# Kribensis help



## Ptyochromis

I have had 'pair' of pulcher for about 3 years that I am trying to breed. The female has only laid eggs once, and I can't seem to get them to do it again. The male krib is being very territorial, he drives the female to the other end of the tank. I added tons of wood to try and diffuse the aggression but it doesn't seem to help. The strange thing is, she is constantly showing him her deep purple belly, which as of late is not as plump or purple as it used to be. I have tried removing the male for a short period of time while i rearranged the tank. In the past I have tried adding dithers in the way of black phantom tetras, florida flag fish, and corys but he always ignores the dithers and bashes her. I have 6+ caves that I can count, all made from wood in one way or another.

My tank size is 29g, stocking is the 2 kribs and 1 oto. I have been feeding live brine/frozen brine, bloodworms and occasionally cichlid pellets.

If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated!
TYVM


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## Sparrk

Kribensis seems to hate each other when eggs or fry disapear... But it is usually the female that will beat up the male. Mine wont stop breeding, I initially had 2pairs but one male died so now I have 1male 2 females kribs and 1male 2females apisto cacatuoide. They are in a 55gallons 4foot long planted tank with driftwood, decor(that also serve as caves)Kribs love their caves, couple rocks... And most important of all: cichlid stones... you can get some on ebay. Mine will breed every month in the cichlid stone, and move eggs and wrigglers from stone to stone unil they are free swimmers. I also feed with frozen brine/mysis shrimp and flakes(mine dont like any pellets *** tried...) It is weird, you even gave them a "divorce" and the male still doesnt like the female. I think the problem is with the "pair" itself, or the male.


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## Ptyochromis

Well i rearranged the tank today. So far not too much aggression, a bit of chasing thats about it. I added 1 tetra from an old school that died. The female's belly has colored up and she is showing it. Maybe ill try one of those stones. I really don't want to switch a fish, they both have gorgeous markings, maybe ill add a young female to the tank.

Edit: Did you do anything to your water to trigger the spawning? What is your temperature at?


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## Anthraxx8500

or consider getting another male. that way hes actually got to defend his right to breed. that has worked out for me in the past.


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## Ptyochromis

How did you introduce a new male to the tank?


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## Ptyochromis

FML, I think I see signs of Velvet. The male and female appear to have dust on them and the male is showing excess slime


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## Sparrk

didnt do anything to trigger the spawning, I keep my temp at 77f....  im sorry to hear about velvet


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## Ptyochromis

Good news, my kribs spawned sometime this wk. I just noticed after I cleaned my glass, i can only see about 5-10 eggs, small clutch but maybe more are out of sight!


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## Sparrk

opcorn:


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## Ptyochromis

Now the eggs are gone and I don't see any fry . The female is still holding up in the cave and the male is hanging outside. I fear that I may have disturbed the nest while I was cleaning the tank. Would this cause the fish to eat the eggs?


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## Sparrk

mine sticks their eggs to the side or the top of the caves so I cant see them. Mine just bred too, they are protecting a cave but I cant see anything!


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## Ptyochromis

Awesome! 
IDK WTF is up with my pair, they have spawned 3-4 times already, and I haven't seen a single fry


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## Fred&amp;Wilma

I have had my pair of kribs for about 3 months. The guy who sold them to me at my LFS claimed they were a mated pair & that they mate for life. They finally mated and produced their first brood. I was doing a partial water change and they seemed to get spooked. The fry were eaten, although Im not sure which parent ate them. Now the male guards the cave & wont let the female anywhere near it. She tries to approach him with her colors bright & when he attacks her colors change to either pale or dark grey, almost black. Will they ever reconcile?


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