They look like 2 males to me. Males DO have pink bellies. When raising fry or when really happy with food, my male's belly gets VERY pink, almost to rival my female's in breeding condition. The best way to tell with kribs is not color but body and fin shape. Males have longer, pointy dorsal and ventral fins, where females have shorter and rounded dorsal and ventral fins. Both fish in your picture appear to have longer pointier fins. Also, neither possesses the intense red belly that a female should be displaying. The fish in the second picture appears to be a subordinate male. My pair was never aggressive with each other, even when first put together. The female displayed to the male within 2 hours of being put in the tank. It took him a couple of weeks to respond, but he wasnt aggressive, just ignored her. They have never even been aggressive while breeding or rearing fry, which is sometimes the case with kribs.
Look very closely at the fish in this picture:
This is a MALE Pelvicachromis pulcher (aka kribensis). Note how pink his belly is. It always gets this way when he is rearing fry. I believe that the brightness of the belly plays a part in how the fry keep track of the parent and is a sign of a successful breeder. I think that this is why females have developed the behavior to show off to the male how brightly colored their belly is. Also note how long and pointy his fins are.
Now look at this picture:
This is my FEMALE krib. Note how short her body is and how rounded her belly is. Also note how bright her belly is. This is NOT breeding color, this is her average belly color. I do not see this kind or amount of color on either of your fish. Finally, note her dorsal and ventral fins. They are very short and the ends are rounded. They do NOT reach her tail. She is a full adult around 3 inches not including her tail. Even her face is shorter. Neither of your fish have the same body shape or fin shape as she does, they both look more like my male fish.
Finally, look at them both together. The differences are obvious. With kribs, you should easily be able to tell a male from a female just by looking at them, especially when you have them together.
If you cannot tell, the male is on the left, the female on the right. Note how pink his belly is. There are fry underneath him. Look at the differences in the fins and body shape.
I really hate to say this, but your kribs do not appear well bred. The body shape in the first one does not look proper for the male I believe it to be, but it is also not proper for a female. I do not see fin spots on either of them. Are you positive they are pelvicachromis pulcher? There are other types of kribs, but I do not know much about them.
Look very closely at the fish in this picture:
This is a MALE Pelvicachromis pulcher (aka kribensis). Note how pink his belly is. It always gets this way when he is rearing fry. I believe that the brightness of the belly plays a part in how the fry keep track of the parent and is a sign of a successful breeder. I think that this is why females have developed the behavior to show off to the male how brightly colored their belly is. Also note how long and pointy his fins are.
Now look at this picture:
This is my FEMALE krib. Note how short her body is and how rounded her belly is. Also note how bright her belly is. This is NOT breeding color, this is her average belly color. I do not see this kind or amount of color on either of your fish. Finally, note her dorsal and ventral fins. They are very short and the ends are rounded. They do NOT reach her tail. She is a full adult around 3 inches not including her tail. Even her face is shorter. Neither of your fish have the same body shape or fin shape as she does, they both look more like my male fish.
Finally, look at them both together. The differences are obvious. With kribs, you should easily be able to tell a male from a female just by looking at them, especially when you have them together.
If you cannot tell, the male is on the left, the female on the right. Note how pink his belly is. There are fry underneath him. Look at the differences in the fins and body shape.
I really hate to say this, but your kribs do not appear well bred. The body shape in the first one does not look proper for the male I believe it to be, but it is also not proper for a female. I do not see fin spots on either of them. Are you positive they are pelvicachromis pulcher? There are other types of kribs, but I do not know much about them.
