Kribensis Breeding

[kmayhew01]

I have two Kribensis that I was told by the LFS were male and female. The one has a bright red stomach and the other does not. Although the female is really aggressive towards the male and they have never spawned even though I have added spawn aid to the water.

Any ideas what may be causing this?

[malkore]

spawn aid? never heard of it, and with kribs, you don't need it.
likely your kribs want to breed, but unless you've given them a cave, or overturned flower pot, with some smooth river stones in the bottom, they won't lay eggs.

Try giving them the right accomodations, and you'll likely see fry in 3 weeks.

I'm also going to move this to the breeding section to solicit more responses.

[Voodoo Chilli]

You may also want to check your water parameters and make sure everything is in order. What about your water temperature? What size tank are they in and what are the other tankmates?

[kmayhew01]

My water temp is about 82 degrees, ph of 6.8, 20 gallon long, i have 2 angelfish, 2 cory cats, 3 oto cats, and 3 gold tetras.

[kmayhew01]

Here is a picture of my tank. I took your suggestion malakore and set up a clay pot. The links below are the pictures

clay pot:
http://www.pennswoods.net/~jgosnell/HPIM0298-1.JPG

tank:
http://www.pennswoods.net/~jgosnell/HPIM0296.JPG

think that set-up should encourage them?

[malkore]

Yes, that's exactly what you're after for a 'cave' for them.
water temp is a little high though.
I'd also watch the other fish. My male krib bullied fish when they spawned last, and I lost 2 rummy nose tetra and an adult SAE.

[kmayhew01]

What would you recommend my temperature be?

[malkore]

Nothing above 80. 74-78 is ideal for tropicals.

[kmayhew01]

Alrighty, thank you so much for your help!!! I'm going to go out and buy another pot and put it somewhere else so they can have a couple options. Hope all goes well! If I need something else I now know who to ask! Thanks again!

[jaajaa40]

Kmayhew01, a question for you on your topic.

What kind of pot did you get and from where? Is it simply a terracotta pot? I am real careful what I put in my tank.

I have two Apistogramma Catatuoides that I just put in my tank, and they have not picked out a spot for them selves as of yet. I also I have plastic plants, not real ones. Does anyone think the real ones would be necessary.

Thanks.

[kmayhew01]

No, it is actually plastic... they were out of the clay ones. I was able to weigh it down with the stones so its working out great. I got it from Wal-Mart for 40 cents

[malkore]

Shouldn't have to have real plants, but make sure the fake ones don't have sharp plastic edges, that can cut thru fins easily.

terra cotta pots work fine just make sure you wash them in warm water (no soap) first to get all the dust off.

[kmayhew01]

It has been about three weeks since I set up the "love nest" for my kribensis however nothing has happened yet. The female will go into the pot every now and then, but she still chases the male away. I don't know what else I could do. Any suggestions?

[sonoma2nv]

Well my breeding pair of Kribensis wouldnt spawn when i got them.I had 2 clay pots sitting on the side and no luck.Then i learned that they need a cave with a small opening.When they breed they pile up rocks so the male and female can only fit throught it.I just set the pots up right and cut a arch out of the side.And one week later i had eggs..But i bought mine as a proven pair.

[BrianNY]

Just a thought but can you see into the pot? She may be chasing the male out to protect the spawn. If there is no spawn it's possible that the male might not measure up or be sexually immature. Kribs will usually spawn without much prompting.

[kmayhew01]

There is definately no spawn. I have 2 pots set up and I can see into both of them. I will do the whole cutting a whole in the side thing and if that doesnt work I will try to trade in my male. Thanks for your help!!

[Aquarium Freak]

I can fell your pain I tried breeding krib's awhile back and never succeeded (I'll just stick with angels) hope you have better luck than me
Good Luck

[BrianNY]

Just one more thought before you give up on this pair. Many times things like outside activity or too much light will keep a pair from spawning. Try to disturb them as little as possible and see what happens.

[FawnN]

I would make sure you have one female and one male. Do you have pictures? The male and female can both have red bellies. The male is normally longer, while the female is shorter and rounder. The males dorsal fin is more extended and will come to a point, while the female is rounder.

Here is a pic of my male and female.



Here is the male. (which I still have). Unfortunately, one day he went crazy and killed the female off.


The female is on the left and the male is on the right.

I set up clay pots and they never spawned in them. They spawned underneath the driftwood. This picture is somewhat blurry, but this is underneath the wood.



This pair gave me 4 different spawns. The night before they spawned, I did a 50% water change and replaced the water with slightly cooler water then what was in the tank already. Apparently that helped.

Here is a recent picture of the very last spawn. I'm still growing them out to sell.



I am certainly no expert, but I have certainly experienced a lot with breeding Kribs if you would like to hear more. Just let me know.

[kmayhew01]

I added some pics of my kribensis to my gallery, you can take a look and see what you think. The guy at the LFS told me it was a male/female pair.