spawn and i didn't even know it...

[Owl307]

I have four kribensis, all 4 have paired up. I moved 2 into a diffrent aquarium because the other pair seemed really stressed. For a few days after i moved them they seemed really sad and almost sick, the female never came out of hiding. I looked in there last night and there are wigglers wiggling away out of the pot with the parents going nuts keeping the cories away and the wigglers in the hut. I kept the light to help the paarents but today i look in and all the parents are doing is chasing the cories and doing a total makover to the sand. There are little ditches and everything.the male is even trying to build a wall next to the glass so i cant see in. no babies though. Is it possible there still there and i cant see them, this is the first SUCSESSFUL spawn ever for them. They have spawned many times before but none have ever made it. The tank is due for a water change too, what do i do? i'm tempted to lift the hut to see if there still there but i dont want to freak out the parents. (sigh)... but on the other hand, the wigglers were so cute!!! and i started a batch off bbs witch i always have on hand for killifish fry. in advance for all your help.

 

[Owl307]

well, I lifted up the pot to see if anyone was alive and there are no more fry so i went ahead with the water change, moved the cories to another tank, and added some small fish for them to chase, or do they need dither fish???

 

[meegosh]

The only way I've been able to grow out krib fry is to put the pair in a breeding tank. After they are big enough to find crushed up flakes I'll put them in a bare bottom 10g to grow out for a bit.

 

[Owl307]

do they need dither fish???

 

[HUKIT]

Dithers are used for easing skittish fish or distracting larger aggressive fish from attacking smaller species, there's no need here for dithers.

 

[Owl307]

ok thanks but one more question, after the water change my male just hasnt been the same. He is in on corner tail pulled together, coloration is dull and is sorta sick looking. I s he okay? whats the matter with him? i dont want him to die it was there first batch of wigglers! please help

 

[HUKIT]

That's a tough question, as long as you matched the waters temp and added dechlorinator there's not much that could have changed. Have you checked the water parameters since the water change?

 

[Owl307]

I checked everything and everything is perfect? could it be he is depressed that the fry didnt live?

 

[HUKIT]

They'll eat their own fry so I highly doubt he's depressed.

 

[Owl307]

.... im going to go check on him again, i'm really worried. he isnt looking good i'll see if i can get a small video to show you----------- okay i went and checked, he is starting to move around a little, the female is doing her little mating dance in front of him but he is chasing her away... not hurting her but telling her to leave him alone kind of thing....and my cameras charging so ill get the video soon. should i seperate them???also, after he chased her wich he still is, he seems to be checking the sand, unlike the female who is redecorating (building a wall in front of her cave) he goes through the sand like he is searching, did i bury the little ones???

 

[meegosh]

Could just be stressed from the spawning process and water change. It is a lot of work to guard the fry!

 

[Owl307]

yeah, the male is starting to look better, got some color back. I couldnt get the video because it wouldnt turn out, it was always foggy and you couldnt see the fish. i gave them some live food and the female loved it, the male ate some but then went back to hiding. I ended up feeding tiny bits every few minutes to make sure he ate enough. the female is still showing off and the male is letting her next to him now. does anyone know if you can feed mosquito larvea or flys? ive fed flys to killis because they tend to float but never mosquito larvea

 

[Owl307]

well the female started to act like him but they are both swimming around every once in a while acting normal. I guess their first fry was very stressful. I'll make sure to feed them a good diet and live food. I hpoe they'll be okay. I'll give another update tommorow to see how they are going. i'm going to be up early thats for sure. (inside joke)

 

[Owl307]

This morning I checked on them. They both zoomed into the pot. The female tends tO keep the male moving and haPpy but he does get some sad spurts. I think I should get a spawn once the male has fully recOvered. He seems so much better than yesterday. The live food seems to help a ton

 

[Owl307]

I came back from a movie a both male and female were in the stressed position. I shut off the lights for the night. The female is very colorful and fat again I can tell you that

 

[Owl307]

I fed them flake food this morning. They got mad at me and sulked. I guess I'll have to feed them more live and frozen food from now on because they seem to love it. They were still in that stressed position this morning but they seem to be better because.......
They both did that little vibrating mating dance to each other in front if the cave. The female is really fat and pink and the males color is returning.

 

[FishieMomma]

Finding this thread very interesting. Keep us updated.

 

[T-man02]

i agree keep us updated

 

[Owl307]

qt

oh, I forgot to add, they are in a quarentine tank. a small ten gallon. I have another krib pair getting ready to spawn in the 40g. thats why i moved them in the first place because the other pair was being beaten to death. not literally but always hiding ect.should i move them back or no? Ive never gotten any wigglers in the main tank because my p.h is too high. Or should i keep them in the ten with the lower p.h. I really want a batch of wigglers... that live into adults.the tank has a sand bottom a clay pott and a few plant. One of the plant by the pot is glow in the dark
the other pair is a reg. male and a PURPLE???? female. like not red or crimpson but purple? I'll go get some pics

 

[Owl307]

i attached a video of the pair in the ten. I caught them in a happy moment then at the end the go back to the depressed attitude. Sorry if you get a glimps of my messy room, im 12 with 3 rats, 4 fish tanks, one baby baby bird, and a full grown dove in my room. Hard to keep up. Dove can get out of cage all by itself so free roams around my room. its taking longer than i expected to upload bu i'll wait. My camera battery died so i could get a pic or vid. of the purple female but ill try as soon as i get a good charge.grr i dont think its on but ill see