The Krib
Apistogramma/Dwarf Cichlids
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The Krib
Apistogramma/Dwarf Cichlids
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[E-mail] | |
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In article <1993Nov14.130056.1-at-anhep0.hep.anl.gov>,
Eric Vaandering <ewv-at-anhep0.hep.anl.gov> wrote:
>
>I have four kribensis in my community tank and I would like to ask a couple
of
>simple questions. First, Do i have any hope of getting them to reproduce in
a
>community setup?
>
>Second, which fish are the females? I have two with yellow on their dorsals
>and much more colorful bellies (red and a deep purple). The other two are
>larger, have more of a dorsal spike but are much less colorful.
Yes, you have lots of hope of getting them to breed. Your problem is more
likely going to be, what to do when they do breed. Some kribensis parents
can be REALLY protective and most will chase all the other fish to the
other end of the tank. I've had a pair keep several much larger cichlids
completely at bay, confined to one-third of a large tank.
As to which are the females, the ones with the rounded red and deep purple
bellies are the females. And, if they are really deep purple, the females
are probably ready to breed. Take a 3" flowerpot, knock out the bottom
and break it in half (even roughly will do). Scoop a little depression
in your gravel and place the half pot over it -- a breeding pair will
usually adopt such a pot almost immediately.
/------\
/ \
--- ---
-----------
You will know if things are progessing if you see the female spending a lot
of time in the pot, and particularly if she seems to be sealing in the
front entrance a bit (ideally they need entrances on both the front and
back). She will make it so just her little face pokes out if possible.
Next, look for about 30 to 50 orangish eggs stuck to the inner roof of
the pot.
-- Ron Coleman
colemanr-at-garnet.berkeley.edu
A little while back I asked for info on kribensis. Here's the promised summary of the email I received. Thanks to all who sent me messages, I will probably get some in the near future when my new tanks gets stabilized. As usual there is some conflicting advice here, we all need to find some things out for ourselves, and water conditions, etc. vary quite a bit and may have important consequences in fish behavior. Acquisition Get 6 - 10 young, this should be sufficient to form a breeding pair. Better, find a dealer that has a breeding pair. Somewhat difficult to sex, usually size differences is the key. Others say they're easy to sex, the females are larger and have pink bellies. In the store they may look dull, but they brighten up with good care. Tank locale They like to stay on the bottom and like to hide in rock caves. Tankmates A small schooling fish, like cardinal tetras, make good dither fish. The kribs are shy and having some 'braver' fish will make them more visible. Lots of hiding places also help. Tank features Natural rock caves, broken clay pots, driftwood roots, etc. They like plants, but don't burrow or harm them. Some people say a 15g is OK, others say it's a bit small, but a 20g-30g tank is probably OK for a pair. If the tank is too small the female may kill the male or other tankmates. Size Can get 3-4" long. Breeding: Feed lots of live food, earthworms, clean water. The pH seems critical in determining the sex ratio of the fry. The Loiselle dwarf cichlid book goes into this. They mate for life and look after the brood. Very aggressive and territorial at breeding time, but rather docile at other times. -- Jim Hurley --> jimh-at-ultra.com ...!ames!ultra!jimh (408) 922-0100 Ultra Network Technologies / 101 Daggett Drive / San Jose CA 95134
In article <2udun9$1a7-at-Maluku.Jou.UTexas.EDU>, Victor Menayang <victor-at-Maluku.Jou.UTexas.EDU> wrote: >Tom Miller <millerto-at-ava.bcc.orst.edu> wrote: >> >>Shivering and bending in u-shape is not submissive behavior, it's courtship. > >Then, the many female Kribs I saw doing that between females must >be lesbian :-) >Seriously, I know at least one book that says that it's courtship, >but female Kribs do display that behavior to other females. That's >why I hesitated to call it courtship behavior. > > One of the things that makes kribensis such a wonderful fish is that the females compete for the males (and vice versa). The bending and u-shape behaviour that females do is neither submissive behaviour, nor courtship behaviour; rather it is competitive behaviour. The females are in essence fighting with each other over who makes the better female. It is the equivalent of mountain sheep ramming their heads together or male frogs wrestling and calling. Notice the way that the females cup their pelvic fins next to their bodies when they do this: the colour of the fins serves to make the females look larger and rounder than they really are. I strongly suspect that the females are attempting to look as fecund (ie., containing as many eggs as possible) as they can, and they show this to other females, and to the males. What a great fish! -- Ron Coleman colemanr-at-garnet.berkeley.edu
>of eggs under the ole flower pot. The first set of fry are about 2 months old, >so are still pretty small. The adults are already keeping the first set of >fry away from the nest. Will they keep the old fry away from the food also, >once the new clutch hatches? The old fry are still too small to make it in >my main tank, and I'm fresh out of space and cash to set up a new tank. >What should I do?! Will the adults protect the new clutch sufficiently in the >main tank, or do I risk having them lose it or ignore it because of the move? In the eyes of the parents, the old fry have changed from children to just a bunch of fish. The parents will treat them the same way as any other fish. They will keep them away from the new fry (for good reasons). The parents will compete with the older fry for the available food. That probably won't be a major concern though. Depending on the occupants of the main tank, the new fry (and parents) might be able to survive there. What you should do, is entirely up to you. In another 2 months you will have another batch of fry (and 2 months after that...etc, etc, etc). So unless you are going to get some more tanks soon, you are going to lose some fry. There may be some short term solutions depending on size of tanks and occupants. Someday you will either have to buy more tanks or give up trying to save all the fry. Tom millerto-at-bcc.orst.edu
Paul Chapman (pchapman-at-mdo.nofc.forestry.ca) wrote: : Keywords: : : I'm looking for advice or a good reference on balancing the ratio of : males to females in my krib offspring. I have raised several sets of : kribensis fry in three nursery tanks (10 gal) and found that only about : 5% are male. as the fastest growers passed the one inch mark I tended : to remove them in pairs. all the fastest growers were male and the : rest seem to be all female now. Is gender determined at fertilization : or can my tank conditions be affecting the sex? If the latter what : conditions affect sex in what way? I have several reference books but : can only find examples of swordtails changing sex. : Thanks, Paul pchapman-at-mdo.nofc.forestry.ca Hi Paul, I believe the reference you want is Rubin, DA (1985) Effect of pH on sex ratio in cichlids and a poecilliid (Teleostei). Copeia 1985:233-235 But, as they say, the plot thickens. Work in our lab (Dr. Barlow's here at Berkeley) has shown that cichlids may not 'decide' their sex for quite some time after fertilization. Sex in cichlids is not determined chromosomally and may be determined socially and this may not occur until well into the juvenile stage. Neat eh? -- Ron Coleman colemanr-at-garnet.berkeley.edu
