Krib pair. mating/fighting??!! neither?

[drudnick]

I recently bought a pair of Kribs. They seem to have become a pair. I dropped in 3 Cacatuoides as I was told they would be ok together, but not if the Kribs are breeding. I know the female Kribs bellies get really red when they have eggs, however, what does it mean if the belly gets red, then fades, gets red, then fades constantly? are they still courting, and not yet breeding? I got info that if they werent paired, the male would have killed the female already. Trying to find out as much as I can. I moved them to thier own tank when they were relentlessly attacking the new cacatuoides. and now last night I was watching the male chase around the female, and then she would stop, almost fold herself in half in front of the male for a few seconds. And then they would go about thier business together. I am new to the game, so any info would be appreciated.

 

[Mike Wise]

Unless you have a very big tank, mixing Westies with apistos is a bad idea. Your female Krib's s-shaped belly display is used for both courtship and for difusing the male's aggressive tendencies. I have found that Kribs can take months to bond if given no choice of other mates.

 

[drudnick]

Thanks for the response. I was at a LFS this weekend, and the guy told me I would want a 75G tank in order to put the Kribs and Apistos together. Would you second that? Told me I coul dput 6 pairs of Apistos or Kribs, and then a couple schools of tetras, minnows, etc.

 

[Mike Wise]

It sounds like someone wants to sell you a big tank :biggrin:! Personally, I never keep westies with apistos. They commumincate aggression & submission differently & cannot understand each others' signals. Kribs, when paired, will always have the advantage over apistos, which except for a few species, do not pair & jointly defend a territory. A better option is buying separate tanks for both species.The number of apistos that can be adequately housed in a 75 gallon tank depends on many factors, but you can assume that the average male will need a minimum of 2 sq. ft. & each female a minimum of 1 sq. ft. Fortunately the male territory will include at least one female territory. There are fish, however, that will claim the entire surface area of a 75. It depends on decoration of the tank & personality of the fish.

 

[drudnick]

Actually we were just talking. I made a comment that I would like to get a 90G or so, and he said for what I house it would be too tall, and reccomended a 75G. I asked him if thats big enough to keep the 2 fish together, and he said it would bebig enough. I just dont want to have too many tanks. I want to get a 75G for me, turn my 26G into a tank for my wife so she can have her Blue Rams, and then a 10G for quarantine or breeding if needed. but I do hear ya on keeping the 2 together. The pair of Kribs was relentless towards the cacatuoides until I seperated them out.

 

[drudnick]

Also, I went away for the weekend, and when I came home most of the rock I had put into a ceramic pot has been pushed forward making a little valley towards the back half of the pot. does this mean they are getting closer to being ready to breed, or do Kribs do this regardless? Also theres alittle valley on the outside of the pot that was naturally there from when I layed the rocks, and the female and male both spend time nestled down in there. The male has been hanging out there since I got home. Any help again on what they are doing?

 

[tjudy]

The cleaning out of the pot is a sign that courtship has moved closer to spawning. The red in the belly is not really an indicator of ripeness, but the plumpness of the belly is. The red is mood dependent and is seen in times of courting or territorial defense. When the fry arrive the belly will not be nearly as red... sometimes not red at all unless the female feels threatened and is defending her young.

 

[drudnick]

Thanks, that helped understand better....

now my only problem, is I think the male is dying. The female is pissed. shes trying so hard to get him into the pot, but I think he has ammonia poisoning. did a water change, and used ammonia lock. but think it might be too late.

 

[Apisto ranch]

Try using some primafix on him in a Q/T that helps alot. On the spawning of kribs. My pair will court each other will cleaning out the cave area. I house mine in a 75ga heavily planted tank with 4 differnt spices of Apistos{ nijss, cockato, cockatoo glods, panduro} the only trouble Ihave with them is when the kribs are spawning. The kribs will fight the Apisto's away from the cave area or chase them away. But never any really hard fighting.
My Apisto's have come to know that when the kribs are in the cave not to go anywhere near it. When the parents are out swimming with the fry. The only things to get close to them. Is my wild GBR male. But then he dosn't stay to close to long. LOL
Even with the kribs ,Apisto's,GBR's all in thesame tank there's never any trouble with fighting. Ever once in a great while the agrassive behaver comes out over a terttories. But nothing to the point of hurting one another. Never any open wounds,fins riped off or anything to that point.
There all really a great set-up right down to the killi's in there. The whole set-up is a beautiful work of art { if I do say so my self } the whole key to the set-up. Was putting them in at a serten time. Like frist the Apisto's nijss {1pr }went in. Then the Cockatoo golds and full red females {1pr of each spices} where added. Then the males of both spices a week later { after the female had there spot in the tank picked out. } . Then the kribs { 2prs } where added. Fellowed shortly after by the killi's { 4prs }. Then the panduros { 1pr }. Fellowed by the 2prs of GBR's 1pr wild / 1p damastice. The next day.
I then raped everything togeather with 3prs of young { very young } red flag cichlids. I had more trouble with adding the dwarf puffers and african warf frogs. Then mixing the kribs apisto and rams. Then I tied every spices togeather and finished the tank off by adding 3 bumble bee gobys. The last spices added was 2 trio prs. of Blue Moscow guppyies. So I thank a 75gal tank will work great for the set-up your wanting. The type of krib you have long with plants { LOTS AND LOTS OF PLANTS LIKE MY SET-UP HAS } Is a perfect mix.
i hope your male pulls throw ok as the female want breed with another male if he don't as I've hear and have a female that hasn'r spawned with another male in 6m. That kribs bred for life. So good luk with your male and keep us posted as to how he's doing. One last thing about kribs. They are the best parents I've ever seen in the fish world and take better care of there offspring. Then any I've seen.

 

[drudnick]

Well the male died yesterday morning, and the female this afternoon. Im kinda bummed. They were first fish i got after the starter fish and my cycle ended. Really a pretty pair, and they bonded quickly. So now its back to my apistos.

I really likeyour setup, what I am ultimately aiming to do is get a 75G as well, throw in a pair of gold and triple red cacatuoides, along with a pair of apisto curutu and apisto tri's. Put in a pair of GBR's now that I am starting to get better info that they can all coexist together. my LFS told me they couldnt. Then I want to get a school of 8-10 rummy nose tetras, and If I have room, I will then get another pair of Kribs. After this experience, I will always have a soft spot for Kribs going forward, but for the immediate, I dont want to put myself in another position of having to put fish in an uncycled tank. Really sucks. Anyways thats that.

Now in my 26G i currently have 1 gold male cacatuoides, 1 triple red male, 1 triple red female and 2 double red females along with 1 GBR 6 hite cloud minnows, and a guppy named kenny (after kenny from south park). and i am cycling my 10G with 6 leopard danios and a neon guarami.