Need help with Kribenis, Please!!

[feelingFishy]

Hi everyone,
I am a newbie, (sorta), and I can really use some help from some of you with
experience breeding Kribs! I have had aquariums in the past, many years ago, and know the basics, but have never dealt with dwarf cichlids. I have
always loved the kribensis, so I decided to start with them. Being a retired
grandmother, I have the time now to devote my attention and time to my
hobbies and do I enjoy it !!

OK, here's my problem; I studied these little beauties before I purchased them, and bought everything they needed to live a nice, carefree life. About 3 weeks ago, I spotted about 6 of them under a large bunch of Java Fern at my LFS, and 3 were wearing rather large dark pink bellies!! I couldn't believe my luck. Of course they came home with me, along with their tank mates.
I already had a tank waiting for them with one large lonely male, given to me by a friend.

I thought, from all I'd read, that they would choose their mates and have a bunch
of babies and live happly ever after. I had 2 maternity tanks waiting for the
pairs. Well, I'm still waiting for them to choose! They've done all the gesturing and flirting that I've seen in books, but none have paired off together. I've been feeding them live brine shrimp, frozen brine and bloodworms, and premium flake and pellets. The poor little girls look as if their little tummies and going to pop open. What am I doing wrong Am I being impatient? Please share your knowledge with me and tell me what to expect!

Helen inTallahassee

 

[Bilbo]

Hi.

They are a lovely fish and should be easy enough to get some babies out of. Usually its just, have fish add water and food... done.

Your fish sound like they are having the best of everything so should be no problems. You could take what looks like the nicest male and the female that is flurting the most and put them in your breeding tank or you could wait and watch them breed in your main tank.
My brother has 2 pairs in a display tank and the tank is almost exactly 50/50 divided and owned by a male each end. They know exactly where the half way mark is and heaven help them if one of the other pair crosses it. They even seem to know which babies belong and which ones dont.

Very best of luck.

 

[feelingFishy]

Need help with Kribenis, Please !!

Thanks for the reply, Bilbo
Great idea! I feel like maybe it's time to hatch the brine shrimp......
I'll surely let you know what they do (if anything). Maybe they just
need some privacy. Thanks again so much.

 

[tjudy]

One thing to consider is the choice of cave. Pelvicachromis prefer caves with enough open space inside for both the male and the female to get into, but a hole just large enough for the fish to slip into. A 3/4" - 1" hole is usually plenty, unless the male is really big. Two or three caves for the pair to choose from will help too. Digging out the cave is also a part of the courtship, so you can help put them in the mood by filling the caves with whatever the substrate on the bottom is.

My favorite Pelvicachromis cave is the 'round burrito' cave that Brantley sells. (all the links in this post, the word 'cave', will take you to the website)