sidles-at-u.washington.edu (John Sidles) wrote: > (1) How long does it take the eggs to hatch? About a week and a half until they're free-swimming. If you can see eggs. you'll see them wriggling for about a week before they start cruising around the tank. > (2) The kribensis are still very young, only about 4 cm long. > Will early spawning stunt their growth? That I can't help you with. I wouldn't have thought so - it sounds like the kind of tall tale my Sunday School teacher would have told me ;-) > > (3) The parents are pretty agressive now... but can they > really expect to raise their brood? Just you watch them!!! I have my kribs in a tank with tiger barbs, a ram, a pl*co and rasboras, and I don;t think they've lost one yet. If you can keep a night-light on (nothing too bright) once the fry are free-swimming, that will help the parents at night. > > (4) What do we feed the kids? 5 vegetables and two fruit Oh, the _kribs_...;-) Depends: if the tank has been set up for a long time, there will probably be a reasonable amount of organic matter for them. If not, you can get one of the very fine flake foods of liquid foods for fry, and in a couple of weeks, you can try hatching some baby brine shrimp. > > Thanks for the tips! Enjoy the fish! They're great fun when they're spawning... > John Sidles on behalf of Nathan. Cheers, Ben
In article <3ojiok$de2-at-canopus.cc.umanitoba.ca>, langsta-at-cc.umanitoba.ca wrote: > Can anyone help me!!! > I am trying to breed Kribinzies (spelled incorrect), and I need so information on how to breed them. > > I would appreciate any and all information!!! > > Thank you!! The Kribensis, _Pelviachromis pulcher_, or Krib is extremely easy to induce to breed. A pair can be set up in a 10 or 15 gallon well-planted tank with soft, neutral water. Kribs are termed cave spawners, i.e. they normally spawn in either a natural cavity or one of their own construction. This is best accomplished in the aquarium by placing either a flower pot, cocoanut shell or short length of 2 inch pvc pipe into the aquarium. The flower pot should be partially buried in the gravel with the open end down leaving a small opening. If you use a cocoanut shell, cut off one end to leave an opening 1-1/2 - 2 inches in diameter and lay the shell on its side (of course you have cleaned the shell thoroughly before introducing it into your tank). A short length of PVC works just as well but is not as aesthetically pleasing. Feed the pair generously with live and frozen foods and they should spawn if mature. Water temperature does not have to be extremely warm, my fish are kept in relatively cool water, never greater than 76 F. Do not place rocks on a gravel substrate and allow the kribs to construct their own cave, these often collapse and can kill your kribs. Kribs also demonstrate the bad habit of swimming into any small opening where sometimes they may become trapped. I recently had the airline tubing disengage from a sponge filter, a krib swam into the filter outlet tube and died before I discovered the problem. Kribs normally produce 50 - 150 eggs but I have had large females produce in excess of 350 eggs. Normally the parents will cooperate in raising and protecting their fry. However, sometimes one parent will not tolerate the presence of the other after the fry hatch and it is best to remove one of the parents. I currently have a male single-handedly raising a group of about 50 fry in my 180 gallon community tank. He will not allow the female near the fry. However, the tank is large enough to allow her to escape his attacks. If you are keeping your kribs in a 10 or 15 gallon tank and do not remove one of the incompatible parents, the results may be death of one of the parents. The young fry are easily raised on almost any food and seem to be able to prosper on simply the various things that accumulate on the bottom of their tank. The fry, as they grow, and the adults to a lesser degree, relish an occasional feeding of green filamentous algae. I feed my kribs such algae about once per week. I feed my young fry a mixture of live foods (primarily daphnia, cyclops), powdered dry food and shaved portions of frozen adult brine shrimp. At about 1/2 inch in length I introduce a beef heart mixture and green filamentous algae into their diet. It is critical at this stage to provide adequate space and frequent water changes, otherwise growth will be stunted. I usually separate the fry from the parents when the fry reach abou;t 1/2 inches in length. At this time I usually throw a handful of washed, crushed oystershells into their tank. Hope this helps. -- Charles Ray Dwarf Cichlidiot raychah-at-mail.auburn.edu
In article <34C57805.23E1-at-onr.com>, Ender <ender-at-onr.com> wrote: >Thanks to those of you who answered the lost message I posted. It looks >like I am leaning towards the Kribs at this time but would like to know >a little more about them. WHere is a good place for me to find >information about them (preferably on the web)? I would like to know >what kind of water they need, what other fish I can put with them, and >how easy they are to spawn. I would also like to know what a good price >is to look for? Thanks in advance for any help. Unlike some of their close relatives, kribs are tolerant of a wide range of water parameters. Their range extends from soft, acid blackwater streams into the upper part of the Niger River delta, so they are happy in water that is hard, alkaline or even somewhat brackish. However, if the pH moves very far from neutral, you will get predominantly one sex in the offspring. I think alkaline water gives mainly males, while acid water gives mainly females. They are river fish, so they need clean water. They will get along with most other fish of similar or smaller size. All the kribs I have had have been very good at protecting their fry without causing any visible damage to other fish in a lightly populated tank. It helps if there are a lot of plants. You will need a large tank, however, if you intend to keep more than one pair together. They are one of the easiest cichlids to spawn. Give them a cave made of a piece of coconut shell or flowerpot and feed them well, and if they are old enough they will do it. They are excellent parents, too. Even after all these years I love to watch the parents interact and take care of their fry. The female tends to be sort of bossy and officious, and the male is sort of bumbling but tries to be helpful. In general, the female tends the fry and the male guards them and keeps other fish away from them. I recommend you get a young pair, old enough to sex but not completely mature. This will give them a chance to get to know each other and pair up. Kribs will spawn as young as 6-8 months old, so you won't have too long to wait. I suggest you avoid the wild-caught fish that sometimes appear - they are not all P.pulcher - I've seen some other species sold as "wild-caught kribs", and you can't count on getting two fish of the same species, either! Young, domestically bred fish are inexpensive. Be sure to get healthy fish from a tank of all healthy fish and you can't go far wrong. In nature they mostly eat invertebrates. They will go nuts for any kind of worm including earthworms, but will eat most kinds of dry food, and even nibble at zucchini and otehr veggies.
