# Matadi Kribs



## IanoYG (Mar 8, 2019)

Hello everyone,

I am new to Cichlids and Kribs, but I decided to add a pair to my community aquarium after reading about them for a few weeks. But when I went to the shop to purchase the fish, she threw a curveball and advised of different types of Kribs existed, so I ended up taking the Matadi Kribs with me, she advised me one was male and one was female. But both have horisontal stripes running across their bodies at times (apparently depending on their mood) so I am worried they are both male, they also lack the colour I expected them to have... but maybe this will come when they have settled in more. I am really hoping someone can help.

Thank you for reading.

Ian


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## Mr Chromedome (Feb 12, 2013)

Matadi is a population of _Pelvicachromis subocellatus_.Some people refer to all species of this Genus as "Kribs", though there are several very different species. Your fish do appear to be this population/species. As for sex, I do see a pair. Look at the ventral fins. Females have rounded looking ventrals, while males have longer, pointed ventrals. This characteristic is common to all species of this genus, which is where the name Pelvic-achromis comes from.

This species does not have the brightly colored males of the common Krib, the males are a bit more subdued. Females in non-courting colors are also not particularly impressive; however, once she selects a cave and starts courting the male, you will see a dramatic change in her appearance. This was my female breeder in front of her coconut cave:










It is a nice fish, tends to stay a bit smaller than regular Kribs IME, and are pretty good breeders/parents.


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## IanoYG (Mar 8, 2019)

Oke fantastic thank you! You've calmed my worries haha. They seem happy enough, they follow each other and my cories around, occasionally chasing the other krib. It's amazing how you see the differences so easily, I am really struggling, apart from a black spot on the dorsal fin on one of them haha. Do you happen to know what the stripe on their body means? It really omes and goes, I read it shows their mood, but it didn't say what mood! Also if they ended up breeding, can you keep the family together in a 110l or will they also breed and fight each other as two males would normally do? Thank you once again.


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## Mr Chromedome (Feb 12, 2013)

The stripes will fade as they settle into the tank. I would not keep the fry with them too long in a tank that size. It's good size for a pair, not so much for a group.


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## IanoYG (Mar 8, 2019)

Thank you! That's a real shame thought it might be kinda cute to have a little family


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