HELP sexing my Kribensis's

[Ian086]

Hi, i have two Kribs for about 2 months now and was wondering if anyone can help me sex my Kribs. I was told by the lfs(manager is a friend) that they are male and female. I'm not sure and i don't know that much about Kribensis Cichlids. They don't get on too well, with the larger one bullying the smaller one. The smaller one is usually alot darker in colour although he/she does sometimes display brighter colours. The other larger one is the boss and if the smaller one gets too close will chase him/her until he/she hides behind the filter or heater. He/She spends most of her time hiding. I have a couple hiding spots in the tank, cave, pots, coconut shell. He 'owns' the cave and doesn't pay much attention to the other spots. He/she is also very calm with the other tank mates-platys, tetras, molly's etc..Both seem to display a rosy belly but it appears and can disappear in a few minutes!!. The larger one's colour can go from almost black to almost white. I have attached some photos but i have plenty more in my photo album..If anyone need more info, please let me know..Any advice/help would be greatly appriecated..Ian

 

[Stumpyjr]

Hey brother.......please tell meyour thermometer is not reading at 92 degrees F in bottom photo ? I'm sure it's not but it looks that way at certain angle !

 

[Ian086]

Hey brother.......please tell meyour thermometer is not reading at 92 degrees F in bottom photo ? I'm sure it's not but it looks that way at certain angle !

Yeah only noticed that when you said it, no its 26c(79f)!!!

 

[Wyomingite]

Looks to me the top one is the male, the bottom the female; your description of their indivvidual behavior supports that as well. Add some more cover in the tank. This will give the female more places to hide when the male gets aggresive. Also, what size tank? Judgin' from the clay pots, it looks to be a good size tank, I'd guess 200 liters +. Ya could probly add some more fish to act as "dithers", fish that distract the pair from each other and make them feel more comfortable. A group of one species of tetra or danios works well. These two things will put the kribs more at ease so they may focus more on spawning.

And it's 26° C, which is 79° F, stumpy.

WYite

 

[Ian086]

Looks to me the top one is the male, the bottom the female; your description of their indivvidual behavior supports that as well. Add some more cover in the tank. This will give the female more places to hide when the male gets aggresive. Also, what size tank? Judgin' from the clay pots, it looks to be a good size tank, I'd guess 200 liters +. Ya could probly add some more fish to act as "dithers", fish that distract the pair from each other and make them feel more comfortable. A group of one species of tetra or danios works well. These two things will put the kribs more at ease so they may focus more on spawning.

And it's 26° C, which is 79° F, stumpy.

WYite

Hi Wyomingite, it's the one on the top(the darker one) who is getting bullied!!. It is indeed 200ltrs. I thought it would be the male bullying the female. I have some tetras, 2 columbian, 5 red tails. There's also 2 swordtails, 5 playties...
PS..what does "stumpy" mean!!!

 

[Wyomingite]

Misunderstood ya, thought the upper fish was bullying the lower fish. I've seen a female krib bully a male once she chose a spawning site, when she wasn't ready to spawn, so that doesn't surprise me. I looked again, and the top fish sure looks like the male to me, assumin' that yer LFS was correct and ya do have a pair. If ya have more pics, post 'em and I or someone else can confirm. A few more tetras wouldn't hurt, though ya have a pretty good colony going now.

"stumpy" refers to the post 'bove my last one, where Stumpyjr stated he hoped yer tank wasn't 92° F. Ya hadn't posted yer reply when I was typing.

WYite

 

[Ian086]

Misunderstood ya, thought the upper fish was bullying the lower fish. I've seen a female krib bully a male once she chose a spawning site, when she wasn't ready to spawn, so that doesn't surprise me. I looked again, and the top fish sure looks like the male to me, assumin' that yer LFS was correct and ya do have a pair. If ya have more pics, post 'em and I or someone else can confirm. A few more tetras wouldn't hurt, though ya have a pretty good colony going now.

"stumpy" refers to the post 'bove my last one, where Stumpyjr stated he hoped yer tank wasn't 92° F. Ya hadn't posted yer reply when I was typing.

WYite

Sorry didn't look at the username "stumpy", thought it was a reference to something else!!!...I have more photo's in my album "my kribs", i know they're not great photo's but it's very hard to get a good clear shot of the darker one as he/she's is always at the back of the tank...