Hi, The species that gave the name Kribensis is in the hobby today, it is P.taeniatus. According to Baensch P.taeniatus was once called P.kribensis (due to it's collection locality). P.pulcher then became very widely available and people latched on to the krib term as is the common name today, but taeniatus is the true kribensis. Although not as common as pulcher is can be found though you may have to go mail order. Regards, Ken On Mon, 16 Feb 1998 19:47:37 EST Tsuh Yang Chen <anggrek-at-juno.com> wrote: > while we are on the topic of P., does anyone know why the species that > gave the name "krib" is not common in the hobby? > > tsuh yang chen, new york city > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto-at-majordomo.pobox.com. > For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, > email apisto-request-at-majordomo.pobox.com. > Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"! ***************************** Ken Laidlaw Royal Observatory, Edinburgh Tel: 0131-668 8100 Fax: 0131-668 1130 Web: http://www.roe.ac.uk ***************************** ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto-at-majordomo.pobox.com. For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, email apisto-request-at-majordomo.pobox.com. Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!
In a message dated 2/17/98 12:49:45 AM, anggrek-at-juno.com wrote:
<<while we are on the topic of P., does anyone know why the species that
gave the name "krib" is not common in the hobby?
>>
The fish that was originally introduced to the trade as P. kribensis (or
krib) had its named changed to P. pulcher (due to the rules of nomenclature.
The same species had been described under two different names. Since it had
been first described as P. pulcher this name has precedence, even though the
name P. kribensis was well established in the trade. Along the way, the
genus name was changed from Pelmatachromis (sp?) to Pelvicachromis, for
simular reasons.)
That being said, I'm not sure why you say that it is not common in the
hobby. Locally, at least, it is relatively common, and usually sold under the
name Krib or Kribensis (I guess old habits are hard to break).
Hope this helps. I also hope I have interpreted your question correctly.
If I have, this is the correct answer. P. taeniatus, as another post has it,
was never introduced to the hobby as kribensis, at least not widely. It may
have been incorrectly identified in the literature at some point, and I think
that is what the reference in Baensch is referring to.
Jeff
WndrKdnomo-at-aol.com
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In a message dated 2/17/98 12:45:46 PM, sawhite-at-bicnet.net wrote: <<Bandewouri is a locality from the southern part of taeniatus' range. The forms from Kienke, Nyong, Loukundje, and Dehane (even the Lobe and Grand Batanga) are all similar forms. The southern forms are considered the "true" kribensis.>> Now I'm confused. I just made a post in reply to an earlier question about "kribensis" stating that it is now know as "pulcher". Certainly the fish I first saw, and spawned, as "kribensis" in ca. 1970 were the same as is now known as pulcher, definitly *not* taeniatus. The only answer I can think of is that the fish originally *described* as kribensis was really a morph of taeniatus, (presumably previously described) and that when "pulcher" was introduced, it was misnamed "kribensis", compounding the error. Am I making any sense? And, can anyone clear this up for me.? Jeff WndrKdnomo-at-aol.com PS . I am a couple of days behind in my E-mail, I hope this hasn't already been covered. If so I apologize . ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto-at-majordomo.pobox.com. For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, email apisto-request-at-majordomo.pobox.com. Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!
>Hi Steve, >I never spawned mine, as they never got along for long enough to >reproduce. I found them aggressive. Behavior-wise, they reminded me more >of P. humilis than taenies, pulcher or subocellatus. I've never kept >wild kribs, but my two pairs of purples were brawlers in all possible >combinations. My feeling was my 36 inch tanks were small for them, but >since my pairs were wild from the same location (Cross River), maybe not >all purples are like that. >Good luck with them. >-Gary I had two pairs of wild kribs and the best way I found to get them to pair off without killing one another was to put them in a 55 gallon community tank. Once a male and female paired off, I removed them to another 55 community tank so that they would be the only kribs in that tank. I have spawned regular kribs in the past and found that the best way to spawn them was for them to be in a 55 gallon community tank and let nature take its course. I have tried spawning them by themselves in 20's but without any luck and then one or the other usually ended up killing the other. So now I keep them in community tanks and only one pair per tank. I don't know if this would work for the other Pelvicachromis's. Kaycy ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto-at-majordomo.pobox.com. For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, email apisto-request-at-majordomo.pobox.com. Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!
Heather, I have a pair of wild kribs and an extra female. My pair is in a 55 gallon community tank. I have found in the past years of keeping and breeding this pair (and the other pair before losing the male last month), that they do best in a community environment. I have tried spawning them by themselves in 20 gallon tanks only to have either the male kill the female or vise-versa. They continue to spawn in the 55 and I either take the eggs or put a divider in the tank to separate them from the other tank inhabitants. They do very well this way. This way may not work for everyone. I have been spawning them for the past 3 years in this fashion. If I take the eggs I hatch them artificially and then release them to a 55 gallon tank once they are free swimming. If I leave the eggs with the parents I take the fry once they become free swimming enough to start straying from the parents and the parents aren't able to keep them in a group. (Once they get to this age - 3 weeks free swimming - they start trying to get to the other side of the tank and get eaten.) Just some different info. I hope this helps some. Kaycy ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto-at-majordomo.pobox.com. For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, email apisto-request-at-majordomo.pobox.com. Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!
