# Kribensis Breeding



## tlab1112 (Jan 25, 2012)

One of my LFSs only sells males and another one only sells females. Last night I took a big chance, crossed my fingers, and bought one at each store hoping they would "like" each other.

It's probably too soon to really tell, but so far so good! They are being quarantined in a 10g with four caves. There's a little bit of occasional pecking, but mostly they just follow each other around. This morning when i turned their lights on I caught them sleeping in the same cave. When I bought the girl she had a very bright pink belly. Now that she's following this guy around it's turned a very deep purple.

My question is this:
I've heard Kribs are very easy to breed. I was planning on quarantining them for 2 weeks before adding them to my 55g. What are the chances my "quarantine" tank will turn into a "breeding" tank in this time period? Would they begin spawning as quickly as within 2 weeks of meeting each other?


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## brinkles (Jan 30, 2011)

What else is in the 55? You don't want much other than some tetras and other small community fish. 
My fish in general have always taken awhile to settle in, but she looks ready now!


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## Nodalizer (Nov 7, 2011)

And so does he for that matter. My male only brightens up like that right before.


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## tlab1112 (Jan 25, 2012)

brinkles said:


> What else is in the 55?


So the 55 gal tank isn't exactly ideal for a breeding pair of Kribs right now. I have 5 silver dollars, 4 giant danios, and a RTS. The silver dollars and shark are still kinda young and small, so the shark isn't aggressive yet. I understand he'll get much more aggressive as he gets older. I'm looking for a larger tank for the silver dollars and shark right now. Unfortunately with the SDs I can't have live plants and if the kribs were to have fry they would get eaten up by the SDs. They eat everything!

My plan was to get a single Krib and a single Thorichthys meeki to throw into my 55g mix. I know you're not supposed to mix african and american, but these seem to be two of the more peaceful and easy going cichlids. They say T. meekis can ether me a-holes or pansies, and I made to sure to pick out a pansy. He's actually being quarantined with the Kribs right now and there is no sign of aggression. They just ignore each other. I kind of made a last minute decision to get both a male and female Krib, just to take a shot in the dark and see if they like each other. If they fought I would return one. Now that they get along and i've fallen in love with them I'm working on changing things up at my house.

Anyways, since there is no way i'll have Krib fry in my 55g for the time being, tonight I'm going to move my T. meeki to the 55g and change the 10g quarantine tank around to set the mood. My hope is to get a successful bunch of fry in the 10g. That will buy me some time to find a bigger aquarium for SDs and RTS.


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## Nodalizer (Nov 7, 2011)

Dunno if I would be putting a krib pair in with a small laterally compressed fish anyway. They are likely to get hammered while they are small.


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## tlab1112 (Jan 25, 2012)

Nodalizer said:


> Dunno if I would be putting a krib pair in with a small laterally compressed fish anyway. They are likely to get hammered while they are small.


Do you think they would all be alright together in a 55g with lots of caves later on down the road?


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## Nodalizer (Nov 7, 2011)

I meant the Silver Dollars will get hammered while they are small. Kribs can be real nasty, so a juvenile SD could be in trouble.


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## Sparrk (Oct 11, 2010)

when breeding, my kribs would try to attack the foot long pleco I once had in my 55g tank with them(pleco can grow quite big in not much time -_-). Kribs can be nasty, but only when they are breeding, otherwise they are quite peacefull, especially compared to other cichlids!


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## Nodalizer (Nov 7, 2011)

And how often do your kribensis breed ? 

That being my point...


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## Sparrk (Oct 11, 2010)

Nodalizer said:


> And how often do your kribensis breed ?
> 
> That being my point...


 :lol: , right, all the time, I have a pair isolated in a 10gal with 1 month old fry, they are in there cause I still had the pleco in the 55gal and even with the kribs attacking them he would achieve his goal and eat the whole bunch of fry. As soon as I removed the pleco, my other pair spawned in the 55gal, but they failed, the female got mad at the male for some time she gave him a beating, but now they are back together, and I just saw wrigglers in one of my cichlid stones!


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## theboothsociety (Jan 3, 2012)

Yeah Kribs breed pretty easily. Mine bread within the first 2 weeks in my tank. Theres a good chance that can happen in your quarantine tank. As long as you have caves for them, I think they would be fine with Silver Dollars. Thats what mine bread with, along with some tetras and danios. It also took them a few times of spawning before they got it right.


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## Nodalizer (Nov 7, 2011)

Small Silver dollars thou ? or mature ?


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## tlab1112 (Jan 25, 2012)

My silver dollars are a little over a year old and the smallest are about 3 inches, so when I said "young and small" I mean they're not as big as salad plates like some I've seen. I don't know if this is too small to defend themselves from breeding kribs or not, but i don't plan on putting them together anytime soon, if ever. I'm still undecided if i want to put the kribs in my 55g or get a brand new 30-40g for them, or get a brand new big tank for my silver dollars and let kribs have 55g to themselves with some dither fish.

I'm just going to let nature take its course in the 10g quarantine tank which will give me at least a few weeks to decide, if not a few months. I moved the firemouth to the 55g last night and moved the decor around in the 10g to make a really private cave for them. However since doing that the male seems to be showing less interest in her. The male spends all his time inside the cave and female spends all her time dancing around outside the cave. Is the male not interested? I'm hoping he's just adjusting and they'll be getting to business soon. Even during feeding time, the male is much more shy than he was before i moved things around.


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## Nodalizer (Nov 7, 2011)

3" will be fine with kribs. I wouldn't give the kribs a 55G to themselves, be a bit of a waste.

Most likely in a 10 g, they was feeling secure, but you moving everything about prob just spooked the male, he should settle down again if you leave them be except feeding and water changes.


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