Kribs in brackish?

brackishdude

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Dec 28, 2002
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I have read in the past (where?) that kribs tolerate, even thrive, in low salinity brackish (up to 1.004-1.005).

I have recently lost a 6 year old 6-7" archer who limited my ability to explore keeping some of the smaller brackish fish. I also have a few 5 " monos which I will keep, and three 5-8" scats who will have to go, as I would like to move to a planted tank. I have had luck with water sprite and java fern in my pre-scat days. The scats are going to the LFS for store credit. They are intrigued at the concept of acclimating to marine for resale.

I also plan to purchase knight gobies, bumblebee gobies, and, especially, celebes rainbows. Perhaps even some nonpainted glassfish. The character of my 110 gal tank is really going to change! these smaller fish may also put a dent in my astounding scud population.

I'm a full grown man but nearly wept when my archer died. He was the pride of my tank, along with my docile 22" fire eel, also over 5 years old. The archer was a hell of a shot, and would also leap out the water to take food from hand!
 
I've heard both about Kribs some say no way others say "light" brackish. I am assuming light brackish is < .003, so it might not be a good idea with your other tank mates....


how was your archer tank setup? I originally had mine 3/4 full of water with crickets running around on fake plants in the top, but it got mildewey and it smelled funky, so I topped it off...
i am researching other ideas on how to build and enclosure over 1/2 of my tank to put crickets in...
 
I'm given to understand that the common krib tolerates brackish but are better off in pure freshwater. They're not overly fond of very hard, very alkaline conditions either.

Some other members of the genus are more brackish, I believe, but far less commonly available.
 
Kribs may tolerate brackish conditions, but it's not brackish where they come from - they're from softwater rivers on the coastal plains of W Africa. They much prefer these conditions. The only brackish cichlids I can think of are Etropls sp., the yellow and green chromides
 
According to Baensch and Rhiel (which is virtually Scripture methinks ;) ) Kribs are found in brackish water in Nigeria.

Nevertheless, they prefer freshwater.
 
I was always under the assumption that Kribs like neutral and slightly softer water as found in the African streams. Maybe if you kept wildcaught kribs from brackishwater it would be fine. But I was thinking kribs from a LFS bred for generations in fresh neutral water might not acclimate to well in brackish?
 
Pelvicachromis pulcher
Rainbow krib
tn_Pepul_f1.jpg
picture (Pepul_f1.jpg) by Ott, G.
http://filaman.uni-kiel.de/Photos/ThumbnailsSummary.cfm?ID=7778

Family: Cichlidae (Cichlids), subfamily: Pseudocrenilabrinae
Order: Perciformes
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
FishBase name: Rainbow krib
Max. size: 10.0 cm TL (male/unsexed; Ref. 1672)
Environment: demersal; freshwater; brackish; pH range: 5.0 - 8.0; dH range: 5.0 - 19.0
Climate: tropical; 24 - 25°C; 10°N - 4°N
Importance: aquarium: commercial
Distribution:
Gazetteer West Africa: Southern Nigeria. Also known from the coastal zone of Cameroon (Ref. 7378).
Biology: Feeds on worms, crustaceans and insects



Pelvicachromis subocellatus
Eye-spot Krib
tn_Pesub_f0.jpg
picture (Pesub_f0.jpg) by Schmaus, G.
http://filaman.uni-kiel.de/Photos/ThumbnailsSummary.cfm?ID=8798

Family: Cichlidae (Cichlids), subfamily:Pseudocrenilabrinae
Order: Perciformes
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
FishBase name:
Max. size: 8.0 cm TL (male/unsexed; Ref. 5677)
Environment: demersal; freshwater; brackish; pH range: 6.0 - 8.0; dH range: 5.0 - 19.0
[]Climate:[/b] tropical; 22 - 26°C
Importance:
Distribution:
Gazetteer West Africa: Lower Gabon, (SE Nigeria) and in the coastal area from Libreville (Gabon) to Moanda (Lower Congo).
 
Pelvicachromis pulcher
Purple Cichlid, Kribensis
Hab.: Africa; found in brackish water in southern Nigeria.


Pelvicachromis subocellatus
Eye-spot Cichlid
Hab.: A wide range of western Africa extending into the brackish water of some estuaries; from Gaboon to the mouth of the Congo river in Zaire.

Vol 1, pg. 750, BAENSCH Aquarium Atlas
 
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