Beverly Erlebacher wrote: > > > Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1998 14:10:41 -0400 > > From: Doug Brown <debrown-at-kodak.com> > > > > I had mentioned albino apistos before and apparently no one has seen any? > > Just got back from an LFS and they had a tank full of albino kribs. I don't > > know if this is newsworthy but I haven't seen them before. Red eyes and > > white of course but with pretty normal looking fin coloration. I don't know > > who would want to breed these much less buy them! > > Albino kribs have been around for at least 20 years. An interesting thing > about them is that males of either color prefer albino females, but females > of either color prefer normal color males. The theory is that the red belly > patch is powerfully attractive to a male looking for a mate, and it shows > up much better on an albino female. I don't think anyone has determined > which aspect of the male's appearance looks good to a female, but this suggests > that it is something that is more visible in the normal coloration. > > I have yet to see an albino fish that looked better to me than a normal > wild-type form, but someone must like them, because a lot are being produced. > I even saw some albino neon tetras last year. Of course, albinos are more > amenable to being dyed in lurid colors... :-( > One other interesting thing about albino kribs is that the gene that carries the albino trait is what they call an "incomplete dominant"(Langhammer 1982). When you cross the albino fish with the normal variety you get a different ratio of albino than if it were a recessive gene. There is also a difference in color between a krib that gets two doses of the albino gene (homozygous) vs one dose of the albino gene (heterozygous). The heterozygous fish will actually have pigment in the fins and possibly in the eye as well. I have also noticed that they sometimes do not see very well. My current fish will run from an oncoming net, but my previous albinos didn't see the net till they were in it! I have dabbled around crossing these in the past and it is a fun experiment. I have recently picked up 5 fairly large males. I wish there were some females but I'll get some sometime. The irridescence on these males is more noticable than most I've seen. Michael ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto-at-majordomo.pobox.com. For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, email apisto-request-at-majordomo.pobox.com. Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!
William Vannerson wrote: > >>Definitely sound like a Taeniatus to me. Lucky you!!!<< > > Only if the male's a Taeniatus too. Would a Taeniatus female and a male > pulcher cross? Back in the late 70's (am I showing my age?) I lost my only male of Pv. taeniatus (Moliwe), leaving me with 5 females. For the next 3 years these female danced around several Pv. pulcher males to no avail. Things changed for the males when female Pv. pulchers were added, so I'd say that the two species are sufficiently separated to avoid cross-breeding. Staeck lists them in two different Pelvicachromis species-groups. Mike Wise > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto-at-majordomo.pobox.com. > For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, > email apisto-request-at-majordomo.pobox.com. > Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto-at-majordomo.pobox.com. For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, email apisto-request-at-majordomo.pobox.com. Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!
Mike, The Common Krib, Pelvicachromis pulcher, is found in the Niger River drainage, in areas with super soft water to its delta that can be considered almost brackish. It really doesn't matter what the water is to them as long as it's wet. Jim Langhammer (Curator Emeritus, Belle Isle Aquarium, Detroit) and Paul Loiselle write that this species gives even sex ratios at around pH 7. This is why it's been a commercial success since the 1960s while the other others disappeared, due to a lack of understanding the effects of pH on the different species of kribs. Mike Wise Michael D Nielsen wrote: > Is a hardness of about 70-80 ppm to soft for spawning Kribs? I read they > like "medium-hard", is this correct? > > If I should change the hardness what should I go up to? > > THanks for the info. > > whomareyou?whomareyou?whomareyou?whomareyou?whomareyou?whomareyou?whomarey > h o > o Mike Nielsen u > m Department of Geography THE OPTIMIST BELIEVES WE LIVE IN ? > a Harvill Bldg Box #2 THE BEST OF ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS; w > r Tucson, AZ 85721 THE PESSIMIST FEARS THIS IS SO h > e mnielsen@u.arizona.edu o > y m > ou?whomareyou?whomareyou?whomareyou?whomareyou?whomareyou?whomareyou?whom? > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto@majordomo.pobox.com. > For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, > email apisto-request@majordomo.pobox.com. > Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto@majordomo.pobox.com. For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, email apisto-request@majordomo.pobox.com. Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!
Would you believe 8 months? Being a lazy aquarist I've had this happen on many occasions. Only when the fry become sexually mature does the male take notice of the other males "invading" his territory. Mike Wise K & D Martin wrote: > Michael, I had the same thing happen with the last spawn of my p. pulchers - > the dad is taking care of the brood, the mom wants to spawn again but he > isn't giving her a second look at the moment. The fry are about 5 weeks old > now. Anyone know how long they care for them before they aer left to fend > for themselves? > > kym > -----Original Message----- > From: Michael Meyer <mikeymeyer@sprintmail.com> > To: apisto@majordomo.pobox.com <apisto@majordomo.pobox.com> > Date: Wednesday, January 27, 1999 12:59 AM > Subject: Confused Krib? > > >Just wanted to share my interesting experience with my current Kribs. > >At work I keep a 20 gallon long tank with a pair of Albino Kribs. This > >is their second spawn. The first was normal with around 20 fry. The > >female would herd the babies all around the tank and treated the male > >pretty well. I have had female kill their mates before. On occaison he > >would watch the babies for short periods of time. > >This spawn was very different. When I left work Thursday for my unusual > >3 day weekend, I noticed the female would not come out of her flowerpot > >cave. I suspected eggs had been laid since she had been doing this for > >a few days. When I arrived at work on Monday, I hurriedly looked in the > >tank and saw Dad with 30+ babies. Yippee! As the day wore on I noticed > >the female would not come out of her flowerpot. The one time she did > >the male chased around for a couple laps around the tank and back into > >her cave. As of Tuesday nite the male has taken sole custody of his > >litter. So I guess I have a Mr. Mom! > >As for the geneticists out there - apparently one of the fish is not > >fully albino (Kribs have unusual genetic characteristics that fascinate > >me). I came with 13 pigmented fish, 7 full albinos and 14 albino colors > >with black eyes. > >I saw a recent post about Pelv. sacrimontis (giant krib) and I was > >wondering if any other Pelvicachromis species has been documented in > >albino form. I know many purists hate albino, but I would love to see > >an albino Pelv taeniatus in breeding coloration to see what colors would > >show. It would also be interesting to see if the albino gene is an > >incomplete dominate as in the case with Pelv. pulcher. > >I volunteer to do the experiments if anyone has the fish! > >Michael > > > > > >------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto@majordomo.pobox.com. > >For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, > >email apisto-request@majordomo.pobox.com. > >Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List > Archives"! > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto@majordomo.pobox.com. > For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, > email apisto-request@majordomo.pobox.com. > Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto@majordomo.pobox.com. For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, email apisto-request@majordomo.pobox.com. Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!
