I got a wild caught pair of Kribs, but one has died! HELP!

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oO.Crim.Oo

I ♥ my fishies!
Jan 10, 2008
207
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Randallstown, MD
Real Name
Natosha
:help::help::help:

Good day fellow ACers. Hope everyone is well.

So here's the deal...

Thursday I got a wild caught pair of Kribensis (Pelvicachromis pulcher "Ndonga"). I drip acclimated them for about 3 hours before putting them into my tank around 8pm. It wasn't long before the female (I think) was swimming around checking things out and interacting with the other tank mates (I'll get to that in a minute), but the male (I think) quickly swam to the bottom of the tank and that's where he remained. A couple of hours later I was heading to bed and checked on them before turning off the light--the female was still swimming around socializing but the male was still in the same spot at the bottom of the tank. Friday morning I woke up and turned the light on--the male still was in the same spot on the bottom of the tank and the female was relatively quick to get up and move about. The male looked fine so I thought he was still adjusting to the new environment; however, when I fed them he did not eat. A couple hours later I decided to test my water and this is what I have: temperature 76 degrees, pH of about 7.4, GH 7, KH 3, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5.0 (API liquid test kit). The tank is lightly planted, has a Red Sea CO2 injector, has a good size piece of driftwood, 2 clay pots, and the other inhabitants include: 1 gold long finned danio, 1 (3") Siamese algae eater, 2 julii corydoras and 1 small Brig snail. The female Krib interacted mostly with the SAE and never (that I saw) with the male Krib. Last night before lights out I fed them but I didn't see either of them eat. This morning the male was laying in front of the driftwood dead. :( Upon examining him, he looks perfectly fine. He hasn't been harassed, has no injuries, and aside from looking like he's been dead a while he looks normal. Now the female is staying at the bottom in one spot too and I'm freaking out not only about the male's death but now I'm worried about the female too. I'm thinking it might be because the light hasn't been on long and I'm paranoid or something, but I don't know. I don't know what possibly could be going on here. Any ideas? I'm totally bummin' :sad:

Thanks in advance for you help. If I left anything out, feel free to ask. I have the body in a cup of water still just in case a picture is needed.
 
Last edited:

IceH2O

Bazinga
Nov 26, 2005
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Ice
Temp sounds low,probably should be closer to 80, but other then that I don't know.

Could have been the stress of being caught,not knowing what method was used. sometimes they use poisons to knock them out.Could be he was stressed by not having enough hiding areas as Kribs love plants to swim in and around.

Parameters sound fine. Don't see anyone to harass them.

Feel your pain though, bet they were nice looking.
 

Lupin

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Sep 21, 2006
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:welcome: to AC!

Ask your lfs when they got the kribs. Always get them when they have been in the tank for two weeks and over. You can always have them reserved in case demand is high. That will ensure they get plenty of rest after undergoing the stress of being transported along the way.
 

oO.Crim.Oo

I ♥ my fishies!
Jan 10, 2008
207
0
16
40
Randallstown, MD
Real Name
Natosha
Thanks for the input guys, I really appreciate it. I'm not new to AC, by the way. Apparently my real name isn't very popular and someone that like to harrass me found me here on AC and so I have decided that using my real name here or anywhere else is not such a good idea. Now, back to to subject. The Kribs haven't had a chance to show all their colors but even still they're beautiful. I'm sOo heartbroken! It's tough being a girl sometimes, I swear. I didn't get them from my LFS as I've never noticed any there. I actually got them from a vender here on AC. I've sent them an e-mail, but I didn't ask how long they have had them and if they know what means were used to catch the little guys. I'll try to find that out. I guess it's probably a little late for that but I'll remember for the next time. I'll do a little more research on the water temperature. I'm pretty sure I repeatedly read that 75-77 is the preferred temperature, thus my 76 degree setting. I could be wrong, but I do believe there are plenty of places to hide. I said the tank is lightly planted because in preparation for their arrival I went nuts trimming plants to remove any algae present. It'll be nice n bushy soon. I really hope that wasn't the culprit. :( Bah. I feel like it's the end of the world. Thanks again for your help!
 

oO.Crim.Oo

I ♥ my fishies!
Jan 10, 2008
207
0
16
40
Randallstown, MD
Real Name
Natosha
Ok so I've quickly googled and keep seeing that the recommended temperature ranges from 74-84. Can someone tell me what's best? Should I put it at 80? I want Krib happiness! :(
 

oO.Crim.Oo

I ♥ my fishies!
Jan 10, 2008
207
0
16
40
Randallstown, MD
Real Name
Natosha
Just an update. I bumped the temperature up to 78 degrees. If it has to go up, it has to be done slowly, so I figured I might as well start now while I'm waiting for opinions.

I also decided that if I was going to take pictures of the fish, that I better get it done and out of the cup before it gets nasty. So, I took pictures and stuck it in the freezer until I could properly dispose of it--I'm not a flusher.

Here is a picture of the tank...



and also a picture of the remaining Krib--I think it's the female but I had not comfortably been able to sex them for sure. I managed to catch a shot of "her" before she dashed back behind the driftwood where she's been at all day.



I also took pictures of the dead Krib, but I didn't know if it would be inappropriate to post dead fish pictures so if you'd like to see those pictures you can visit my Picasa album here (if you do look and you notice something that I missed let me know!): http://picasaweb.google.com/xlx.crimson.angel.xlx/011208_20GLong
 
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