Kribensis Breeding

[LiL GinGeR]

I have had a female krib for a few months now and today i bought a male. She is really interested in him (following him, shaking in front of him and even looking for him when she cant see him) and he seems a bit interested and shaking a bit. But he doesnt seem as eager if you know what i mean haha
Is this breeding behaviour and do they have to be able to dig in order to breed? There are 3 different choices of caves in the tank so they have plenty of choice
Thanks :)

[shadow999991]

i was told the eggs need pitch darkness in order to develop correctly, other than that im a blank lol

[LiL GinGeR]

okay thanks :) any tips are helpful :D

[LiL GinGeR]

oh yeah, another question... if there is only one male and one female in the tank is it likely that they'll breed or is it unlikely that they'll pair up?
thanks again :)

[Treefork]

You might ask a mod to move this to African Riverine Cichlids, might get more exposure there. Kribs are African river cichlids. Give them time. Yes, that is courting behavior. One male one female is not a guaranteed pair, but it is probable. :) I've had the best success spawning my kribs with a sandy type substrate, but they'll spawn without it. Kribs can be the Convicts of the old world cichlids given the right conditions. :) Good luck.

[LiL GinGeR]

Thanks :) there is gravel in the tank but I think that its too big for them to be able to move.
Please can a mod move this topic to the African Riverine Cichlids forum? Thank you :)

[Treefork]

How big are they? I have some young adults that will pick up the small gravel and spit it out. Fills his whole mouth. Never know. If they find a cave they particularly like they'll spawn. They lay the eggs on the ceiling or walls of the cave anyhow. No real need to dig unless they want to excavate a little better cave.

[LiL GinGeR]

They are what I think would be nearly fully grown, so i see what you mean :) hopefully theyll be strong enough haha

[Treefork]

Just give them time to pair off. You could also feed them some live or frozen foods to get them primed for it. :) Bloodworms are good.

[LiL GinGeR]

Oh thats good, I just bought some yesterday :) Thank you with all the help :)
If anyone still has any tips on breeding them then Id be really grateful :D

[LiL GinGeR]

bump :)

[verbal]

Increasing the temperature and water changes helps bring a lot of fish into breeding condition. It is not necessary, but some peat filtering may help with getting the kribs ready to breed.

[LiL GinGeR]

Okay thanks :) I did a big water change this morning so hopefully theyll be in the mood ;)

[Treefork]

Don't rush it, just give them time, may take a few days, may take a few weeks, when they're ready they'll spawn. In the meantime why not post some photos?

[LiL GinGeR]

Oh yeah I will try to take pics as soon as I can but my camera is really poor :(

[Haydn24]

I found... Just add water.. Lol!

[fishboy271]

Hi. Breeding kribs is pity easy if you can get them to pair off, because some just will not pair off even if they are the only 2 kribs in a tank.
I have a pair of kribs that paired off in 2 days and I have another 2 kribs that will not pair, I have had them for months and they just wont, I guess they just don't like each other.
Once you have a pair getting them to spawn is rather easy,
tank set up 10 gallon or bigger, if you use a 10 gallon no other fish can be in the tank,
I use sand for the tank, but you can use sand or small gravel, you want some plants and caves in the tank, with a sponge filter.
Temp 80 degrees,
ph 6.5-7.5, 7.0 is best.
They like to spawn on the side/top on the in side of the cave.
Really any cave will work , I use a flower pot for mine they usually dig underneath the flower pot, and then lays the eggs on the bottom of the pot, If they are going to do that the female with dig it out, while the male guards the surrounding area, The males are pity lazy if you ask me.
Once they lay eggs, same thing female with take care of the eggs while the male guards the surrounding area.
The eggs should hatch in 2-3 day, then the fry should be free swimming in another 4-5 days
fry are pity big for dwarf cichlids, and can be fed many things, I start mine off with Walter Worms and Vinegar Ells. as they get bigger you can feed them bigger things.
I leave the fry with the parents for about a month then move them to another tank to spawn.


I hope this can help.
Good luck!!!

[fishboy271]

About if you use a 10 gallon no other fish (http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/#) can be in the tank.

If you are trying to breed them you do not want any other fish in the tank.
So sorry for that.

[fishboy271]

Well I guess my male krib read my post, he is helping dig underneath the flower pot right now.

[LiL GinGeR]

Do you think that if I put a small mirror next to the tank the male will think theres a rival male so he should mate with the feamle? Ive heard of people putting a tank with another male next to the main one but i cant do that

[LiL GinGeR]

bump and also...are they considered a pair when they are showing breeding behaviour towards eachother or when they actually spawn?

