My Kribs

[O-man21]

Well, I got my kribs a day ago. I LOVE THEM!! They are the most colorful fish I have ever had! I got a male and a female, the female is already doing the like......um...the thing where she shakes her whole body in front of the male. I read that was a courtship thing. I am planning to breed them and sell them to my lfs.They said they would buy the babies.


My question is......
What would be a good fish to put in with kribs? The kribs stay on the bottom of the tank so I think I could get congo tetras or sumin.
And also. I am feeding them "New Life Spectrum Cichlid" food. My lfs owner said it is one of the best foods on the market. Do any of you feed that food? and do you know if it is a good food or not?

[firetank]

lucky you, i got a pair 2 weeks ago...on closer inspection i think theyre both male!!!!!!! :eek: :eek:

how the hell do i sort that one out??

id go for something nippy, one of the ones ive got is very aggresive already, and thats without spawning behaviour.... so who know how bad theyll get when breeding.......


:(

[jdheff1982]

I have 2 pairs in seperate tanks. I pair is in a 20 gallon and have already had their first brood. Unfortunately, I think they are picking off the fry. I started with like 30 free swimming fry last week and now down to like 5 to 10 fry left. But it is very cool though to see these guys in action. My already breed pair are in the process of breeding again (I think). Anywho, they are very cool fish and easier to breed than what I thougt. Some sites say these guys hate water chemistry changes, but I have yet to see this happen. Don't be surprised if your male turns almost white after the kids are free swimming, I guess it's normal?? BTW, let the algae grow in your tank while the fry are young, this provides them with everything they need to survive. They will also eat very tiny pieces of flake food. Have fun!!

[Cichlid Woman]

Firetank, I think you've got aggression because they're both males. My pair is very mellow with a tankful of community fish, and even when breeding they only chase others away, then stop. For a female, look for one whose yellow color along the very top of the dorsal fin does not go all the way to the end of the dorsal. Also, a female's tail is rounded (a half-moon shape), and a male's is more pointed (like a diamond or spade shape).

You can't go by the purple coloring on the belly, because males get that, too (although not as much as the female), when they're feeling feisty or in the mating mood.

O-man, I'm so happy for ya! Kribs are among my very favorites, and I can't imagine not having them in my tank. I feed mine Tetramin flake and frozen shrimp. They also really go for an occasional algae wafer that I drop in there for my plecos and cories.

Tankmates? Anything that's not aggressive would be good, I think. I've got a school of black neons, cories, and a Congo tetra; the kribs never bother them.

Have fun!!

-- Pat

[firetank]

aaaargghh...

i had sexed them form a book i have to be male... now youve said that ive noticed the fan-shaped tails, rounded dorsal fin, and the yellow patterning stops anout 1\4 of an inch from the end of the fin...

would this mean i really have 2 females??????

the aggression is bad to the point i think the weaker will end up dead.....ive managed to get the aggresor into a fry holding seperator...

is the best thing to put this one into my 5g with 2 corys and 6 neons, or will she still be the same??

i cant talke her hback to the store, they dont operate like that over here.....

help!!

(sorry for the threadjack o-man...)

[firetank]

sorry, double post.

[Cichlid Woman]

Yeah, if the color stops about 1/4" away from the end, you've got females. Putting the weaker one into the other tank should be fine; she won't bother anybody. Are you going to get a male for the other female you're leaving in the big tank? That would be cool ... don't put a male in the 5-gal, though. I don't think a pair of kribs would have room to breed in there if you're leaving any other fish in there.

O-man, do you have a cave in there for them to breed in? Mine use a small (about 5-6" long) Grecian-pot thingie decoration I got at the lfs. There are two large caves in the tank, but they seem to prefer that little pot.

-- Pat

[firetank]

thanks cichlid woman,

yes im gonna put one in the single tank alone(till i can sort out somefin bigger.... ive got a 20g sat empty....)

better to put the aggresive or weaker one in the 5g??

im gonna get a male, hopefully now by the end of the week

thanx

[Cichlid Woman]

It probably might be better to put the weaker one in the 5-gal, give her a chance to rest up. Then put the new male in the larger tank with the ... er ... "robust" female that's already there.

Good luck!

-- Pat

[firetank]

ok ill go with that..
.

its gonna be fun catching the timid female.......
not..


on a different note, is the last angel bearing up???

thanks pat,

craigo

[Mr.Jingles]

Gah! It would be better to let the stressed one be. Take the healthier one out. this way, the stressed is left unstressed and new territories are made by the stressed.

[Cichlid Woman]

Hi, Jingles, what you say makes sense, but what if he puts a male in there?! Could be more stress, at least at first?

The last angel died this morning, Craigo. Thanks for asking. And the owner of the lfs won't talk to me. (See that post ...)

-- Pat

[firetank]

hey guys,

right ive done it.

in the end i decided top catch the fragile female(easier than i tought, she was in a cave a lot since the segregation, i just adjusted it into the net, not a lot of fuss really....:) )

i think it was prob the right idea, the other is sooo confident in the tank.

im getting a male(fingers crossed;) ) on friday -- im looking for a pointy tail and dorsal fin then???

(the people at my lfs HATE it when you ask for a specific fish -- like its too much bother.......):rolleyes:

ill keep you posted,
thanks.
craig

[Cichlid Woman]

Yeah, they're like that at most lfs I've been too, also, at least around here. It's too bad.

I hope there will be lots of kribs in the tank to give you a basis for comparison, because it's not that easy to tell sometimes, especially if they're still juveniles. But ... look for a krib whose yellow color at the very top of the dorsal fin runs all the way to the end, and who also has a spade- or diamond-shaped tail.

Good luck!

Pat

[Sting]

What's the minimum tank size you recommend for a Krib?

[Cichlid Woman]

Ten gallons for a pair, with a couple of cories or ottos and maybe five tetras would be loverly. And plants. Kribs love hanging out in plants. And of course a cave or a pot or something to breed in ...

-- Pat

[Mr.Jingles]

eh...I would say a 20 for a pair. Kribs get around 3 or 4 inches. 20gallons especilly if you are keeping other fish. I kept mine in a 30 and they were happy.

[firetank]

hey guys..

checked this morning on the new moved krib...
not in tank....

emptied all the plants\piping out, not there...

moved the chest of drawers...

shed jumped out, guess the whole moving\bullying thing was too much.
so she ended up dead anyway.
:( :( :(

****.

[Cichlid Woman]

Oh, I'm sorry to hear it, Firetank.

-- Pat

[O-man21]

sorry to hear that firetank.

Anyways, I got my kribs on saterday the 21st, and she layed eggs on the 23rd, so they are gonna hatch today I think.

[firetank]

""from the ashes, rises the newly born beautiful pheonix""

nice one!!!!!

glad to hear that..

. i hope to make amends, im getting a male tomorrow hopefully....

:) :)