Help breeding Pelvichromis Taeniatus 'nigerian red'?

[justEpico]

Hey, I got a pair of these kribs 2 weeks ago and they are healthy and happy however are not breeding. I am not sure if it is just time or what. Here are my parameters.

Nitrate 25ppm
Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
pH ~ around 7 but could reduce this with leaves
Hardness I have t checked but should be around 9 DH

The tank is a 40L and I have a count cave and a rock cave. I feed them live mosquito larvae, frozen brine shrimp ( I tried live baby brine but they didnt Rat), some dried food and veggie repashy. I do 40% water changes every few days.

As for breeding activity, when the male picks at the female, she shakes her belly at him to initiate breeding, however when he guides her to the cave he doesn't follow him. My guess is she doesn't like the aves? Anyone else any feedback? I will add pics

 

[Andreas]

40 l are too small

 

[Mike Wise]

I agree, a too small tank. Many encourage Pv. taeniatus breeding by adding an extra female (same or different Krib species) to the breeding tank. It seems to encourage bonding/breeding. Of course, the extra female is in danger of being killed. Ted Judy would place the 'target' female in a glass container with water flow inside the tank.

 

[justEpico]

dang, the the male is about 5cm and the female is 4 so I thought the 45cm tank was bug enough. After they are finished breeding though, I can put them in 55 gallon community. I will try the jar method, going back to the shop in a couple of weeks and hope the fish are still there! I will also try add dither fish, lower pH and use rainwater as I have spoken with someone who has spawned them in full rainwater. Thanks

I agree, a too small tank. Many encourage Pv. taeniatus breeding by adding an extra female (same or different Krib species) to the breeding tank. It seems to encourage bonding/breeding. Of course, the extra female is in danger of being killed. Ted Judy would place the 'target' female in a glass container with water flow inside the tank.
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[Mike Wise]

You can add dither fish if you want (to me this tank is too small), but what you really want is a target fish.. There is a difference. Dithers are for calming, targets are for encouraging bonding and claiming a breeding territory.

 

[justEpico]

You can add dither fish if you want (to me this tank is too small), but what you really want is a target fish.. There is a difference. Dithers are for calming, targets are for encouraging bonding and claiming a breeding territory.

Ah so in this case the extra female krib would be the target fish to entice the pair to breed? Would Rosy barb fry work as well?

 

[yukondog]

Any fry I think will be food, have you tried a mirror I use it sometimes with good results.

 

[Mike Wise]

Ah so in this case the extra female krib would be the target fish to entice the pair to breed? Would Rosy barb fry work as well?

No, you need a fish that is a threat to take over the breeding territory.

 

[yukondog]

If they have only been together 2-3 weeks I'd give them another week or two before doing anything drastic. Sometimes it just takes time.

 

[Mike Wise]

I agree. It sometimes take a month or more before they become interested in breeding.

 

[justEpico]

Yeah, my male became really interested in breeding, his colours are awesome. Unfortunately, the female is not so enthuastic and I did not see her for for 2 days. I checked today and saw the male was chasing her and she was really pale so I put the male in the 55 gallon com tank. It's a bit weird because even in the beginning she would belly dance in front of the male. What should I do now?

 

[Mike Wise]

Your tank is not only small, but too open. The female has no place to hide from the attentions of the male. If this is the only tank you have for breeding them, then add more structure (rocks, wood, plants) to the tank and use a partition in the tank to separate the 2 fish until the female shows interest.

 

[justEpico]

You guys are right the tank was too small. So now I am trying a new method. I out the male and female in the 55 gallon community tank which has many more spaces. The female takes no heed of the male but when the male sees the female, he rushes to 'kiss her belly' but she runs away. Luckily, they are not fighting and there are a lot more hiding spaces. I will add some cocunt caves and we will wait and see. It is surprising because she used to dance with her belly in the beginning.

 

[Mike Wise]

"A community tank is not a breeding tank." Where have I read this??

 

[justEpico]

I don't understand what you mean by that.

 

[Mike Wise]

Just that - breeding cichlids in a community of typical aquarium species too often lead to aggression by protective parents. Most often it results in loss of the fry and even other community members.

 

[justEpico]

Just that - breeding cichlids in a community of typical aquarium species too often lead to aggression by protective parents. Most often it results in loss of the fry and even other community members.

That makes sense, I will try to be alert but I will always have a spare tank on hand in case anything drastic happens. The female has no interest in the male currently so who knows what will happen. I have a 30 gallon on hand now so I could use that but still won't do anything if the female pays no interest to the male y'know? If the female perks up and becomes interested, I can put them in the 30 gallon and breed them there, but that doesn't look like its happening soon.

 

[justEpico]

So I got a new female a week and a bit ago and she is doing well. Do you need sand to breed these fish because I have a 30 gallon with a bare bottom?

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Do you need sand to breed these fish because I have a 30 gallon with a bare bottom?

You would definitely be better with <"sand and some structural leaf litter">. Is it a planted tank? Your last tank was fine in terms of planting and substrate, just not big, or densely planted, enough.

Not everyone will be the same, but I'm not a very good fishkeeper and I need all the help I can get, lots of plants and structure help me.

cheers Darrel

 

[justEpico]

So there are a few coconut caves, a big piece of driftwood and a big pot plant. I can add lots of leaf litter as well as a terra cotta pot for a cave. Here is a pic

It's got a fluval 207 for filtration and got the new female as well as 7 baby Rosy Barb's. Is this ok to breed the pair in?