>My question is... should I go get another male (possibly mature) and start >from scratch or should I give the female some more time and wait to see if >there ARE any eggs? Sounds like a good idea, I've had female kribs seem to completely abandon their spawning site only to find a mass of fry ten days after spawning with the "neglective" mother gaurding them furiously (with a little help from the male) If you do end up buying a new male, buy it from a different store than the female was purchased. Kribs unfortunately have been so heavily inbred, it's amazing what some fresh genes can do for the colour of future generations. My kribs were not exactly prize winners, but they were bouht from different stores (thus different wholesalers) and their offspring have turned out great. Kevin ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto@majordomo.pobox.com. For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, email apisto-request@majordomo.pobox.com. Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!
Hello Mike No water as soft as you talk about ( 70 - 80ppm) is not to soft to spawn Kribs. My water out of the tap is 6.8 to 7.0 pH and about 60ppm hardness. I've never had problems spawning kribs in it. What will have because of the soft water is you'll probably get more females then males as a sex ratio. This is what I ending up getting about 60% females. I actually liked this because I could trade or sell trios instead of pairs. I also spawn Pelvicachromis Taeniatus Moliwe and Kienke in my tap water. No problems with them either. Slightly harder water will probably only change your sex ratio of the offspring in the opposite percentage as in soft water. Good luck with the Kribs. They've always been one of my favorites even as common as they are in pet shops. Nice kribs are always a joy to keep. John Wubbolt ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto@majordomo.pobox.com. For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, email apisto-request@majordomo.pobox.com. Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!
Hello Jonathan
Your tap water is just fine for breeding Kribs.
Actually you should get a nice ratio of male and females from your pair
in this pH. I would recommend a temperature of about 78 F. This is
what I use as a breeding temperature for just about everything except
rams. Them I keep just a little warmer. I would go ahead and set upt
the 30 gallon tank for the breeder tank. Use a layer of small sized
gravel through out the tank with a depth of about 1.5 inches deep. This
gives the pair something to dig pits in when the fry become wigglers.
You can use plants if you want or not. Set up a few caves or flower
pots in the tank to give the pair a choice of where they will want to
spawn. It will also give your female a place to hide if she's not
ready for spawning and the male is. Feed the pair a good variety of
foods with some live foods to get them conditioned for spawning. Then
just wait for mother nature to take it's course. You'll just love the
colors of your pair when they're getting ready to spawn and are in brood
care coloration. Kribs are one of the best looking color wise fish
you can spawn. I've never been disappointed with any pair I've ever
had. They always look good.
The reason I suggested the 30 gallon over the 10 gallon tank is that
you won't have to move the fry out when they get to the 1/2 inch size
and the adults want to spawn again.
Good luck with them. Keep the list posted to your success.
John Wubbolt
Hi Russell, Finally a subject that I know plenty about - Kribs are my favourite dwarfs ! I've just managed to get a pair of albinos and a pair of taeniatus ( variety unknown - see other post by me if you know what it is ) to add to my collection. Firstly - you said you had them in a 10 gallon tank and there were about 200 of them - You'll need a bigger tank ! I wouldn't go anything smaller than 30 gallon for them. Commercial growers/breeders use upwards of 75 gallons to try and speed up their growth rate ( i.e. turnover ). Krib fry grow slow enough as it is but when they are cramped together they become even slower growing, not to mention the exponential increase in the bioload in your tank. This is why you often see 'stunted' krib in many fish stores. It may be better to practice culling procedures to thin out the babies to about 50, because; 1. You are going to have to get rid of them all at some stage when they are big enough and not many places will take 200 at a time. 2. You'll get better quality fish because of reduced competition for food and space. 3. The water quality in your tank will be easier to manage. 4. Most of the babies will survive - In my last lot, I counted 51 wrigglers and I sold 50 babies 6 weeks later. 5. It won't be such a big strain on your krib parents. Spawning is a stressful event in the lives of any fish and at these times the fish may succumb to ailments that they would normally be able to ward off - so any reduction in stress level has to be good. Which brings me to the next point - the parents. Every single time I have spawned kribs the male has always been driven away after the fry have been free swimming for about 4 weeks. In one case the female was so insistent that the male vacate the premises that she killed him ! The mother is perfectly able to raise the fry ( so long as it is not 200 of them ! ) by herself and seems to prefer it this way. The male will continue to defend the young but his efforts will not be appreciated by the female and his duties will be reduced to perimeter patrol. So I'd remove him, especially in a 10 gallon tank where he'd only get in the way - my last lot were ok together in a 30 gallon and they had 50 odd fry. Hope this helps - if you'd like to know more - you can email me or visit me web site ( shown below ) to see my kribs and how I do it. Regards, Simon Voorwinde ========================================================= svavev@hunterlink.net.au http://thecichlidtank.cjb.net ========================================================= ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto@listbox.com. For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, email apisto-request@listbox.com. Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!
