Pelvicachromis sp. aff. pulcher ('Sacrimontis') Available

[Randall]

To the African & West African Forum:

Wild caught Pelvicachromis sp. aff. pulcher, a.k.a. Pelv. 'sacrimontis', the Giant Krib and the Scarlet Krib, is currently available through Kevin Thurston. For more information or to place an order, kindly visit Kevin's web site at www.zangfish.com.

Thank you.

Randall Kohn

 

[Ghazanfar Ghori]

I just got some in from Kevin today and they look great! Let's see if
I can coax them into spawning. Start the stopwatch...

 

[dhm325]

They are also available from The Cichlid Exchange. www.cichlidexchange.com.

I bought a wild caught pair from them 3 weeks ago. Their first brood have been free swimming for two days. Really nice fish. They are somewhat more agressive than p. pulcher.

 

[cootwarm]

Cool fish! 8)
I've always liked Kribs, as they were the first cichlid I got to spawn for me and raise their family. And they're so hardy and colorful as well. It would be cool to raise some of these 'jumbo' Kribs.

The website says they grow to a max of 6 inches. I currently have a pair of Salvini's raising some fry in a 20 gal tank. In a few weeks or so, I want to move them to a 55 gal tank so I can use the 20 for a trio of Apisto's.

This is my question. Do you think a pair of these jumbo Kribs would live in a 55 gal tank with my pair of Salvini's?
My Salvini are 4.5 and 5 inches long. I don't expect them to get any larger.

I'm thinking of providing a few caves at one end for the Kribs and some rocks at the opposite end for the Salvini, then divide the center of the tank with a curtain of plants. Perhaps a couple Amazon Swords.

My Salvini are currently in a tank with pH of 6.7. I figure with a curtain of plants to separate them, they each would have their own little world. Add a few dithers for distraction, I don't think they would bother each other too much.
Ya think?

Michael

 

[Randall]

Dear Michael,

The website says they grow to a max of 6 inches. I currently have a pair of Salvini's raising some fry in a 20 gal tank. In a few weeks or so, I want to move them to a 55 gal tank so I can use the 20 for a trio of Apisto's.

If I ever saw a 6" Pelv. sp. aff. pulcher, I'd run for fear of radiation poisoning. This species grows to be slightly larger than the more common Pelv. pulcher, males to about 10 cm. and females to about 7 cm.

This is my question. Do you think a pair of these jumbo Kribs would live in a 55 gal tank with my pair of Salvini's? My Salvini are 4.5 and 5 inches long. I don't expect them to get any larger.

Michael, this sounds like a recipe for disaster and then some! You stand to have some very dead Giant Kribs. Salvini is a far more aggessive species than P. sp. aff. pulcher, corresponding to significantly harder more alkaline water. Although somewhat more aggressive than P. pulcher, P. sp. aff. pulcher are still fairly peaceful DWARF cichlids.

I think you'd be far better off getting yourself some Thorichthys sp. or Archocentrus sp. to go well with your Salvinis. These fish are all from Central America, have comparable temperments, are gorgeous and thrive in harder, more alkaline water.

Good luck!

Randall Kohn

 

[tjudy]

I had a male sacrimontis that recently pass away. He was pretty old. I got him at almost 4 inches (wild), and he grew to at least 5 inches plus some. He was pretty big.

 

[Randall]

Pelv. sacrimontis

Dear Ted,

That's a way big sacrimontis; but then again, as you say, "small is relative."

You're the best!

Randall

 

[dhm325]

Be very careful about your choice of tank mates for these fish. The pair that spawned are now escorting the fry all over the tank (29 gallons). When I first got these fish I had put a school of eight Harlequin rasboras in with them to act as dither fish. In addition, there were seven or eight juvenile kribs in the tank that I just couldn't get with the net. The tank is well planted with lots of hiding places.

Yesterday all of the rasboras were alive and today there is only one survivor. I found the others at the bottom of the tank or floating on the leaves of a plant. One was still alive but swimming upside down. I think its back was broken. However, all of the juvenile kribs are still alive and doing (reasonably) well. I think the problem is that the rasboras don't understand the parent's body language the way the juvenile kribs do and get too close to the fry. The kribs keep their distance and seem to be aware of where the parents and fry are headed. They get out of the way before they are attacked. The rasboras are not fast enough swimmers. They can't escape. I have used rasboras before as dither fish for kribs and P. taeniatus and not had any fatalities.

 

[Ghazanfar Ghori]

I just found that out the hard way. Added some gold white clouds as
dithers. 24 hrs later - all dead cept for one, which I had to put out of
its misery. Wish I had read your reply earlier.

 

[tjudy]

I used zebra danios as dithers. They were way too fast for the cichlids in a 33L tank (48x13x13).

 

[coenga]

I used zebra danios as dithers. They were way too fast for the cichlids in a 33L tank (48x13x13).

Yes, danios are fast enough to escape, and they are not dumb at the point to seek live meal in front of Pv parents.

BTW, speaking of dithers with Pv, do not use neon-like tetras, they are deadly untouchable fry predators. What about Nanostomus sp , killis ?

And what about cichlids as dithers ?

They are recognized as potential danger for fry and they might de good paire-bonding sealant (if you understand my thoughts and writes :wink: ). Young sub abults seem to do it well, but I also have L curviceps and my "dehane" pair is strongly in tune which each other in this multiple species set-up (L curviceps, A australe, ancistrus, Pv 3 mo fry, T occelicauda).


good luck with sacrimontis. Seems to be a good seek-for target for a large riverine set-up...

 

[tjudy]

I use cichlids as target fish during pair bonding. In fact, it was required before my Pel. sp. aff. pulcher cemented as a pair. I used an extra female. After they killed her I used a beat up female Lake Victoria species.