hey hey hey wheres the love?

[DaPony87]

Hello all I have yet another problem.
I have a pair of Kribensis in my 55 gallon aquarium and in the research I did it says Kribs will easily breed and do not need any special modifications to the water.
THe Kribs in my tank have made a small cave dugout under a piece of driftwood in my tank but recently the male has just been bullying the smaller female and she has sought refuge next to a flower pot and in a large punch of java fern in a corner. Is this normal breeding behaviour or is the male being a jerk and the female be moved out?

[Menagerie]

I am not too well versed on krib mating behavior, but he is being a jerk! To lessen the stress on the female, there should be a higher female to male ratio--2:1 or 3:1 (at least that's what I know about tetras and mollies).
I'm sure someone has had this experience and can better help you.

[DaPony87]

Ive read that if theres a second female the less dominant female will be attacked unless another male is present theyre like angels i guess when they form mating pairs (I kno little about angels so dont hold me to that statement about them!)

[Menagerie]

Thanks--I just learned something. Maybe instead of a breeding pair, are they better off in a breeding colony--many males and many females?

[patryuji]

What I usually read is that you should have a small group and wait for a breeding pair to form from the group then separate that pair to a breeding tank.

[DaPony87]

*sniff sniff* they were supposed to be proven breeders..... evil person who sold them at auction....This is still a bit of a mystery they seemed to be courting each other all day long when i got them a month ago and ever since the male finished the cave hes gone loco

[Menagerie]

ever since the male finished the cave hes gone loco

IMHO, a change of scenery will do that . How long have you had them and when exactly did the jerk start behaving this way?

[TankGirl]

I do believe that you can get kribs to breed with one male and one female, and it is generally not necessary to get a group and wait for a pair to form. They do get very nippy during courting so what you describe does sound right to me. Mine do this constantly but there is never so much as a torn fin from any of it. Do you have nice red/purple bellies? Also, look for the female presenting her body in a U-shape. If they excavated a cave, I think they are ready.

[Menagerie]

They do get very nippy during courting

8O It's amazing any babies are born from that!
My Mbuna cichlids just display and display and display. They save their aggressions for territorial disputes--I rarely see my "breeding pair" smack each other around! Oh well, maybe my passivity is rubbing off on the fish

[TankGirl]

It seems to me, and this is just my experience, that the most chasing and apparent aggression occurs when there is fixin to be some breeding. It continues when the fry hatch out, of course.

[DaPony87]

Well believe it or not the female came out of hiding and the purple spot on her is very much purple now. I was juss paranoid cuz the female was quivering under a flower pot but now therye both feeding together and hanging around the cave. The female isnt presenting herself in a U-shape but I do see them to this really fast quiver thing when theyre not swimming. Im assuming thats a courtship display is it not?

[TankGirl]

Yep, I think you "found the love.."

[DaPony87]

Haha...sweet deal..