Breeding Setup for Kribs

Hi all. I want to breed my Kribs, and I'd like some advice. Here's what I've got:

• tank (60cm long, 30cm wide, 35cm high)
• sponge filter
• heater
• Pair of Kribs. I think it's a pair, one is pale and thin, the other is very brightly coloured with a fat pink stomach. That one (I'm assuming the female) has been excavating underneath the rocks in my community tank.
• clay pot (small)
• Gravel/riversand

I'm not going to use any lighting, it'll be near a window.

Some questions:

• Should I put gravel and/or sand in? Do they like it? will it harbor bacteria that will be dangerous to the fry?
• How long should I cycle the tank for? (There are only gong tho be these two in, and I'm eager to get started)
• Do I have a pair?
• What are the triggers for Kribs?
• What temperature/ph should I use?
• Should i plant?
• Will a sponge filter be enough?

Anything else will e appreciated!

Cheers, Gabriel

 

If you have a sexually mature pair chances are 80% that they will breed.

 

ok, so it's easy

 

Yep pretty much... temperature: 24-25 and ph-7.4

 

Best of Luck

 

Shot, will keep you guys updated...

 

Im also trying to get mine to breed but i have found out i have 3males and one MAYBE female.. heh

 

Lol shame!

Would you guys recommend adding a little marine salt? apparently they can occur in brackish environments...

 

Kribs are one of the most entertaining fish to keep and they breed in true cichlid manner.
They are egg-layers;guard the eggs and fry and will need fine gravel to make feeding pits for the fry - witch they will move and hide!
They will need a cave or flowerpot and need plants to be happy - vallis; swords and anubias will do.
It was my first egg-layer to breed back in 1971, and the males use to be bigger with lots of eggspots on their dorsal and caudal fins. The females are short/plumb and have a wine-red tummy that will turn even brighter when in breeding mood!
Enjoy this firm/old hobby favourite!
Gert

 

Thanks for the input, Gert! What do you mean by eggspots? I definitely have a very plump and red female, but I'm not sure if the other one is a male.

 

sorry to jack the thread but is a 50L big enough.

 

Don't see why it wouldn't be... they are only about 5 or 6cm long...

 

I've successfully bred Kribs in a 50L tank with natural caves, normal lighting, standard gravel, nothing fancy. 24C, pH 6.5, soft water. I thought they weren't going to breed (though their colour was exquisite and they were showing definite interest in the cave) but one morning they took the babies out for a little foraging on the rocks outside the cave. Wonderful sight and very rewarding. A number of my second generation kribs are still around and my girlfriend is keeping two of them. Just keep up a good diet and things shouldn't take too long, just look out for skirting around near a cave and displaying. Its quite nice to see both partners displaying to each other, the female uses her pelvic fins to make her appear more full of eggs.

 

Great Nirv, thanks

 

And don't forget those babies DEFINITELY need a bigger tank to be reared in...

 

again sorry for jacking what size tank would they need

 

For rearing the young, more than one tank would be best... You could rear all of them in one tank that's as big as you can manage, but you're likely to run into problems. Fortunately, kribs are quite small and their broods aren't overwhelming, and the size of brood would determine the size of tank. But still, more smaller tanks are almost always best for rearing fry of any kind from what I know.

 

Could I use sponge filters in the rearing tanks?

 

You could Gaawie, just make sure that they are 'old' sponges with existing live bacteria on them to minimize the risk of spikes.

 

+1 to not getting baby kribs sucked into powerful filters!