Ready to spawn again

[Mystroe_TheMyst]

hey guys...as you probably know my kribs have had some fry (1st batch) and 7 have survived and are about 3wks old now...and the female is getting some really intense dark blue/purple colours on her belly...does this mean shes ready to spawn? I think she is, should I just leave the fry in there or perhaps move them to another tank?..I've got a 5gal but it is not heated it is about 19'C which is 66-67'F.

what do you think?

[optix]

She may be ready to lay eggs, but if the male has fry still in the tank he wont fertilize them. If you want more fry you will have to remove the first batch first.

[Mystroe_TheMyst]

ok, so what about the fry surviving on their own? in 66'F water? is that too cold?

[optix]

you can't pick up a heater?? Yes thats far too cold for them over a long period of time.

[Mystroe_TheMyst]

kinda short on funds...and its a 5gallon....I always thought it was too small for heating because I never kept any fish that needed a heater in it. But those micro heaters like 25watt they cost as much as some 300watt ones because of there size....they are so small the 25watt ones and thats all i really need for my 5gal...so I guess i'll just have to keep the fry in the tank.

I once saw a picture of a kenyi and in the background there were a few kribensis ... now it is ok for them to be together? I didn't think so but it seems like there were a few of the kenyi's and about 4 kribs..they are both africans I supose but kribs like neutral pH levels....I dunno i just want to know if it has been sucessfully done and if you would approve of it, cause I have no idea...i've only recently started taking this pH thing seriously...my water is pretty much neutral anyway..

[optix]

you could get a 50-75 watt heater, it wont have to work as hard thats all. As far as the kenyis and kribs. I wouldn't reccomend it, but then again I never reccomend rift lake with anything. :p

[Mystroe_TheMyst]

Yeah, I might just take them to the LFS when they are a bit older...perhaps keep a pair for my 35gal...see how they go with the Kenyi's well we'll shall see won't we..but another set of fry would be cool for the parents because they would know how to take care of them a bit better.

[optix]

Well mystroe you could always try it out. I mean since its just fry you are raising, unless you are really serious about them. The kribs wouldn't do harm to your kenyi. The kenyi would do harm to the kribs if any harm was done. Since they are already acclimated to that kind of water you could see how it goes.

[Mystroe_TheMyst]

thats what i was thinking, since they have not cost me anything (food excluded) and the Kenyi's are finding the more neutral water normal...well I just might try it out..I mean my female is deffinately ready to lay another batch. So i will wait till the fry are a little bigger..they grow reasonabaloly slow