# Is this signs of Kribensis getting ready to breed?



## spana169 (Dec 22, 2008)

Is this signs of Kribensis getting ready to breed?

My Kribensis have paired over the last few days and are always together and shimmying to each other.
i have introduced a cave and they spend a lot of their time in it, and shimmy more in the cave.
The female is showing lots of colour

The male sometimes sucks the outside of the cave and sometimes rummages through the gravel around it.

Are they getting ready to breed, if so how long until they do breed?

Thanks x


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## exasperatus2002 (Jul 5, 2003)

Yes they are. Or atleast one of them wants to & if the female is coloring up then she sounds willing. they'll lay the eggs inside the cave, mine always did it on the roof of a halved coconut shell. She primarily guards the cave while the male guards the perimeter. When the babies are ready, they'll dig pits and move them around the tank. Its fun watching them try to manage a swarm of babies that are trying to go everywhere they arent supposed to. They spawn regularly once they've paired up. I enjoyed mine. It was the 2nd cichlid for me to spawn (1st was blue acara) back in 1992 or 93 I think. God thats making me feel old.

p.s.

get the camera ready, once they breed, as you noticed, they look alot more colorful then between spawns. Get some pics. They'll pose for you while they figure out whether to run you out of town or not.


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## spana169 (Dec 22, 2008)

The male is now in the cave alot of the time, but the female isnt :? 
Do you know whats going on?
thanks


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## exasperatus2002 (Jul 5, 2003)

Can you see into the cave?


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## spana169 (Dec 22, 2008)

slightly, and the bit i can see there are no eggs :? he is still hanging around the cave, and usually in it
any clues of what might be going on?
im going to make the tank slightly cooler and lower the hardness and p.h to represent rainfull, and then raise the temperature and feed them higher quality food to try and stimulate breeding


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## spana169 (Dec 22, 2008)

The female is showing off, but the male is just ignoring her


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

Give it time.... Maybe you are watching too much, and they are getting stage fright/performance anxiety. :lol:

Inexperienced fish will often get things wrong the first time, or even the first few times, in particular when impatient owners give them above average attention. These fish are good parents, and whether they get it right this time, next time, or some time after that, let me assure you that in six months, you will have more fry than you know what to do with.


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## spana169 (Dec 22, 2008)

Thank you :thumb: 
Is there a possibility that they wont pair?


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

spana169 said:


> Thank you :thumb:
> Is there a possibility that they wont pair?


There is always a possibility that could happen, but most likely you would end up with one dead fish if that were the case. These aren't a difficult species of fish to pair up, so it should just be a matter of time. I assume that you've given them decent water and food, a nice home and places to breed in... so your job is done... just sit back and wait.. :thumb:


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## spana169 (Dec 22, 2008)

his not bullying her at all,
when she shows off he sometimes responds and does it back but usually he just ignores her,
he sometimes seems to be cleaning the cave.
i will let you know if anything happens
thank you


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