Sexing kribs?

[bazil323]

I was wondering how you tell male kribs from female kribs.

I'm asking because I'll need to know at the pet store once I'm ready to get them.

I'm planning a 75 Community tank.

I will have (in order of adding over the course of weeks/months):
2 L387 plecs (get to be just under 5")
MTS
15-20 Buenos Aires tetras (or Congos, if everyone thinks they'll be a problem with the rest)
15 GloFish OR 15-20 Columbian tetras (depending on what the lfs wants for the tetras)
6 Honey gouramis
2 female kribs OR 1 male (unless a breeding pair would be okay?)

and finally, to be added once everything settles down a bit, one small angelfish so that it will hopefully not eat the tetras.

 

[nguyendetecting]

The older/bigger they are the easier it will be to sex them. They should do fine in a community tank of 75 gallons as long as they have their own little corner. You don't have that many bottom fish so even if they spawn it "should" be ok. All of your fish are also fast minus the plecs. I'm not sure about the honey gouramis though. Just my opinion anyhow. I posted a picture of my kribs. The male has the long pointed dorsal fin and the female doesn't. The pick belly thing won't always work but is also a sure indication of a female. If she's stressed/weak/under fed she might not show that pink. Males when they color up tend to be darker in areas. Most males I've seen have pointed tail fins also.

 

[bazil323]

Okay, so males have long pointed dorsal fins and generally have less colorful pink bellies. The females have more rounded dorsals and bright pink bellies (unless stressed, etc.). I think I have it. I'll stop at the lfs a few times to see if I can identify them.

So, you think a mating pair would be okay in my setup? I thought so too, but a lot of people have been cautioning against it. I think I'll do that, get a male & female, as I've heard that their color is more striking in breeding pairs.

Thanks! This is a big help!

 

[nguyendetecting]

no problem, yeah a breeding pair looks way better color wise. I don't know too much about your other fish. Although I would not add the angels and the gouramis yet. Check on the tetras if any of them are fin nippers. go with the combo of 30 tetras and add later if you want. Kribs all have different personalities, some are super aggresive others are not too bad. Even when spawning my pair never hurt anyone. I did have a lone male that would try to kill everything and refused to pair up. I ended up trading him back in.

 

[bazil323]

Good to know. Yeah, I probably won't be able to add anything for a while. I have to get a stand before anything can be set up. Then I'll jump start the cycle with media from my other tank and BioSpira. I think the canister would be too powerful to just put it on the 16g or even the 20g to get it seeded with bacteria.

I'd mentioned in the first post that the fish would be added in the order of the list over the course of weeks or months, depending on how my levels are and how well everyone settles in.