Kribensis Tank Mates?

[necava01]

my friend is moving and has to give up some of his fish due to being forced to downgrade tank sizes. he wants me to keep his kribensis but the only tanks i have operating right now has 2 bolivian rams, 4 sparkling gourami, and possibly a dwarf gourami. i have heard that you shouldnt mix african chiclids with south/central american chiclids.. is this true? i really want to help him out.. but i dont want to risk conflicts in my tank. any help would be great!

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

How many Kribs are we talking about here?
Is there any chance of there being a breeding pair amongst them?
What size are the tanks where you could rehome them to?

Krib parents are very protective of their young and pairs readily attempt to breed (putting them in a "pidgeon hole," I'd say Kribs are almost as likely to breed as livebearers). In such conditions you do not want any "delicate" fish as tankmates, especially ones that like to live close to or on the tank floor.

 

[pauld]

How many Kribs are we talking about here?
Is there any chance of there being a breeding pair amongst them?
What size are the tanks where you could rehome them to?

Krib parents are very protective of their young and pairs readily attempt to breed (putting them in a "pidgeon hole," I'd say Kribs are almost as likely to breed as livebearers). In such conditions you do not want any "delicate" fish as tankmates, especially ones that like to live close to or on the tank floor.

ive got 2 pair of kribs in with 3 key holes and 10 sword tails kribs have fry 4ft planted tank if that helps .

 

[elisew]

As NOTG says Kribs are very protective of their young and as Bolivians are quite placid Rams I personally would advise against keeping them in the same tank.

My Brother has Kribs, they do breed very rapidly (he`s overun with fry and juvis) and his adult Kribs easily killed 2 of his Danio and one of his Denison Barbs so again, I would advise against keeping Kribs with another species that`s known to be on the placid temperament side of things.

 

[necava01]

he only has one krib at the moment. the other one died recently but its a 28 gal. and yes rams are very placid, but i have seen his krib with swordtails and mollies and she seems almost as gentle. which is the only reason i am considering this whole thing.

 

[kribensis12]

Don't do it. They will harass the bolivian rams.

 

[elisew]

he only has one krib at the moment. the other one died recently but its a 28 gal. and yes rams are very placid, but i have seen his krib with swordtails and mollies and she seems almost as gentle. which is the only reason i am considering this whole thing.

AS I`ve had a wide selection of tropical fish I think I`m qualified enough to say that the mollies and swordtails will majoritively spend most of their time all over the tank, mostly mid-top level whereas the Bolivians will spend most of their time at the bottom level of the tank.......Kribs also spend most of their time at the bottom levels of the tank so you`re looking at your Rams being either quite harassed or killed outright.
People advise against mixing African and SA/CA cichlids for a reason and you`d be wise to listen. It`s frustrating when you`d like to help someone out and I understand that, we`ve all been there but at the risk of your own fish I personally think you should refuse unless you have another tank you could put the Krib into?

 

[pauld]

he only has one krib at the moment. the other one died recently but its a 28 gal. and yes rams are very placid, but i have seen his krib with swordtails and mollies and she seems almost as gentle. which is the only reason i am considering this whole thing.

keeping a single krib in your tank wont be a problem there only aggro when there are a breeding pair protecting eggs and fry . my breeding pair of kribs wont let anything near the fry and at times the male wont let the female near them .( there in with sword tails and keyholes )

 

[kribensis12]

he only has one krib at the moment. the other one died recently but its a 28 gal. and yes rams are very placid, but i have seen his krib with swordtails and mollies and she seems almost as gentle. which is the only reason i am considering this whole thing.

AS I`ve had a wide selection of tropical fish I think I`m qualified enough to say that the mollies and swordtails will majoritively spend most of their time all over the tank, mostly mid-top level whereas the Bolivians will spend most of their time at the bottom level of the tank.......Kribs also spend most of their time at the bottom levels of the tank so you`re looking at your Rams being either quite harassed or killed outright.
People advise against mixing African and SA/CA cichlids for a reason and you`d be wise to listen. It`s frustrating when you`d like to help someone out and I understand that, we`ve all been there but at the risk of your own fish I personally think you should refuse unless you have another tank you could put the Krib into?

It's not necessarily a bad thing to mix cichlids from different parts of the world, you just have to be smart about it. Mix them so they don't intervene in territory, similar aggression, size ect. I own a Bolivian Ram who lives with some angels, he is fairly large, but I have a feeling he'd be no match for a krib. They are more aggressive when it comes to territory.

 

[GrayScale]

he only has one krib at the moment. the other one died recently but its a 28 gal. and yes rams are very placid, but i have seen his krib with swordtails and mollies and she seems almost as gentle. which is the only reason i am considering this whole thing.

keeping a single krib in your tank wont be a problem there only aggro when there are a breeding pair protecting eggs and fry . my breeding pair of kribs wont let anything near the fry and at times the male wont let the female near them .( there in with sword tails and keyholes )

+1 on this comment. They only get aggressive when they are mating otherwise they just hang out at the bottom. Just be sure to have a few different hidey holes and you'll be alright.

 

[kribensis12]

^ That is not quite true. Now they may be a more docile fish, but they are still a cichlid. That means they have their own territory. Therefore, when you have another cichlid (rams) trying to make the same area their territory, fights, stress, and death ensue. Sure, in the wild, it'd work better, but not in a tank where they have no where to run away to. They will be harassed.

 

[Proxo]

I've got a male & female krib that always do the 'breeding dance' with each other but have never ever layed.

They're in with 2 female and 1 male green terror (have done for about a year now).
The male krib is always chasing away my male green terror from its territory & the male green terror is about 6-7inch (rough guess)
& pretty aggressive although never seems to strike back at the krib.

 

[pauld]

^ That is not quite true. Now they may be a more docile fish, but they are still a cichlid. That means they have their own territory. Therefore, when you have another cichlid (rams) trying to make the same area their territory, fights, stress, and death ensue. Sure, in the wild, it'd work better, but not in a tank where they have no where to run away to. They will be harassed.

agree with the above if a pair ,but if single fish they do not have a territory as they are not defending a breeding cave or fry , i have 2 breeding pair of kribs in a 4ft heavily planted tank there are 8 moss covered coconut shells so there not competeing for caves or space .

 

[kribensis12]

They still have a stake, if not a pair. Once they do pair off, they extend their area, but they do have their own territory regardless of pairing up or not. If you don't believe me, seperate a krib, leave it there for a few weeks, then throw another one of the same sex in. Or, throw another kind of cichlid in there. The Krib will defend his territory (most likely the whole tank if small enough).

 

[pauld]

They still have a stake, if not a pair. Once they do pair off, they extend their area, but they do have their own territory regardless of pairing up or not. If you don't believe me, seperate a krib, leave it there for a few weeks, then throw another one of the same sex in. Or, throw another kind of cichlid in there. The Krib will defend his territory (most likely the whole tank if small enough).

only going by my experience i have 2 breeding pairs and 5 juvenials and 3 keyholes with no teritory problems but it is a large tank heavily planted
, i still think a single krib would be a problem .