Krib color....

[Xeider]

I picked up a pari of kribs a few weeks back, after taking back a male that was improperly labeled a female (I now know the difference easily) I have a happy pair in my tank with various dithers (see my tank profile).

My question has to do with my male. When I saw him in the LFS and when it was just him and the male I took back, and even right after the female was added, we had very sharp coloring and a very defined black strip down his body. But since a few days after the female was added (when they settled down together), the strip has faded away, and he has become more colorful in his fins and will ocasionally get the redish belly.

The female in contrast is very colorful.

I know the pictures are not the best, but does anyone know if this is normal for the male?

Thanks....

 

[Tim Bo]

Hello Xeider. It does look like it is from the pulcher genus. I have only seen that a few times in a male Krib though never to the extent of your male in the picture (great idea to show the pics). Those times I have seen the male lose coloration was after one hell of a scare from outside the tank (the sudden threatening appearance of a row of massive teeth by my parents' American Eskimo dog pressed up to the tank glass...!), and adverse water conditions. I can't be sure of why your male is doing that though...I have seen a male lose some coloration after breeding(fry removed) and after being chased by a robust female. Could also have to do with the new tank surroundings, feeling insecure,..

 

[Xeider]

He is definetly the king of the tank... though changes to the tank may be causing some unease. I recently added 5 black skirt tetra, and since their intro ductions I have seen both he and the female in all areas of the tank, not just the bottom half like before (the its obvious the bottom of the tank is where they like to be. That he has been like this for a few weeks now makes me wonder if its the fish, or something else in the tank. Everyone else in the tank seems happy....

 

[Jayhawk]

Hi Guys,

my male krib did the same thing yours did. He started out with more color on his body, including the horizontal stripe, but it has faded as well as his body colors --- most of the time. When they're getting ready to lay eggs, his body colors become more pronounced, and his stripe can reappear at times. Like yours again, his fins are really colorful, and the yellow beneath his mouth/head is always quite pronounced.

My female is also a dead ringer for yours.

Overall, my pair is very healthy, the male is the king of the tank, too, and all is well.

This makes me wonder if our fish came from the same area and might be from a unique population.

Eric