Was told at LFS they're male and a female.

Hello all, I need sexing these 2 albino kribs. I've read about the matter but still can't figure out. The more colorful one is kinda aggressive towards the other, so now I'm a bit worried.

I bought them for breeding purposes so I def wanna have a male and a female. I need help. Ty in advance.

Ps I've attached multiple pictures of the two for convenience. Fishes are not the easiest to photograph xd

 

I think you have female in the 1st and the last picture and a male in the 2nd and 4th picture.

Edited to say, it is better to raise fish from young for breeding purposes, if you have the patience and the space for it. I had randomly paired kribs that didn't do anything for a very long time.

 

From the pictures it is a bit harder to tell. The one is def. a female for sure - based on the purple-y red on her stomach. The other looks a bit shifty to me. BUT, if that one that doesn't have the 'more red' stomach also has longer fins that are pointed, than the LFS was probably correct. The only reason they wouldn't be correct, is if they assumed a female was a pre-mature male (I.e. looks 'female' but is missing some tell tale 'female' characteristics because we're thinking it'll grow into a male [will mature as a male]).

What 'kind' of aggression is it? Sometimes, the males have to be a little persistent to show the female 'Hey, Look at me! I'm partner potential!'. If this is it - you'll see one chasing after the other, but they shouldn't be 'nipping' at one another. Instead it'll look like the one is just trying to catch up and show off to the other. When it catches up, it might flare it's fins. This is breeding behavior.

Usually the male does this. But it could be the female doing it too. So long as they're not 'nipping' relentlessly. Even if they are the same sex, they should get along. I wish you luck.

I had a pair of kribensis that were very young when I bought them. They were basically babies, JUST barely able to tell sex. After a few tries, they had multiple successful broods. I wish you much luck.

 

Thanks for your reply. Maybe next time, but they were the only ones y smaller LFS have.

Also, the supposed female krib has been kinda bullying the male. He seems smaller compared to her. Should I be worried or do something like separate them? The tank is mediumly planted.

 

Both of your kribensis are females.


Male, has pointy fins and when they mature most of their fins grow pretty long.


This is a picture of the front side where you can see the ventral fin. Also my males face is longer than all my females faces.

Here is an adult female that is spawning, the pointy white thing is her ovipositer.


Comparison of a male and female together.


This is what a younger male looks like, it has less pointy fins, but the ventral fins are much pointier than a females more rounded ventral fin, as well as the dorsal fin.
Sorry, I don’t have any pictures of when my females were younger but they looked just like the females you have now, except they weren’t albino.
Also, sometimes males will have red on their bellies, especially during breeding. But a females belly is usually more plump and purple. I agree with fish girl they shouldn’t be nipping. But sometimes males and females will nip if the other is not ready to breed. Usually kribensis don’t chase one if they want to breed with them. Breeding behavior is when the female goes into an S shape and vibrates her entire body, after they do that they will look for a cave, go in and out of different ones, and vibrate inside of them one at a time. Then once they choose a cave they will usually start to dig in it and you won’t see the female for a while. In my case the male and female usually disappear until their is food or fry.

 

In the second picture, the tip of the dorsal fin of the albino seems flipped out of sight. Can you take another picture of the albino with the fins in full view?

 

Thanks for all the replies. Obviously, even you guys, who prolly have more exp with kribs than me, have opposing views on their sex. But at least one thing is certain, I have at least 1 female. Can other variants (say, not albino) mate with my kribs?

Here's another picture of the duller colored krib that seems to have everyone splitting.

In the second picture, the tip of the dorsal fin of the albino seems flipped out of sight. Can you take another picture of the albino with the fins in full view?

I posted more pictures sir/mam

 

I posted more pictures sir/mam

Thank you. I would be surprised if the albino is a female. However, you have to get him fatter. He looks too skinny.

 

Thank you. I would be surprised if the albino is a female. However, you have to get him fatter. He looks too skinny.

Thanks will do. I only have the pair for a day

 

With Kribs the female will often be the bully. Mine have similar fins and body type but the alleged female gets a redder belly and did the shimmy dance one time. The male was probably intimidated, and ever since they have not gotten along. I had to put a tank divider in. Good luck.

 

With Kribs the female will often be the bully. Mine have similar fins and body type but the alleged female gets a redder belly and did the shimmy dance one time. The male was probably intimidated, and ever since they have not gotten along. I had to put a tank divider in. Good luck.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Yeah I'm def keeping an eye on both of them. Also added 2 caves, hopefully they will like one of them. Just to make sure though, are you saying that the skinnier less colored one is a male?

