Anyone Bred kribs before? can you help me with sexing?

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Bahney

AC Members
Feb 17, 2007
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Hull, Yorkshire, England
I have 7 kribs in my tank but i am looking to reduce that to 3 asap

but they all appear to be getting along VERY well at the moment which is surprising considering it was world war three just a week ago!

they all seem to have grown a massive amount in the last week and there colours are really starting to show better, there appears to be a dominant group of 5 and 2 outsiders.

if anyone who has bread these can take a quick look at these photos, any idea what to look for when sexing them ? i know the red belly appears to be a give away but they all have the same shape and size (the tail appears to be rounded on each one and is not pointing yet to suggest a male)

as it stands they are in a tranquil mode and appear to swim in front of each other turn sideways and shake a bit and then swim off and then the other will do likewise (maybe going through puberty, lol)

any help/advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated, i love these fish and i want to treat them as best as i can

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Jayhawk

AC Members
May 12, 2001
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Lawrence, KS
I can't tell too well from your pictures. Females tend to have pinker bellies, males have longer anal and dorsal fins that are pointed, and (this one's good even at a young age) males have color in the dorsal fin that goes all the way to the end whereas on females the color up top of the dorsal fin stops before the end which is clear. It's that last point I primarily use to sex young kribs, but I can't tell that in the pictures you have.

Eric
 

Nolapete

Monster Tank Builder
May 29, 2007
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New Orleans, LA
I'd pick out two with the most cherry colored bellies and then one that doesn't have a cherry belly and has elongated fins. You'll probably end up with a trio. Sometimes a male will breed with both females at separate sites. Your tank looks really nice. It's currently a bit overpopulated, but pretty nonetheless.
 

lucky777ca

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Jan 25, 2006
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Just my opinion...

In the third picture, the third from the left MIGHT be a female, due to the red/pink belly, where as the two leftmost kribs MIGHT be males, as they seem to be more slim-bodied.

In the first picture, the leftmost krib MIGHT to be a female, as it is a bit bulkier.

Some signs that I have used while looking at the krib babies that I have:

  • Younger kribensis females would show pink/purple bellies, while the males would have beige bellies or just a bit pink.

  • The pointed dorsal fins are another way of determining the sex of the krib, while the coloration of the fin would reach to the point of the dorsal fin.

  • The shape of the caudal on males would be spade-like, while the caudal fins on a female would be fan-shaped.

  • The females are also bulkier than the males due to the eggs that they carry. From above, the females seem to be fatter than the males.

I usually see all four signs before concluding that the fish in question has a good chance of being a female. I don't usually see a way of differentiating the sexes until they are longer than 1".

The first picture portrays the first male that bred with the female (which is in the second picture). The third picture shows the second male 1 month before spawning with the female after the first male died.

Note the shape of the caudal/tail fin of both the male and the female. The coloration on the dorsal fin of the male reaches towards the point on the fin for the male, while the coloration on the female doesn't (I didn't get any good pictures of the female as she was and still is shy).

These are just my observations and what I use to distinguish the males from the females in my grow-out tote.

Sorry for the not at all good picture taking :uhoh: I'm still tinkering with the settings on the camera.

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