Seperating breeding kribs?

[OhNeil1969]

A few months ago I made the mistake of listening to a salesperson at my lfs and purchased a breeding pair of kribs for my 29 gallon community tank. I had some good experiences with this person previously and purchased the fish without doing any research prior to the purchase (my bad...). In the beginning all seemed well. That is, of course, before they started to breed. Since then I've had to remove all the other fish from that tank and transplant them into my 60 gallon tank. As a result my 60 gallon tank is overstocked. I've been able to maintain good water quality in the 60 gallon tank even with the increased bio-load, but I am concerned about the "happiness" of those fish. Before I get rid of the kribs (I do like them), I was wondering if seperating the male and female will allow them to coexist with my other fish peacefully. Right now, my 60 gallon tank has the following:
4 angelfish;
2 dwarf gourami;
6 rainbow fish (2 turquoise, 2 australian, 2 boesmani);
4 mollies;
9 neon tetras;
6 harlequin rasbora;
5 corys;
2 otos;
2 jumbo danios;
1 zebra danio;
and 1 apple snail.
As I said, I know this tank is severely overstocked. The mollies, danios, 3 of the neons, and 2 of the corys were originally in the 29 gallon tank. The remaining fish had been living peacefully and IMO stress free for months prior to the emergency additions. I would love to put one of the kribs in the 60 gallon tank (leaving the angels, gourami, rasboras, otos and rainbows) and return the others to the 29 gallon tank. Will this work, in terms of curbing the kribs aggression, or am I simply substituting one problem for another? Like I said, if I have to I will find a new home for the kribs, but I want that to be my last resort. Any info will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[OhNeil1969]

I'm almost ready to try and move the larger male krib to the 60 gallon tank. I just don't want to make the move and hurt my other fish. Any info will be greatly appreciated.

 

[BakerBoy17]

I hear an excuse for another tank! Then you could sell the babies. Its a win win.

 

[siva]

A few months ago I made the mistake of listening to a salesperson at my lfs and purchased a breeding pair of kribs for my 29 gallon community tank. I had some good experiences with this person previously and purchased the fish without doing any research prior to the purchase (my bad...). In the beginning all seemed well. That is, of course, before they started to breed. Since then I've had to remove all the other fish from that tank and transplant them into my 60 gallon tank. As a result my 60 gallon tank is overstocked. I've been able to maintain good water quality in the 60 gallon tank even with the increased bio-load, but I am concerned about the "happiness" of those fish. Before I get rid of the kribs (I do like them), I was wondering if seperating the male and female will allow them to coexist with my other fish peacefully. Right now, my 60 gallon tank has the following:
4 angelfish;
2 dwarf gourami;
6 rainbow fish (2 turquoise, 2 australian, 2 boesmani);
4 mollies;
9 neon tetras;
6 harlequin rasbora;
5 corys;
2 otos;
2 jumbo danios;
1 zebra danio;
and 1 apple snail.
As I said, I know this tank is severely overstocked. The mollies, danios, 3 of the neons, and 2 of the corys were originally in the 29 gallon tank. The remaining fish had been living peacefully and IMO stress free for months prior to the emergency additions. I would love to put one of the kribs in the 60 gallon tank (leaving the angels, gourami, rasboras, otos and rainbows) and return the others to the 29 gallon tank. Will this work, in terms of curbing the kribs aggression, or am I simply substituting one problem for another? Like I said, if I have to I will find a new home for the kribs, but I want that to be my last resort. Any info will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

I would either get the kribs their own 20L, or seperate them, one in the 29 and one in the 60. The only somewhat high risk combo is going to be the krib with the DG's. It's the sort of thing that works sometimes and sometimes it doesn't.

On a side note, I would recommend getting some of your schools up. The danios especially would benefit from having atleast 6 each of them. And atleast 1 more oto cat would be good too.

 

[OhNeil1969]

Thanks Siva;
My 60 gallon has a lot of hiding places, so hopefully the dg's can coexist with a krib. I already had a desire to increase my danios and otos. But, like I said, my 60 gallon is really heavily stocked as is. All, however, seem to be doing well. I moved the fish originally due to evidence that they were being attacked (mostly nipped fins). Every fish that showed signs of injury have since shown significant signs of improvement.

 

[siva]

Right! I definitely meant once this is sorted out Since they got so aggresive, I wouldn't expect the 60 to be much better, but it might be worth a try. I have actually kept all of my cichlids in singles or same sex pairings to try and avoid this situation. I've heard from some hobbyists they have pairs of kribs and other dwarf cichlids in community settings and it works, but I think you are more likely to end up in a situation like you are in.

I'm such a bleeding heart I kind of feel bad for them..splitting them up..lol. Maybe you could try the pair in the 60 with the stocking you mentioned before and see how it goes... There's no bottom dwellers on that list so it might work.

 

[OhNeil1969]

Here's a picture of the 60 gallon with the hiding spaces. Unfortunately, I do have bottom dwellers (the corys). I think I'll try adding the male to 60 and observe it's behavior for a couple of days to see how they get along.

 

[siva]

But the cories could go over to the 29 right?

 

[siva]

Gorgeous tank! I'd hate to see those beautiful angels get bullied, but perhaps the kribs would repsect them more. All of my dwarf cichlids show tremendous respect for their angel tankmate.

 

[OhNeil1969]

But the cories could go over to the 29 right?

You're right but I would really like to keep them in the 60 gallon and add more to the 29. I'm a big believer in the benefit of keeping corys to help keep a clean tank.

 

[siva]

You're right but I would really like to keep them in the 60 gallon and add more to the 29. I'm a big believer in the benefit of keeping corys to help keep a clean tank.

If you aren't moving the cories out, I think splitting the krib pair will be best. Hopefully they aren't too heartbroken.

 

[OhNeil1969]

If you aren't moving the cories out, I think splitting the krib pair will be best. Hopefully they aren't too heartbroken.

Thanks! I'll try that and post the results.

 

[OhNeil1969]

I realize it's been a while since I last posted, but I wanted to be sure of my results before saying anything. It's been about a month since I separated the kribs and all seems to be going well. Both mom and pop are still territorial but not nearly as aggressive as before when they were protecting their fry. Right now I have the larger male in the 60 gallon tank while mom stayed home in the 29 gallon. The 29 gallon houses 3 mollies (lost 1 since last post), 5 rasboras (also lost 1), 2 corys, 1 zebra danio and 2 dwarf gouramis. I planning on increasing the number of corys,, rasboras and otos in both tanks (otos are only in the 60 gallon). I would like to add 1 or 2 more mollies, but I'll have to wait and see. I'm also considering (maybe foolishly) adding 2 more angels to the 60 gallon. Again, I'll have to wait and see. Thanks to everyone that offered much needed advice. I hope I won't make that mistake again (keep your fingers crossed ).