[Treefork]

Well if they stay by each other a lot with no problems they are pretty much paired. Once they have spawned they are a "proven pair".

[LiL GinGeR]

Well in that case mine are a pair but not a proven pair :) does this mean that it's likely that they'll breed at some point?

[Treefork]

Well, the fact that they are kribs makes it likely. :) Do you have caves for them? They are hidden brooders, which means they want privacy. :)

[daphilster08]

I had a 20 gallon long set up for mine. In the fall, I grabbed a ton of oak leaves.. To the point where it was a thick layer across the whole bottom, plus i made some coconut caves for them and they bred after cold water changes, or pretty much every couple weeks.. It was my freshman year of college so i was pretty busy so only like two batches were able to make it too the LFS for sale. You could trying buying some almond leaves online.. and make your own coconut caves.. Makes it kinda fun! :grinno:

[LiL GinGeR]

I have a coconut cave and one I made out of rock

[fishboy271]

Yeah I would say they are a pair if they are staying by each other.
A coconut cave should work, but how big is it?
1 more Question, what 1 is bigger the male or female krib?

[Treefork]

Good question, females prefer larger males (this a family site?). Seriously though if the male is closer in size to female she won't be as receptive and may also be aggressive to him.

[fishboy271]

Good question, females prefer larger males (this a family site?). Seriously though if the male is closer in size to female she won't be as receptive and may also be aggressive to him.

Exactly my point.

[LiL GinGeR]

The cave isnt that big but neither are the kribs tbh. The male is perhaps about 1cm or 1/2 bigger than the female.

[fishboy271]

The cave isnt that big but neither are the kribs tbh. The male is perhaps about 1cm or 1/2 bigger than the female.
they might not be matur then.

[LiL GinGeR]

I think they are mature but the cave is pretty small and im in the process of making a new one

[MickRC]

My two male Kribs are about 3 to 3 1/2 inches long each. The two females are about 2 inches right now. I have the females in a different tank for the time being because I'm not ready for them to spawn.

[fish-n-chips]

At that size, They aren't close to being mature. Yet, I know P. taeniatus are still small and have laid eggs 4 times. I would say that your caves are big enough and they have plenty of options for a site to prep. Mine laid eggs on the side of some driftwood the first time that next to a cave. Also, from my reading the ph of your water will affect the sex of the offspring. Under 7 will give more females and over 7 will give more males. Best of luck.

[dunsmc]

so have you had any luck yet i just put a female in my tank

[LiL GinGeR]

Not as yet but i just made a vid that ill put up as soon as possible. anyone know if they'll breed when the female is 2" and the male is 2 1/2"?

[LiL GinGeR]

Here is a vid, they do shake at eachother but you dont see it in this video. Are they going to breed/breeding?
Thanks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGSkrsPF3XU

PS: I would've put the video on here but i dont know how to :shakehead:

[LiL GinGeR]

bump

[Treefork]

Well they're definitely old enough to spawn. It may take some time. What kind of caves do you have in the tank? They are hidden cave spawners so will want a secure cave with preferably one entrance/exit that they can guard and the female can mostly block with her body. Also helps to feed live and frozen foods.

[fish-n-chips]

I was only seeing that they were both digging. Too me this means that: 1) they are definitely a pair and 2) that they are both getting in the mood. You playing Barry White? What are you feeding at this time and what is your current wc schedule?

[WeedCali]

+1 for Barry White

[LiL GinGeR]

I feed flake, frozen bloodworms and this sort of jellied brineshrimp. I do about 20-25% wc every week. They are still digging and the female is showing off whenever the male is around. The thing is, the male is too busy digging to notice the female. Is it normal for him to do most of the digging and will he eventually start taking notice of her? Also, i dont think the female knows how to dig properly because most of the time she just lets it go through her gills but she sometimes spits it out. Is there anything I can do?

Sorry for all the questions and thanks for all your help :)

[rufioman]

I seem to have this problem too lately. I think my dithers are too fast moving for my kribs or something. The female and male dig up everything but the male seems to lose interest and move onto something else instead of spawning lol.

[LiL GinGeR]

I have a couple of black neons that hang out with my copper harlequins, a ram, a female guppy, a couple of platy fry and a few pigmy cories. I could move the platies but none of the others as the only other tank I have is a fluval edge or one without a filter or heater. Should I do anything?

rufioman: Haha I know, I find it a bit annoying and I think the female does to :)

[sorberj]

Your male might not be mature enough yet to spawn, but mine started at about that size. I have noticed that a little bit of a water temperature drop during a water change (about 2 degrees) can encourage things. Give them time though, sometimes they go on and off spawn for no reason at all. I've noticed that the courtship can take a couple of weeks with mine and the first time I watched them go through the motions for three weeks before I had fry.
They're sort of like teenagers that way, moody, but generally willing to try to reproduce.

