# My kribs are killing each other!



## Sumo2000 (Apr 3, 2009)

Wife called me at work to tell me that my kribs were fighting, though normally they are inseparable. I got home and the male was hiding on one side with some decent nips out of his tail while the female was with the fry (about 2 weeks old). She apparently won't leave him alone and is biting him pretty aggressively, though he appears to have gotten a few bites in as well. What should I do?

I have a 10 gallon tank that has 14 6 week old fry that the female chased out of the old tank to make room for the new ones. Can I put the older fry in the 29 gallon with the young ones and the male so the female gets the 10 gallon by herself? What options do you think I have?

BTW, all the water parameters seem ok, the wife tested everything when she saw this and aside from a slight amount of nitrates everything was fine.


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

cichlid divorce... it happens...

Option 1: put a seperator in the tank to protect the male and hope the pair bond heals

2: sell the male and female as a "divorced pair" and keep 6 week old fry to form a new pair

3: sell 6 week old fry, place male in there for now until female chases off fry and then you can try and return the male in hopes they pair up again.

Hope that helps.


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## Sumo2000 (Apr 3, 2009)

Thanks, that does help.

Well, right now the female has been moved to the 10 gallon with the older fry. I'm hoping they're big enough and fast enough plus that's new territory so she might relax a bit, I'll just have to see. The male is great with the fry so I don't worry about that but if this keeps up I may need to give the female away just cause I'll run out of other options. She's just too hostile, hopefully it's temporary behavior.

I did try the older fry in the big tank with the others but they chased the young fry and the male chased them... so that's a no-go.


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

It's not necessarily a divorce ... female kribs need their space when tending the fry. Males are supposed to be a foot or more away keeping other fish away. A 10 gallon tank doesn't give much more for the male to keep his distance. I am guessing you wouldn't notice this same behavior in say a 3' tank. Kribs aren't the only ones that act this way, _Nannacara_ are the same. While tiny and be bred in say a 5 gallon tank, you have to remove the male. There is just not enough room for him to avoid the brood tending female. But they are fine in a larger tank together.


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