Phil, If the Kribs are remaining in the spawning site they may be tending to the wrigglers. As to the Jewel spawn I don't know. Did you actually witness her eating the eggs. When the female knows the eggs are hatching she has to give them a helping hand so to speak. This gives you the impression she is eating the eggs where in fact she is removing the wrigglers from the eggs and then she places them 'somewhere safe'. What catfish (if any) do you have in the same tank? As Gabriella suggested yesterday remove excess species. If the present tank is large enough place a divider in the tank then you will have two species tanks. Ensure filtration is adequate on both sides of the divider. You will of course require at least another tank to eventually rear the fry when success happens which it will with those two particular species. Helen > The kribs eggs are all gone and yesterday the jewel mother ate all of her > eggs!! It was very sad. The kribs are still in their nesting home but the > jewels have started to roam the tank again. > > Any help for the future would be appreciated. > > Phil :-( ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto@listbox.com. For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, email apisto-request@listbox.com. Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!
I'm having an unusual experience with a pair of kribs. I was wondering if you had heard of it before. I have a pair of kribs in a 55 gallon planted tank. Seven days ago they showed up with 12 fry after hiding out for a few days. Apparently, they had nested in a small pot I have under a large piece of driftwood. Today, they are nested again in a different pot. The five fry surviving from the previous hatch are inhabiting the new nest with momma and at least 50 eggs. I've not come across any mention of similar behavior from kribs. I was wondering if you had ever heard of it before. The pair work together very well. They trade off baby sitting duty every few minutes. The male is very territorial. I've noticed today that the male is welcomed in the nest when the female makes quick trips out for food. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com
My server has been shutting down on me the past few days while sending email so I don't know if the following has reached the mailing list. So I'll re-post it. Mike Wise > Piabinha@aol.com wrote: > > > > > In a message dated 3/28/2000 4:19:55 PM Eastern Standard Time, > > apistowise@bewellnet.com writes: > > > > > Many of the color populations may actually be separate "sibling species" > > > that deserve to be preserved. > > > > ok, mike, nobody really cleared it up for me before when i asked about the> true > > "kribensis." at the time, i was wondering if kribensis was a distinct > > sp. not in the hobby or was it a junior, invallid synonym. people led me to > > believe taht the latter was correct. so there's a vallid sp. named kribensis? > > Tsuh Yang, > > This depends on who you talk to. Some history is needed. Boulenger described Pv. > taeniatus from Nigeria (Etheops River) in 1901 as Pelmatochromis taeniatus. The > fish most people call "Pv. taeniatus Kienke" was originally described by Boulenger > in 1911 from the Cameroon (Kribi) as Pelmatochromis kribensis. Pellegrin described > a subspecies of P. kribensis as P. k. calliptera in 1929 from the southern > Cameroon (near Lokoundje). Meinken described a commercially imported Nigerian form > as Pelmatochromis klugei in 1960 but reduced it to a subspecies of P. kribensis > (P. k. klugei) in 1965. These are the taeniatus complex of species that we know in > the hobby today as Pelvicachromis taeniatus. Other than Meinken's description all > of the others were based solely on preserved specimens. > > In 1966 Thys split the genus Pelmatochromis into several subgenera (more on that > below). One was Pelvicachromis. In 1968 Thys raised all of the subgenera to genus > level. He also synonymized all of the above species with Pv. taeniatus based on > overlapping meristic and morphologic features. > > In 1980 Loiselle & Castro recognized that, based on live specimens' color and > behavior, the Kienke and Lobe forms of Pv. taeniatus could be separated from the > type Pv. taeniatus from Nigeria. They claimed that Pv. kribensis was a valid > species. They also recognized the Moliwe form to be very close to Pv. kribensis > calliptera and was an intermediate form in the taX-Mozilla-Status: 0009mplex. > Loiselle now recognizes certain characteristics, particularly in the female > coloration that separate calliptera from kribensis and now considers it a good > possibility that it too is a valid species. > > Meinken's klugei is the same as the Nigerian taeniatus. > > I don't know why Linke & Staeck didn't pick up on the Loiselle & Castro paper. The > only reason I can think of is because it was published in the ACA's Buntbarsche > Bulletin and they didn't consider it worthy of consideration. I do get the feeling > they considered Loiselle & Castro's thesis to be possible because they didn't list > the various color forms alphabetically. Instead they list them geographically, > north to south, making it easier for the scientific names to be changed in later > editions of their book without major a overhaul. Changing the names is easier than > moving photos and pages. > > > > > in the same vein, do you know why they were changed from Pelmatochromis to > > Pelv. ? is that still a vallid genus? > > Pelmatochromis, was like Aequidens in South America and > Cichlasomma in Central America. It included many non related species. Thys, > Loiselle, and Greenwood, all helped split Pelmatochromis into separate genera in > the 1960s-80s. Presently the genus Pelmatochromis includes some generalized, > medium-sized, cichlids not presently considered worth keeping in captivity. > > > btw, the names after your email say "mike and diane". is she a fish person? > > if not, she should be allowed to get her own email addres... > > > > tsuh yang chen, nyc, USA > > I will take this as an innocent question. Last Friday Diane & I celebrated our > 27th wedding anniversary; 27 years always sharing everything - good times & bad, > fat times & lean, happy time & sad. We share everything (except underwear) and I > have no plans of messing with a very very good & special thing that we have > together. Diane likes fish, but isn't a fanatic. Her thing is making quilts & yes, > she has her own business email address: > > Diane.Wise@ag.state.co.us > > You all might want to write her a short note & thank her for letting me have the > time to answer all of your questions! > > Mike Wise > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto@listbox.com. > For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, > email apisto-request@listbox.com. > Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!
