Evil female kribensis

[Cornstar]

Recently I found out that I had two female kribensis in my 36 gallon tank. One of them constantly nipped the other female's fin.

Today I decided to buy two male kribensis, and I placed them in the tank. I remodeled the ornaments and such before adding the two males. Shortly, I realized that now both my female kribensis had teamed up and started attacking my male kribensis. And both male are really scared of them, and constantly running away. What should I do in this case? I am very worried about my male kribensis!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Cichildlife]

What size tank? Haw big r the females vs. Males?

 

[tiger terror]

If you have a med/quarantine tank you could try removing them&allowing the males to establish thier territories&gain confidence..maybe some 3 or 4 days later reinterduce the females....also tank size& male/female size are also very important..+1 to Cichlid Life

 

[Cornstar]

The tank is a 36 gallon bow. The Aqueon ones. The males are a bit smaller than the females, that might be the problem.

I have a 5.5 gallon tank, would both males fit in there? How would I get the males to grow faster?

 

[tiger terror]

How big are your fish?,5.5 most likely to small...

 

[Cornstar]

The females are about 2.5-3 inches while the male are 1.5-2 inches.

 

[tiger terror]

Size is almost definitely the prob..If you can you may have to take the males back in search for larger ones...

 

[Cornstar]

Maybe I over exaggerated but the females are bigger than the males. I took out the females and placed them in a separate tank as punishment for a while. In the mean time I'm trying to grow my male kribensis, what are some advices to speed their growth? I heard live worms, frozen food and etc and raising the temperature to 82. And how long should I wait until I place the female kribensis back?

 

[Cornstar]

Maybe 0.5 inch bigger at max.

 

[LyndaB]

I had one breeding pair in a 30 gallon and cannot imagine keeping more than one pair in a tank smaller than 55 gallons or so. They need lots of room. They're aggressive enough when spawning, you don't need to have another pair in the picture.

And no, please don't consider putting the males into a 5.5 gallon. That's just cruel.

I took out the females and placed them in a separate tank as punishment for a while.

And how long should I wait until I place the female kribensis back?

1) Fish don't understand being kept in a time out.

2) Every time you introduce fish to a tank, the members of the tank have to re-establish their hierarchy. This means every time you use this method of yanking fish and then putting them back in, the aggression will only get worse.

If I were you, I'd return a pair and keep a pair.

 

[Cornstar]

Thanks! I just called my LFS and they suggested adding more kribensis to the tank. Thanks again for the advice.

I am a bit eager to hold on to the kribensis so I might try to cycle a 40b from my backyard and put a pair inside or would that not be suggested? Or would it really be advisable to return a pair?

 

[LyndaB]

Thanks! I just called my LFS and they suggested adding more kribensis to the tank.

Are they nuts? Well, it wouldn't be the first time the lfs has given out awful advice.....

 

[Cichildlife]

+1 on EVERYTHING Lynda said.

 

[tiger terror]

I have to apologise for what was most likely bad advice...my bad:+(

 

[Smcoyle87]

Lynda is right. AND the only reason your lfs said to add more to the tank is because that is the method lfs's employ in their own tanks. The reason for it is they have so many. It reduces the fishes aggression toward each other because they cant establish territories. They all just chill out in the open, all the time.
And when spawning female kribs get NASTY. It will only get worse. Just go with one pair.

 

[plex1981]

Hi there. I used to have 2 breeding pairs of kribs in a 4 foot tank. They got along fine, however I did have the tank set into 2 very distinct sections seperated with plants. I used to get the odd scuffel but nothing 2 serious. Also u need a big male to handle even the smallest female