I've had this female kribensis for about 2 months now. She was a gorgeous bright purple/pink until about 1 1/2 weeks ago. She turned this incredibly drab grey color, and lost all tint to her belly. I tried giving her some blood worms, and other high quality food, but nothing seems to help. The male is still bright, active, and trying to get the females attention, but she just ignores him and either swims away, or just keeps picking at the rocks for food. I really don't know what to do now! Please help! She was so beautiful! What happened??!!
Female Krib. pale.
- Thread starter ppetropulo
- Start date
Yes, it is. As I've said, every other fish is fine... no flicking, gasping, sluggishness, etc. Even the krib. is still active and eating, she just lost her color. I just got home and looked at the gourami. The swelling seems to have gone down quite a bit, so that's good. Maybe he'll be fine after all!
So, no body has ever experienced such a loss of color before? Would it help if I added another female?
I've never kept Kribs, but from what i understand, they form monogamous pairs. So a 1:2 ratio doesn't seem to be a good idea.
The symptom could be anything like a poor quality fish, an internal parasite, or anything in between. All you can do is take good care of her. If you can, maybe try rehoming her or the male to a different tank for a while to see if she improves
The symptom could be anything like a poor quality fish, an internal parasite, or anything in between. All you can do is take good care of her. If you can, maybe try rehoming her or the male to a different tank for a while to see if she improves
In my experience, kribs stress easily. I spent an hour trying to catch a swordtail in my krib tank (quick little booger) and it took about 2 weeks for my kribs to come out of hiding. They are still paler than usual and far more skittish, but are starting to color back up. Just make sure they have somewhere to go to feel more comfortable, keep the water quality good, and dont do any major changes to the tank. If you can, lower the photoperiod.
Don't fret too much. My Krib loses its color simply when it's bored. You should start to worry if it start turning the darker end of gray and really worry if it starts to look like a rock or a snake in black and white.
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Ok, I'll wait and see if they improve. I made a new cave for them the other day. It's circular and has a hole in the top, just big enough to fit a Krib. It's not done yet, but do you think it will help?? Hmm... there are a lot of other tanks in the room... should I still turn off the lights and hope it helps? Do major water changes (1/2+) count as a major change?
That's a good idea, adding a cave, even if the Kribs aren't breeding.
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