kribs

[Nim Dibbley]

I am new to thw world of cichlids and i recently bought two Kribs. when i first bought them i attempted to get a pair that seemed to dominate the tank at the LFS, but when the net came it, they scattered and i don't think i ended up with that pair.

now, they dont interact very much, but when they do, the male usually just chases the female away.

my question is once they pair up, is it something they do for life? or will they swap partners?

[lucky777ca]

My breeding pair was split up for 3 weeks, when they rejoined, they weren't showing any aggressive behaviour (at that time, I had to separate the male due to symptoms of popeye, cause will remain a mystery). When I rearranged the ornaments, the new male and the previous female has paired up and started a large family (of 79 frys, and now another 50+ frys just this evening).

IME, they will be a pair for life if they are kept together, but once both are separated from each other, they have a potential to look for another mate... This probably depends on the individual fishes in question.

[Jayhawk]

I had a similar situation - a definite pair at the LFS, but when trying to catch them I got the female but not the right male. She was very, very aggressive with the male, and I took him back and had them catch the fish I thought was the right male (there were only 2 others in the tank).

When I added the new male (the one I thought was the right one), they swam up to each other, and they were immediately back together.

If you think you have the wrong fish, I'd suggest taking one back and trying to get the right one. This can be hard, but many small LFSs will accomodate you if they know you.

Eric

[Nim Dibbley]

update:

the two kribs started to get along...and this morning I noticed about 50 babies in the tank swimming underneath the parents. :)

I am not sure if I want to move them to another tank or not, but if I do decide to raise them, at what point should they be moved away from the parents?

[lucky777ca]

Congratulations

They should be able to stay with the parents for at least 4 weeks after they have become free-swimming. I've had the female stay with the frys for about 7 weeks (1st spawn). You will notice that the parents will start to chase the frys away, IME the female chases them and indicates that she is ready to breed again.