# Krib fry dying when I remove them



## mkhall

The first fry from my kribs made it just fine in the tank with the parents for about 3 months. The parents are the only fish in the tank. I noticed the parents becoming aggressive toward the babies the other day...and assumed she was ready to lay some more eggs. I set up the growout tank and filled it with the same water from the tank the fish were already in. I caught the babies and put them in the tank....I watched them for hours. They were swimming around and eating just fine. This morning, they're dead. What am I doing wrong??


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## mr86mister

A couple things may have gone bad. The temperature of the tank? Filtration? Nitrate levels? pH change? I'm just throwing a few things out there to see if you have hit on these already.

Overall, sorry to hear about it. I know it's a trial and error and sometimes things just don't work out well.


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## mkhall

Thank you. I think we stressed them out too much by using a net. I caught them in an empty soda bottle and they seem to be doing fine. I also added more hiding places for them.


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## mr86mister

Sounds great! Hopefully things go better for you!


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## Mcdaphnia

With kribs I generally move one of the parents out when the fry are small. Whichever one seems to show less interest or stay on the perimeter. Then I move out the remaining parent soon after and leave the fry in the tank.

It is pretty common for the pair bond to break between kribs and end up with one dead, so they last longer if I give them a "divorce". It is usually easier to introduce them to a new partner for the next spawning than to pair them up with an old partner. I'm not sure if they behave this way because that's my expectation based on early experiences or if it is something built in to the species.


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## Fogelhund

Moving the fry out, by catching them with a net should not be an issue. I've done that 100's of times, with many species including kribensis.


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## Mcdaphnia

Fogelhund said:


> Moving the fry out, by catching them with a new should not be an issue. I've done that 100's of times, with many species including kribensis.


 I'm sure you and I both are up in the thousands of times on catching out fry. It shouldn't kill the fry. Something happened and it may not have been the trip through the air in a net.

With kribs, and maybe a few others, the pair bond is not necessarily for life, so since I plan to split them up anyway, it's easier to move the adults. They are bigger and there are fewer of them.

Julie pairs will often spat for a while if all of the fry are removed at once. Usually there are more than enough fry to raise so leaving some in and delaying the time period before another spawning gives me time to raise the fry I already have, and maybe it's good for the parents not to spawn so closely one spawn after another.


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## jayzerus

I'm sorry for hijacking this thread, but I figured this is better than starting a new one, and it seems to be an extension of this thread.

I just had my Kribensis breed for the first time. I knew something was up, but I didn't realize how far along they were - I just pulled out 6 free swimmers this afternoon. I put them into a hang-on-the-side breeding tank (about 1/2 gal) until they get large enough that they can't be eaten.

New problem - Mom and Dad fight pretty bad, to the point where I think it might come down to the death. Mom looks pretty pallid. I have another 20 gallon long tank with 4 Wild Rams, 1 Bolivian Ram and 8 Black Skirt Tetras. My first question is, should I put one of the pair into this other tank for a week or so to let the aggravation die down, or should I let them resolve it on their own? And the follow up to that is, which should I remove, Mom or Dad (remember, Dad is the aggressor here).

Any help would be much appreciated.


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## samaki

Hi I think yu've got your respons in the previous answers, remove one of the parent whoever he is, yu'd perhaps leave the fry in with the parents for the first time until they are capable of doing by themselves.
xris


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## Mcdaphnia

samaki said:


> Hi I think yu've got your respons in the previous answers, remove one of the parent whoever he is, yu'd perhaps leave the fry in with the parents for the first time until they are capable of doing by themselves.
> xris


Ditto! A pair of kribs will resolve and dispute by killing one or the other. Give them their divorce. Once they have killed a mate, they will kill a second one even faster.


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## Nodalizer

You removed the fry too soon. They are fighting cause of the failed breed. You should let them look after the fry longer until they start to go red in the belly again.


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## jayzerus

I think I lucked out big time. When I got home last night, the female was colored back up again with a cherry colored belly, and she was rubbing up on the male. They are no longer fighting, and have gone back to the pre-fry behavior.

Next time I'll leave the fry in a bit longer, probably by 2-3 weeks.


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## Mcdaphnia

jayzerus said:


> I think I lucked out big time. When I got home last night, the female was colored back up again with a cherry colored belly, and she was rubbing up on the male. They are no longer fighting, and have gone back to the pre-fry behavior.
> 
> Next time I'll leave the fry in a bit longer, probably by 2-3 weeks.


I think you did luck out. I don't know the odds you beat, because I got tired of losing half of a pair so often, that I now routinely separate them after spawning and match them up with new mates.


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## Sparrk

OK so I got quite lucky then, cause one of my pair spawned, and it failed, the female got the male a little beating, the male was hiding in a cichlid stone and he wouldnt move from there except to eat. But hey guess what... like 3 weeks later, I got wrigglers! opcorn:


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