 

Any variant of a krib can breed with an albino, female albinos are the most preferred by males since the belly stands out the most. I’m pretty sure you have 2 females, as my females looked exactly like that when they were younger.


All my Kribs are similar ages but this one is smaller than all of them except for 1 who is in a cave, she’s a female.

 

I don't know if this behavior changes anything but it seems like he/she has claimed this pot for its own. And is constantly defending it against the guppies. He/she runs away though whenever the DG or the other krib comes around. The bigger and more colorful krib is still roaming around without a cave her choosing.

 

How big is the tank? It looks pretty spacious. I’d recommend turning that pot the other way or putting some rocks in front of the entrances they can hide from each other. If you’re looking to breed them, you probably want to recommend the smaller one or exchange it at your fish store. From these pictures I’m 100% sure these are both females, and you’re going to want a male that is larger than the female, color does not matter. If you would rather keep the two females it would be okay if you provide enough caves and breaks in the line of sight for them. Also if you do plan on getting a male, you definitely need to rehome one of the females or they will get bullied and possibly killed. Some kribensis pairs are aggressive while others mind their own business, the pair I have now never cared about other fish in the tank, but I’ve heard some people have all of their fish get killed by the parents. If you do plan on breeding them and getting a male I would be careful of the dwarf gourami, but if it stays near the top I think it would be fine, since it looks like you have a pretty tall tank. Good luck!

 

I must agree with Mouska, both fish are female, but the pale one is in poor condition. The last set of photos showed the ventral fins extended, and they were not pointed, as a male would have. Those ventral, or Pelvic fins are the only 100% certain way to sex Kribs.

 

How big is the tank? It looks pretty spacious. I’d recommend turning that pot the other way or putting some rocks in front of the entrances they can hide from each other. If you’re looking to breed them, you probably want to recommend the smaller one or exchange it at your fish store. From these pictures I’m 100% sure these are both females, and you’re going to want a male that is larger than the female, color does not matter. If you would rather keep the two females it would be okay if you provide enough caves and breaks in the line of sight for them. Also if you do plan on getting a male, you definitely need to rehome one of the females or they will get bullied and possibly killed. Some kribensis pairs are aggressive while others mind their own business, the pair I have now never cared about other fish in the tank, but I’ve heard some people have all of their fish get killed by the parents. If you do plan on breeding them and getting a male I would be careful of the dwarf gourami, but if it stays near the top I think it would be fine, since it looks like you have a pretty tall tank. Good luck!

I must agree with Mouska, both fish are female, but the pale one is in poor condition. The last set of photos showed the ventral fins extended, and they were not pointed, as a male would have. Those ventral, or Pelvic fins are the only 100% certain way to sex Kribs.

Hello to the two of you and thanks for your input. The tank is only 29g, looking to rehome the guppies in a different tank. And for now honestly, the DG is not bothering any of them. It's just that the bigger krib is def on the other's tail. Assuming they are both female, I'm thinking of adding the male first then let him choose which lady he likes better. Does that take a long time?

I am def LF breeding pair. Good thing you guys shared your input so I can plan better, thanks again.

 

Hello to the two of you and thanks for your input. The tank is only 29g, looking to rehome the guppies in a different tank. And for now honestly, the DG is not bothering any of them. It's just that the bigger krib is def on the other's tail. Assuming they are both female, I'm thinking of adding the male first then let him choose which lady he likes better. Does that take a long time?

I am def LF breeding pair. Good thing you guys shared your input so I can plan better, thanks again.

I’m not really worried about the DG right now but in the future when you breed the Kribs they Kribs will probably not like the DG if it comes near their babies.
Also it would be fine to get a male and let him choose, but sometimes the females will fight and you might have to separate them. Once the male chooses a female they will probably chase the other female away and attack her if they see her.
The amount of time it takes for a pair to form depends on their age and if they are ready to breed, which would be when the female has a large purple belly. For me when my female Kribs were young I bought a male and on the second day he had formed a pair with her, but I didn’t realize they had laid eggs so I had to rush to get the other females out. A pair will swim together a lot and goin and out of caves and make an s shape and vibrate. If you have any other questions I can try to answer.

 

I ended up returning both of them, just because of the uncertainty