I bought what was supposedly a breeding pair of Kribensis for my 30XT on Sunday, and I haven't seen much of the male since I got them in the tank.
(Pic of tank layout is here: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229127 )
He pretty much dove into the little terra cotta cave and hasn't come out much or very far since then. The female (at least presumed female, its fins are considerably shorter than the other one's and they're basically the same body length) sometimes goes in there with him, but spends more of her time in front of the entrance to the cave or out and about in the tank.
The few times I've seen the male he's seemed to be breathing very rapidly; it's hard to get an accurate count because he moves, but I'd guess 80-120 breaths per minute. His color is noticeably faded relative to the female's, and he may be a little bit skinny. I haven't seen him eat yet.
I just fed them for the night and he came fully out of the cave for the first time that I've seen after most of the other fish had eaten. I didn't see if he actually ate any food but he picked at some stuff; what I find puzzling is that the female came over to him and started pushing and biting at him-mainly at his side and his gills. I understand that these are territorial fish and that they can be a little bit aggressive; I've had cichlids before. But what I don't understand is that his response was to keep his side to her and, for lack of a better term, just take it.
He made no attempt to escape or to fight back whatsoever. After about 30 seconds of this behavior the female wandered off and left him alone, whereupon he picked at some food particles (as I mentioned earlier) and eventually wandered back into the cave.
He's clearly stressed, but I'm not sure what's going on here. He shows no obvious signs of disease or illness, and I'm not really sure if this is a normal territorial dispute (keep in mind this was supposedly a pair that has bred in the past) or if something else is going on.
I have not tested the water since Sunday, but it should be fine; it tested out at 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and just a trace of nitrates late last week before I removed the previous stock (2 4"-5" koi, 4 or 5 2-3" comets and a 4" dojo; I'm pretty confident that that bioload was considerably higher than the two kribs, 7 rummynose, a few otos and white clouds and the clown plec that are in it now). Water temperature is consistent at about 78-80 (we have no a/c).
I'm planning on picking up some live tubifex tomorrow to see if that tempts him at all, but I don't know what else to try. There ought to be plenty of hiding places for both fish, so... Thoughts?
(er... Meant to post this in the African forum, obviously. Wasn't paying attention. Guess that's what I get for posting way past my bedtime... :eyeroll: )
(Pic of tank layout is here: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229127 )
He pretty much dove into the little terra cotta cave and hasn't come out much or very far since then. The female (at least presumed female, its fins are considerably shorter than the other one's and they're basically the same body length) sometimes goes in there with him, but spends more of her time in front of the entrance to the cave or out and about in the tank.
The few times I've seen the male he's seemed to be breathing very rapidly; it's hard to get an accurate count because he moves, but I'd guess 80-120 breaths per minute. His color is noticeably faded relative to the female's, and he may be a little bit skinny. I haven't seen him eat yet.
I just fed them for the night and he came fully out of the cave for the first time that I've seen after most of the other fish had eaten. I didn't see if he actually ate any food but he picked at some stuff; what I find puzzling is that the female came over to him and started pushing and biting at him-mainly at his side and his gills. I understand that these are territorial fish and that they can be a little bit aggressive; I've had cichlids before. But what I don't understand is that his response was to keep his side to her and, for lack of a better term, just take it.
He made no attempt to escape or to fight back whatsoever. After about 30 seconds of this behavior the female wandered off and left him alone, whereupon he picked at some food particles (as I mentioned earlier) and eventually wandered back into the cave.
He's clearly stressed, but I'm not sure what's going on here. He shows no obvious signs of disease or illness, and I'm not really sure if this is a normal territorial dispute (keep in mind this was supposedly a pair that has bred in the past) or if something else is going on.
I have not tested the water since Sunday, but it should be fine; it tested out at 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and just a trace of nitrates late last week before I removed the previous stock (2 4"-5" koi, 4 or 5 2-3" comets and a 4" dojo; I'm pretty confident that that bioload was considerably higher than the two kribs, 7 rummynose, a few otos and white clouds and the clown plec that are in it now). Water temperature is consistent at about 78-80 (we have no a/c).
I'm planning on picking up some live tubifex tomorrow to see if that tempts him at all, but I don't know what else to try. There ought to be plenty of hiding places for both fish, so... Thoughts?
(er... Meant to post this in the African forum, obviously. Wasn't paying attention. Guess that's what I get for posting way past my bedtime... :eyeroll: )
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as soon as they got in the tank, my female started pecking at the males side too! I was very confused. But I've researched a little bit and when the male is being very territorial it generally means they are spawning 
