Will Male Krib Re-pair With Another Female?

Hi,
Looking for an advice on Kribensis subject, any experience and tips will be greatly appreciated.
Some time ago I got myself a pair of them from the shop, both were happy for about a week and were clearly ready to spawn and liked each other. Unfortunately, female did not take move from the shop well and died after a couple of days. Hence, went back to the shop and got two more females (as per shop assistant advice). Both, have been in the tank for just under 3 weeks and seem to be quite happy. Even though, females 'flash' the colours in front of the male, he seems not to be interested and chasing them away from the cave the he 'occupied'.
So I was wondering, will male krib accept new female?

Regards,
V.

 

Absolutely. They are about as monogamous as humans.

There is a somewhat risky move you can make. Move all the caves, and make sure you have 4 for 3 kribs. There is a danger one female will kill the other - that was not advice I would give. But shaking up territories will reshuffle the social order of the kribs, and that may lead to pairing off.

Eventually, those females are going to fight over territory.

 

In that case, patience it is then, and male will start behaving. Tension between females is noticeable, but there are a few hiding places in the tank, therefore for now they get along, to the best of their ability . I am planning on removing second female as soon as pair is established, to avoid bloodbath. Just seemed strange that male has been chasing females away from his cave.
Thank you for your advice.

 

My understanding of Pelvicachromis "society", based on my breeding of Pelvicachromis kribensis (it used to be taeniatus) for a quite a few years might explain this.
I believe young females claim territories. It's what I have seen here in aquariums, with brood after brood. Females mature before males, and are very territorially rooted.
As males mature, they hold larger, looser territories that overlap with females. The females have to accept them. If not, they get run off. The male's interest is in keeping other adult males away.
When they pair, they seem to move together into the existing territory of the female, but together, they will attack other females in their zone. I recently had a pair of P. drachenfelsI take over an entire 4 foot 40 gallon, and drive 2 other females to the surface. I had to rescue them.
If I want to make a new pair, I remove the male to another tank, let the female get established and then put him in. More often than not, it works. I have come to the conclusion that males are chosen by females.

 

Looking back at what has been happening in the tank, you have pretty much described it. Two females divided the tank, male has been in and out from one cave into the other and chasing females away from the cave that he was hiding in. Also, just to make me look silly, one day after posting the question, both male and female moved into one of the caves. Will see what comes next.
Your advice did put a few pieces of the puzzle together and is very much appreciated, thank you.

Regards,
V.