Killer Kribs?

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tpl*co

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I have a pair of kribs in a 20 gallon community that is not so slowly becoming a krib only tank. They are in breeding behavior and are harassing everything to death from the looks of it. I thought I had a disease outbreak but on watching the kribs, they are healthy and are chasing and attacking everybody else to submission and eventually death :sad . So far in the last weeks I've lost an albino dojo, 5 rams, about 3 platies. I've moved all my really nice fish that are left (the long finned albino bristlenoses) into another tank, but the bristlenoses are only other fish that doesn't seem phased by these kribs (I've left two regular bristlenoses in the tank, one male has one of the caves to himself). I thought these guys were supposed to be peaceful? I had a pair of Moliwes before and they got along with everybody, including rams. This pair seems to want to terminate everything in sight. Is this common? (hmmmm, maybe that's why the fish store had them in a lone tank?) They were so much more colorful than most other kribs I've seen too. What else can I put in with these guys if anything?
 

~*LuvMyKribs*~

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Do you have any pictures of these 'kribs'? The rift lakes have some species that are commonly called 'rock kribensis' but are infact different from the normal krib you find for comminuty tanks and can be more aggressive.

post a picture if you can....

However, kribs can be very aggressive when breeding, despite how peaceful some might be. I had them harass my other fish, but never killed them. 5 rams is a bit much for a 20 anyways, and since they inhabit the same level of the tank the kribs would have won that battle. The best fish to keep with a krib IMO is danios. They are a great 'dither' fish, they stay mainly near the top of the tank, and the kribs can chase them but the danios are so freakin fast they are hardly ever caught. A 20 gallon doesn't leave much space for any other cichlid that would be the #1 target to run away. In a 20 gallon the kribs should really be the only cichlids. Unfortuneately each pair has a different temperment so its all trial and error to see what fish they can be kept with.

:)
HTH
-Diana
 

tpl*co

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Can't get a picture up, but they aren't rock kribs

I've seen what those look like. The five Rams where not in there at the same time. I had put a couple in, have them die, then had the fish store replace them for those to suffer the same fate. That's why I was wondering if there was some kind of nasty disease going through and medicated the tank with parasite clear. The kribs though are harassing the fish to keeping them to a corner. I have some young guppies in there with them now, and it seems as long as they are smaller than about 1", they tolerate them, as soon as a fish is bigger or the same size as them watch out! Hmmm, this may be incentive for me to tear down this tank, trade in these guys and set up the discus breeding tank for my discus pair! (but these kribs are so pretty).
 

Analog Saint

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I found my Kribensis to be extremely violent... They destroyed my "community" tank.

I bought a pair, and the dominant Krib immediately staked out a cave and would attack anything that came close to it. The other krib acted very docile, and would even school with the rasboras and tetras. I hardly ever saw the dominant krib, until he came out of the cave one day with what looked like a worm trailing from him. I'm almost sure he had it when I bought him, as he always hid from everything. He was emaciated, and I isolated him and tried to save him, but to no avail. As soon as the dominant krib was gone, the other krib chased EVERYTHING, attacking the Panda Cories, Black Neons, and the Rasboras relentlessly. Eventually I returned the krib, but not before he killed one of my pandas...

I returned the tetras and rasboras for a school of panda cories and a baby bristlenose pleco, and put them in with my paradise fish. I won't try a community tank with cichlids (except maybe rams down the road) again. I'm sure plenty of people have had good experiences with kribs, but if I ever try them again, they'll have a tank to themselves.
 

tpl*co

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My main show tank is a community with Discus

In fact that is why I was going to move over my rams, since they are not the brightest tools in the shed and would breed out in the open and lose their eggs in a community setting :( The kribs look exactly like the pictures on this site:

http://www.justbajan.com/pets/fish/species/krebensis/

I guess different breeds of kribs have different temperments too. I had a wild pair in with the discus and they got along with everybody, with the female even schooling with the rams! The trouble was the male didn't breed well and finally died and the female pined away afterwards (plus I think the higher temps might have burned them out).
 

LMOUTHBASS

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Jun 17, 2003
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I think the first problem is the cramped confines that they are in. You really shouldnt have a pair of cribs with rams in a 20 - the limit is a pair of either per 20 gals - they all inhabit and will fight for the same territory and if there is bredding involved they will become extremely territorial - in a larger tank the rams could inhabit another area of the tank - I've been told on these boards that you wouldnt want more than a pair of rams either as if you have more they will pair up and the dominant pair will kill the others - so certainly in a 20 g a pair of kribs and numerous rams is too much - i think it would work in a larger set up - i've heard a breeding pair of dwarf cichlids really need their own 20g - as for rams dying - rams are notorious for being difficult to acclimate if they are from a oetstore that gets the asian rams - if your rams were bred from asia they have been known to be very sensitive to water conditions and sometimes die for no reason - i'm thinking the fish you got were probably bred in asia and are weaker anyhow and the stress of being harrassed by the kribs made them easier to subdue to death - i think thats a most likely scenario
 

tpl*co

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That could be it

I got these rams from another source and they wouldn't live more than a 3 days to a week tops. I had better luck with another stores rams in the past. Hmmm, this is all making me want to spend my time with my discus exclusively now :). (I could use that space I have the krib tank for another discus tank for my breeding pair). What is the smallest size tank for kribs? Do they need a 20 gallon?
 

Analog Saint

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I had mine in a 25g. I've heard some people keeping a breeding pair in a 10g- but I'm sure even mentioning that will give somebody heartburn.

I think a mating pair or one solitary might do well in something less than a 20g with good upkeep and no tankmates, but then again, my venture into Kribs wasn't exactly a success story.
 

LMOUTHBASS

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I'm not a discus expert but i have to think a 20 g is way too small for a breeding pair of discus
 

tpl*co

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I know that :)

But I have a 29 gallon that could take the same stand as the 20 long that the krib tank is sitting on :). A 29 gallon is big enough for a breeding pair.
 
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