Kribbies!

[TankGirl]

Well I did it. I traded in my dwarf puffers for kribensis. There was some major aggression going on among my puffers after I removed my tiger barbs, and they had to be separated, and since my LFS has people asking for them I got credit for 'em.

Now I have 5 teeny tiny kribs, too young to sex, and I am hopeful I will get a pair. I have reconfigured my 12-gal Eclipse for maximum cave action, and they do love their caves! Occasionally two of them will nose around each other and both of their bellies will suddenly turn bright red! Once I get a pair I will remove the rest, either back to the LFS or to another tank but I am optimistic they will breed.

Any krib keepers out there?

 

[Sati]

That sucks that you had to get rid of your puffers :{ Kribs are beautiful fish though! Do you have any pics of the babies? :]

What does everybody do with the babies they breed, sell the to the LFS for credit?

 

[madasafish]

Hey there Tankgirl!

I'm gettin' kribs next week! Exciting!

 

[possum]

Kribs are one of my favorite cichlids I have ever kept.......only problem i had was that i have read sometimes that if you only have one male (which i did) he will sometimes totally ignore the female until he sees that he has competition......so i apparently had that problem and they never bred

 

[TankGirl]

Well as of this evening I still have 5 kribensis but when you look at this cute little 12-gal it appears to be empty! We have some serious hiding going on, so I am unsure about the status. I put some blackworms in there and a few ventured out, but not all. I am really anxious to see what the gender is going to be, but right now everyone is keeping to themselves. I don't have pics yet, because they won't come out! I have read that kribs pair up based solely upon the looks of their potential mate, and many males prefer the coloration of the albino female, with her bright red belly contrasting with her pale body, if given the choice. That is why I got several, in the hopes of getting a pair to pair up. I just want to witness the process, and one of my LFS will take any offspring that result, because they prefer local stock when possible.

I am still mourning my puffers, and each day I dutifully go harvest the snails, usually while I talk on the phone (some people doodle, play Free Cell or Solitaire, I pick snails ) and then I have a handful of baby snails, and no puffers! It took all of the self-control I possess not to take over my 10-yr-old daughter's hermit crab aquarium (no hermit crabs anymore, but she swears she is going to give it another try) and find homes in my various tanks for the puffers, but it couldn't be done. After we move in the spring I hope to set up a desktop aquarium and keep puffers again. They are absolutely fascinating fish, and I think best kept in a species only tank. What am I gonna do with these snails?!

 

[Allivymar]

LOL find a local friend with puffers or loaches?

I'm sorry the puffers didn't work out right now, but I can see the kribs will be an awesome experience for you. I can't wait too see pics! There were a few in a lfs I went into the other day....was tempted but after the ram debacle LOL think I'll put my impulse purchases on hold for a bit

 

[madasafish]

Darn! Wish I lived near you TankGirl! I want some Krib babies (when they're born)!

As I mentioned above, I'm getting some kribs for my 55 next week. I'm so excited about it since I've never seen these guys at petstores. How come??? They're one of the most famous fish to keep, and they're certainly some of the most famous to breed. And yet nobody around here keeps them!? Wierd.

Anyhoo, I'm psyched! I'm gradually turning my 55 into a fully planted tank (lights are the big step, and CO2 ain't easy either...), so I hope the kribs will feel at home there!

 

[BrianNY]

Kribs are great Tankgirl. Here's my Krib experience: I had 1 pair in a 20 long. Only a broken clay flower pot in the tank. I never turned the light on and fed basic flake foods and occasional live brine shrimp.

I don't remember seeing much activity in the tank as there were only the two of them but; One day I was overjoyed to see 10 babies, already about 3/4 of an inch long venturing from the clay pot. It was quite a thrill for me as it was the very first egglayer spawn in one of my aquariums

 

[davoz]

Kribs are great. madasafish the reason you may not see them often is they've been in the hobby soooooooo long. There are not that many people into west african cichlids. Personally I love west/central african fish. Kribs are very peaceful (for cichlids) but the mating aggression can be extreme. I've had females kill males who were not interested or not mature enough. Plenty of plants and caves will make them happy. for spawning lots of bbs and bw's

 

[TankGirl]

I am definitely seeing a trend in my fishkeeping towards African cichlids, but my planted 55 will always be angels or discus, probably. Once Voodoo Chilli's multi's are ready to travel I will hopefully see some spawning in my 44, too.

I am starting to see some scurrying about in the krib tank but I am going to give them some time to sort things out (well, what else would I do ). Kribs are available on and off around here, if you know where to look and are patient, and once I get some babies going I will should be able to get store credit for them. The December issue of Freshwater and Marine Aquarium magazine has an amusing story about kribs (nifty mag, btw).

 

[tbonem91]

TankGirl - If you can't find a place for your snails, I'll take 'em! I'm getting ready to put some puffers in my recently cycled 27g Bow and I've got a little 5g 'snail' tank with only a couple snails that haven't made baby snails yet. Let me know - it couldn't cost too mush to ship a handful of tiny snails, right?

 

[mattrox]

As a teenage a good friend had a 6 ft tank that had a pair of Kribs in it. It was a community tank but they spawned and a large number grew into adults. They paired up and there were several pairs in the tank and it got a bit rough in there.

Then he went off to university and his younger brother took over the tank keeping duties. He traded in all the kribs but the best pair. They are great little fish and their behaviour is fascinating. They provided countless hours of enjoyment. I know I only wrote 2 paragraphs but the fish keeping was over a 4 year period before we all left home. Lots of conversations were had by that tank. Mostly about Kribs, their fry and girls (of course).

 

[TankGirl]

Tbonem91, it should not cost much, but because they are live animals I think I would have to use Fedex, and it would probably not be cost effective. Those want snails can't get them and those who don't want them have more than they know what to do with!

What a great story, Mattrox! I think the reason I like cichlids so much is their personality and their parenting skills. There is really nothing like seeing those tiny fry for the first time (and every time thereafter )