BlowPhish

Hello Fish Lore folk! Six days from now (yes I'm counting down the days) I'll be picking up some Kribs. Now I've been reading through this Kribs section to get my facts straight before I go through with this. We have a 30 gallon planted tank. It's 3 feet long and is populated with 6 albino/green/tiger barbs, 2 Boseman Rainbows, 2 young Clown Loaches, 2 Pearl Gourami's, 4 Platy's, 1 Otto and a Dwarf Froggie. Since we don't want overcrowding we'll be moving the 4 Platy's to our other 30 gallon tank to make room for the Kribs.

So here's what I've learned so far.
1- need hiding places
2- 1 male/female ratio
3- make sure the male is bigger or at least the same size as the female
4- have things to block line of site to help curb aggression like plants
5- males have an extended dorsal fin and females are smaller with pinkish belly
6- try to put the potential breeding site at the far end of the tank

Right now we don't have much for hiding spots so we're going to buy some lava rock or something to make some shelters if we have the money. If not we're going to use a coconut untill we can afford it. And a couple of questions for you fish lore folks. Does anyone else have advice to offer on how to make Kribs happy in a community? We'd like to take as good care of them as we can. Are there any other concerns we need to address? Would it be okay to add a pair of German Blue Rams to the same tank?

Nick G

Sounds like a great set-up to me, and you've researched it well. When you pick the Kribs DO make sure the male is bigger than the female. If the store doesn't have a bigger male then don't buy one or the female will attack him. Personally I wouldn't add the Rams in a 30 gal as terriotory might become an issue. I keep Kribs and they're great fish-good choice!

BlowPhish

Do you think that Rams would be ok with Kribs in a 55 gallon tank? We really like them as well but we don't want them to be disputing territory constantly

Nick G

Yeah definatly ok in a 55. Kribs and Rams are probably the least aggressive Cichlids but will still be territorial when breeding. Rams do much better in established tanks with stable water conditions so I'd advise waiting a few months after setting the tank up before adding any.

BlowPhish

Thanks Nick. We'll hold off on the rams then. Any suggestions for fish other than rams that would be ok in this community with Kribs?

Nick G

Most community fish will be ok with Kribs in a big enough tank. Kribs are mildly territorial but the other fish soon learn to steer clear if they are breeding. I keep my Kribs with Neons, Platys and a Bristlenose Pleco. I've kept them before with Angels, Zebra Danio's Guppys, and Swordtails. Kribs spend most of their time at the bottom of the tank so a Gourami or 2 might be another good centrepiece fish as they are mainly surface dwellers.

BlowPhish

My question was poorly asked. I'd like to add 1 more pair of fish to this setup but we'd rather not go with any of the really common fish. We'd like to get another pair of cichlids or another pair of interesting fish. Does anyone have ideas of what could work?

BlowPhish

Yay! I got my Kribs earlier than what I had hoped for! Here are some pictures of the Kribs and their new coconut home. The first picture is the female and second is the male in from of their home which they claimed in all of 10 minutes :P

Attached Images

	P1000053.JPG (467.8 KB, 72 views)
	P1000054.JPG (475.3 KB, 68 views)

g-g

the fish look great.
why dont u try a pair of apistogramma.
there are many varieties

apistogramma cacatuoides?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...acatuoides.jpg

Gunner11

I agree with g-g a pair of an apistogramma species would be a nice addition to your tank. They are hard to find here and pricey but I would definitely add them to my tank if I found some!