It seems everyone writing in about the Kribs keeps them in a S. American type tank(Corys, Ottos, Cardinals, etc.) Does anyone have them in a West African setting? You know, Mormyrids, Distochodus, Synodonts, Killies, etc. Am I chasing a dream? Finally found some N. parilus, haven't got N. transvestitus yet. Still looking for most of the above for that matter. We had a decent shop in Illinois, he had most of these, but I can't find much in California. Anyone that knows of a shop in S. Ca, I'm all ears. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto@listbox.com. For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, email apisto-request@listbox.com. Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!
Hi, This is my first post to the mailing list so I hope it ends up where it is meant to. I hope you don't mind me asking questions about krib instead of apistos. I have two queries; 1 a problem and the other a question on genetics. I have a pair of albino krib who have spawned recently. They appeared to be fine until Monday ( 27/3 ) and the female began to look ill. She began hiding and gasping very heavily. All the other fish seem fine, even outstanding. Tank inhabitants include sturisoma whiptail catfish, bristlenose, and otocinclus. Water conditions 1dKH, 7dGH, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, ph 6.5, temp a little high ( very hot days lately ) at 29 degrees celcius ( but I would have thought that would help boost the immune system ). Any ideas what may be ailing her ? The other thing is a group of people around Australia who visit my dwarf cichlid discussion forum are about to embark on a project called the Krib project. In this project we are going to try and undertake a breeding project to try and improve the vigour and colour of a bread and butter species like the kribensis ( our subject ). We would select krib pairs and breed them selecting the most colourful and hardy individuals to breed from, culling the rest and swapping the best of the spawn with the other breeders around the country ( frieght around Australia is cheap and quick ). At the moment we are gathering information about inheritance patterns in kribensis. The kind of things we are seeking is which features of krib are inheritable traits and which are environmentally influenced traits. Traits like vigour I don't know whether anyone has noticed but male krib seem to die a lot just after spawning and are less vigourous than they were say 10 years ago ), number of ocelli on the tail and dorsal, and intensity of the red on the bellies of both males and females, the extent of the red on the belly of the female, the mothering instinct of female krib and the defensive nature of male krib, are examples of traits we'd like to improve but this is pointless if we don't know how these traits are inherited. Ultimately we'd like to tackle one of these traits at a time ( no point trying to improve all of them at once ) and then breed the improved strains and release them to pet stores around the country. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. On a related matter - my albino krib pair have recently spawned as I said above and have produced about 50 fry, half of which seem to be albino and the other half seem to have the wild type phenotype. Since then I have found out that albinism in albino krib is a codominant gene. If wild type fry are produced does this mean they don't carry the albino gene at all ( homozygous ) or aren't my krib parents real albinos ( the male has black eye spots on his tail and dorsal, not colourless white ones ) ? Regards, Simon Voorwinde ========================================================= svavev@hunterlink.net.au http://thecichlidtank.cjb.net =========================================================
The thing that i feel makes long term maintenance of dwarf cichlids difficult is space. I'm maintaining two killifish, and although the personal project is only 8 years along now, there are some observations I can pass along. Culling for size/colour can be a disaster. The inheritance of these traits doesn't seem simple. The best approach, in my opinion, is to cull the extremely rare deformed fish and fish that don't grow and use all others. Nature culls randomly and only Pokemon evolve the way they're expected to. If you are aiming for your ideal form of pulcher then line breeding for traits is what you want to do, but remember the blue ram, compared to the perky, aggressive little wild fish. they've got size, they've got colour, and they've got downright wormy characters compared to wild fish. In aquaria, they are like different species. I don't know if you can get wild stock into Australia. I've kept them once (in Canada), and watched them a few times, and feel they are already very different from the aquarium forms. They were harder to breed, touchier about their water and more aggressive by quite a bit. They acted more like sp. 'sacrimontis', the black/red wild krib, than like aquarium forms. If i were in such a project (not knowing how it works in your country so maybe off base) I'd try to work a deal for wild fish, then set up to breed them in different locations with some kind of program for crossing back the lines that would develop with the different breeders having started from the same stock. Captivity may select for different survival traits pretty quickly, but at least that way, you could start with a wild 'form' and try to keep it looking like itself. If you look at the books, P. taeniatus is subdivided into a number of distinct morphs that breeders respect, but P. pulcher, in my opinion as diverse a fish but 'too familiar' doesn't get the same respect. People who would never cross taeniatus 'Lobe' with 'Loukoudje' will happily mix pulcher morphs. Then again, I love aquarium form pulcher... Gary ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto@listbox.com. For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, email apisto-request@listbox.com. Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!
Simon,
About 5 years ago I received 6 Albino Kribs from Al Knowles in Tampa, FL
and proceeded to breed them. I also had broods split of albino and wild
types. Over the next 2 years I in-bred father to daughter and mother to son
and after about only three generations finally got a few pair that bred all
true Albino. Had them until last year when space necessitated I move them all
out. It was fun working with them and when selleing at a local auction or
store I was able to say they bred true. I don't know how long after that it
continued.
