, make a network of rocks where there are none of them making caves, but still makes simple territories...

[specialone0812]

so cool information. i wish i should have known these infos before i sold my frontosa.
will come back to fronts in couple days.

[i_am_poor]

Nice tank Supadave. Is that the same one you bought from me?

[Cesar]

My tank does not have any caves either, but like EK says some rocks to break the line of sight of your alpha male. As far as the light I would probably go with a smaller light fixture more around 12-24" that way it lights up the middle so you can see them but gives them some shadowing to retreat to. Ive been running this setup for the last two years and my WC Blue Zambians are finally breeding. Oh forgot to mention I leave the lights out every other day.Turn them on during feeding days(only feed every other day too NLS Thera-A) Dont know if that helps, if you need more answers go to www.cyphos.com.

[FrontosaurusRex]

i will definately fix the lighting problem tonight, but only feeding them every other day???
Does anybody else do that?
Not saying it a bad idea, i'm just curious.
I feed my guys NLS Thera +A and bloodworms

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR THE GREAT ADVICE.

[supadave]

I feed mine two days in a row, then I skip a day. I feed my fronts the 3mm Thera +A and they gorge on this stuff. Plus, Fronts really don't burn up alot of energy because they are slow movers. They basically just glide around the tank. But if your fish are still around that 3" to 4" mark... then I would keep feeding every day. Also, if you want to keep your light... you may try a black substrate.The black sand or gravel with a black background will still seem kinda dark to the Fronts... because the black won't reflect light as much as the white or lite colored substrate. I changed mine a few months ago and I will probally never go back to white sand with my Fronts.