[LiL GinGeR]

Okay thanks for all the help :) I will update as soon as anything happens but please give more info if anyone else has any :)

[LiL GinGeR]

bump

[LiL GinGeR]

Bump

[fish-n-chips]

Like sorberj said, I tend to have luck doing water changes that are a bit cooler. My thought on that is that it replicates the rainy season when more food( inisects and such) is introduced to a body of water. If that alone does not work, maybe try feeding flake for a week or so with wc's that are the same temp. Then start doing wc's that are a bit cooler and start to feed the meaty food again, doing more and smaller wc's that are cooler while still feeding the meat. That could help to trigger the instinct to breed.
Continue with the Barry White of course.

[LiL GinGeR]

Thank you :) haha I believe that Barry White is needed to breed everything

[rufioman]

I just gave my kribs their own tank and have literally overnight seen an incredible difference. They're both extremely pink and the male won't leave the entrance to their coconut hut. I'd be willing to bet I get some eggs soon :)

[LiL GinGeR]

wow congrats! I would give them their own tank but I cant afford to buy a new one and I cant as I'm only allowed tanks in my bedroom which is upstairs so Im limited with size and its small :(

Good luck :)

[LiL GinGeR]

I did a 20% water change yesterday with cold water and straight away they were showing off to eachother. Do I do smaller cold water changes daily until they spawn or every couple of days?

[fish-n-chips]

If your schedule allows, do it daily. I can't rememder how much your tank is scaped, but be certain that you have as much decor in there to break up line of sight. Kribs can be nasty protective (IME) and the more stuff that you have in there, the aggression of protective parents can be minimized which will help your other fishies from being chased and stressed. Hope that they keep showing and shimmying. It shouldn't be too long. Keep up the meaty foods but still give them flake also just to balance their diet.

[LiL GinGeR]

okay thank you :) I have a pretty large plant that is something like cambomba and plenty of rocks, driftwood and caves so hopefully they should be okay. I'll do another soon and give them some frozen blood worm and flake.

I hope its not too long now :)

[LiL GinGeR]

bump

[fish-n-chips]

How are things going in there? Anything new going on?

[LiL GinGeR]

No :( if anything all the activity has stopped

[fish-n-chips]

Cool wc's and fresh meaty foods have impeded the spawning process?!?! That is uncharacteristic of my experience with them. So, have they quit digging too? Have they faded in color? Has the female quit doing the shimmy for the male?

[LiL GinGeR]

Yes literally everything has stopped, except for the male digging as he has always done :(

[Ashers]

I have mine set up in a (slightly crowded) community tank. My pair of Kribs took two months to spawn after I got them. I had almost given up on them. They literally just had their first batch yesterday. I found it definitely helped to use cold water when doing my water changes...I use cold water every time, the Kribs colour up right away and my Kuhli's go nuts too. The cold water simulates rainfall. I started feeding them twice a day as well (using smaller amounts) as I was told they are more likely to spawn if food is plentiful. Every time I do the water change they colour up and start really paying attention to each other and 'shivering' and the female follows the male around everywhere. There were a couple of times were I thought they might have spawned, the female was rarely seen out of the cave for about a week and the male kept darting at the other fish in the tank and hovering outside the cave. She finally came out, but then they started acting like normal again. maybe she did spawn and ate the eggs? I've hear that it is common in for the first few batches.
A couple weeks and water changes later, the behavior started up again and the male made frequent visits to the cave the female was in. When she finally came out she looked grayer and started behaving normal again, so I thought it was another false alarm...but I noticed that the males colours had gone more vivid then I had ever seen him. A couple days later I was feeding them and notices a bit of movement on the gravel...and i noticed about 10-15 little babies!, being closing guarded by the parents of course. Now I've gotta figure out what to do with them, I hope they don't get eaten by the other fish, or their parents.
So that's my experience with getting them to spawn, cold water changes, a moderate amount of food, and time. Next time you think they may have spawned, watch your males colours, I think that was the dead give away for me. Dunno if my info helps at all...

[LiL GinGeR]

Thank you, that info was great! I have given up on mine to be honest but know ill start trying again :)

[LiL GinGeR]

Well they bred :D please see my other thread for details and I have some important questions :)

[rtbob]

Congrats! I was going to suggest grinding up a bit of Viagra and feeding it to the male.

[LiL GinGeR]

Haha yeah that's a good idea :)