Z-Man
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Simon, My only experience (and not mine actually) with such selective breeding of Common Kribs was over 20 years ago. Rick Haeffner (now curator of herps & fishes at the Denver Zoo) selectively bred Common Kribs to increase the number of spots on the male's caudal fin. He gave me one male that was a cull. It had 7 spots in two rows! I have a slide of it somewhere. He had specimens with 12 spots in three rows by the time he grew tired of the experiment. As for albino Common Kribs, Dr. Langhammer discussed its genetics in a Buntbarsche Bulletin back in the mid 80s. He explains why some produce normal colored fry as well as albinos while others produce all albinos. As for the female's breathing problems, I wonder if she might be infested with gill parasites. All fish have them all of the time (sort of like the cold virus in humans). If she was more stressed than the other fish in the tank, she might have had a population explosion that are now clogging her gills. Try a commercial parasite killer or use a formalin bath (2 drops / US gallon or 1 drop / 2 liters) and see if this helps. Mike Wise Alicia and Simon Voorwinde wrote: > Hi, This is my first post to the mailing list so I hope it ends up where it > is meant to. I hope you don't mind me asking questions about krib instead of > apistos. > > I have two queries; 1 a problem and the other a question on genetics. > > I have a pair of albino krib who have spawned recently. They appeared to be > fine until Monday ( 27/3 ) and the female began to look ill. She began > hiding and gasping very heavily. All the other fish seem fine, even > outstanding. Tank inhabitants include sturisoma whiptail catfish, > bristlenose, and otocinclus. Water conditions 1dKH, 7dGH, ammonia 0, nitrite > 0, ph 6.5, temp a little high ( very hot days lately ) at 29 degrees celcius > ( but I would have thought that would help boost the immune system ). Any > ideas what may be ailing her ? > > The other thing is a group of people around Australia who visit my dwarf > cichlid discussion forum are about to embark on a project called the Krib > project. In this project we are going to try and undertake a breeding > project to try and improve the vigour and colour of a bread and butter > species like the kribensis ( our subject ). We would select krib pairs and > breed them selecting the most colourful and hardy individuals to breed from, > culling the rest and swapping the best of the spawn with the other breeders > around the country ( frieght around Australia is cheap and quick ). At the > moment we are gathering information about inheritance patterns in kribensis. > The kind of things we are seeking is which features of krib are inheritable > traits and which are environmentally influenced traits. Traits like vigour > I don't know whether anyone has noticed but male krib seem to die a lot > just after spawning and are less vigourous than they were say 10 years > ago ), number of ocelli on the tail and dorsal, and intensity of the red on > the bellies of both males and females, the extent of the red on the belly of > the female, the mothering instinct of female krib and the defensive nature > of male krib, are examples of traits we'd like to improve but this is > pointless if we don't know how these traits are inherited. Ultimately we'd > like to tackle one of these traits at a time ( no point trying to improve > all of them at once ) and then breed the improved strains and release them > to pet stores around the country. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. > > On a related matter - my albino krib pair have recently spawned as I said > above and have produced about 50 fry, half of which seem to be albino and > the other half seem to have the wild type phenotype. Since then I have found > out that albinism in albino krib is a codominant gene. If wild type fry are > produced does this mean they don't carry the albino gene at all > ( homozygous ) or aren't my krib parents real albinos ( the male has black > eye spots on his tail and dorsal, not colourless white ones ) ? > > Regards, > > Simon Voorwinde > > ========================================================= > svavev@hunterlink.net.au > http://thecichlidtank.cjb.net > ========================================================= > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto@listbox.com. > For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, > email apisto-request@listbox.com. > Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!
I own a pair of Kribensas that are excellent breeders. They breed every six weeks and work closely together to guard their hatch.
I have tried a variety of tankmates with them, in an effort to maintain the tank in its visual appeal and interest.
I had two siamese algae eaters in the tank with them. The kribs constantly guarded against them and occassionally gave chase, but the siamese are much too fast to be caught. I don't really trust large siamese with the fry. They are just too good at catching adult brine shrimp to think they would not be opportunistic with the occassional stray fry.
I have found that this pair will not tolerate corys of any type. They played tug-o'-war with one black C. aeneus, costing him an eye and pectoral fin. The aeneus has recovered nicely and is showing some interest in breeding now. Three C. paleatus in the tank were quickly killed.
Shortly after this event, I gave the Kribs a 55 gallon tank all to themselves. Algae, of the short hair-like variety bloomed and covered everything in the tank quickly. Also, with the absence of any competition the Kribs bicker with each other constantly. It would seem without any outside threat, they begin to view each other as a threat.
In an effort to eliminate the algae problem, I introduced two whiptail catfish (Rineloricaria lima) into the tank, figuring that such inactive fish would not upset the kribs. In the five minutes that followed, the whiptails lay very still on the bottom while the kribs again teamed up to attack them. I removed the whiptails to another tank before any damage could be done.
The kribs almost immediately began nipping at each other as soon as the whiptails were removed. This got so bad that I removed the male. Both fish immediately lost their red coloration, the male hid under a flowerpot all day, and the female stayed low in the tank and ventured out very little. I reintroduced the male after eight hours and they quickly started working together again.
I then introduced six Otocinclus affinis, four mollies, and twelve juvenile white clouds. I figured all the movement would keep the kribs distracted while the otos and mollies cleaned up the algae growth. The kribs largely ignore the mollies and the white clouds unless they get too close to the fry, and then the kribs only give a short chase, never catching up to either mollies or white clouds. I have observed the larger of the mollies (2+ inches) showing interest in a stray fry and I think only the smaller mollies are safe tankmates.
The otos did not fair as well. They have a habit of occassionally freeswimming across the tank. When they approach too close to the fry, they are an easy catch for either of the kribs. I shortly noticed the otos hanging motionless against the side of the tank, their tails having been nipped. In this condition they are stressed and do little to reduce the algae growth.
I have malaysian trumpet snails and ramshorn snails in the tank with the kribs. I have observed the kribs pulling larger trumpet snails out of the gravel and killing them. And I have observed that ramshorn larger than 1/4" diameter fair little better.
Most recently, I removed the Otocinclus and introduced a pair of bristlenose catfish (Ancistrus dolichopterus). So far, the bristlenose spend the day hanging onto the side of the tank or on driftwood, completely ignored by the kribs. I have seen the kribs take their brood right over the hiding spot of a bristlenose and not seem to notice his presence. At night, I have observed them, by way of an Indiglo nightlight I have in the tank hood. The kribs retreat with their brood to a large overturned flowerpot for the night. They only venture out when the bristlenose come close to this pot, but they do not attack.
My conclusion from these observations are that:
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Apistogramma/Dwarf Cichlids 
The Krib
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This page was last updated 17 February 2002 | ||