Aquarium chemistry: The chemical composition should be as usual for Lake Tanganyika cichlids This means very hard and alcalic water (pH 7.8-9.5). The temperature should be between 24°C-26°C. Preferably you should change 25% every week! The tank: As in the nature C.frontosas are gentle to other tank inmates. The tank size therefore does not need to be put in relation to their maximum size. Even if C.frontosa successfully can be kept in a 120 cm long tank (approx 85 gallons), a larger tank is to be preferred. The Tank should be decorated with a lot of rocks that form caves. The females usually do not need hiding places, but the male needs a (large) shelter, which it can retreat to. The stones in the aquarium must be properly ankered since these are powerful fishes that can dig up large amounts of sand. If the stones are loose they can fall and hurt the fishes or, worse crack the tank. Plants usually work with C.frontosa if you only can find out a way not to get them dug up. In tanks larger than 750 liters (200 gallons) C.frontosa can be kept in groups of 10 individials or more. Sutch a group can even contain more than one male. Behavior in aquarium: In smaller tanks C.frontosa are best kept in groups of one male and two or more females. You can sex them by studying their genitals. A large hump is also a good way to differ the sexes but it is not definite because even females can have a hump (even if is smaller than the male´s). C. frontosa is rather peaceful in aquarium. Two males of the same size often treat each other, but without any of them coming to any harm. Often the smaller one them gives up and swims away instead of fighting. When you buy your C.frontosa make sure that you are buying the same geographical variant. This is to avoid crossing the different variants. Food: The species is a predator but in aquarium it usually does not touch other fishes. In aquarium it feeds slowly and prefers Shrimp-mix, shrimps, clamps, worms ore frozen fish. Even if it in the natural circumstances probably feeds in the night/morning, they can be fed anytime when in an aquarium. If you have in mind that it in the nature eats a lot of shrimps, shrimp-mix should be the most otimal. Since C.frontosa is a little shy and unobtrusive animal you must be observant that females and fry get the nourishment they need in a tank populated with a lot of more obtrusive fishes. Breeding: The species is a mouthbrooder, but unlike its correspondings in Lake Malawi, there are hardly any tailbitting or tremblings, neigther are there any changes in color or violus chases. When the female is ready to spawn she signals this to the male. He starts searching for a place to spawn (often a pit in the sand) whitch is cleaned from sand and litter. When the spawning site is in order, the male releases his sperm and the female lays her egg. Now and then the female leaves the pit and in this way she tells the male that it is time to release more sperm Then he returns and fills the pit with sperm again, and then withraws to let the female continue with her egglaying. During the time she lays and picks up the eggs in the mouth the male calmly patrols the neighbourhood, which seems to be enough to make other fishes keep the distance, especially other frontosas. If that is not the case, intruders are chased away by a fast attack. When the female have laid her last eggs, she leaves the site and searches for shelter in the periphery. (brooding females are usually left with the group). The eggs are hatched after 3 or 4 days, and the fry stays in the females mouth for another 4-4.5 weeks. The fry is released when they are 10-15 mm long and the amount varies for 2-3 from a small female up to 20 for a bigger one. The male does not seem to have anything to do with the fry after the spawning. The fry can take hatched artemia and crushed flings with good appetite as soon as they are released. They grow very fast in the beginning, if they are fed with good food and water is changed regularly. To sum up: C.frontosa is easy to keep in an aquarium. They are beautiful and rather peaceful if you get a good male and good females they are also easy to breed and will give the owner a lot of joy. Fun facts: In difference to other extremely big mouthed gluttons (I am thinking of Oscars) C.frontosa not only has a big mouth but also seems to have a huge throat. If you give a frontosa a big piece of shrimp-mix, it will once it has got it inside its mouth swallow it. Oscars, on the other hand, will in some way crumble the shrimp-mix and spread it trough their geals, causing a large dust cloud all over the tank.