Aggressive Schooling Fish Tetra Or Barb That Can Handle Krib?

[Alps]

I've got a pelvicachromis pulcher (krib) who gets quite aggressive when she is laying eggs (even though there is no male) and is in a 15 gallon with a rubbernose plec. I was looking for a small semi aggressive group of fish that I could add in the tank that would occupy the mid to upper tank regions and am considering maybe 5 tiger barbs or serpae tetras. Any advice on a group of fish that are fast enough to avoid her and possibly even aggressive (fin nippers should do fine)? I had a couple of cardinals, but they got so stressed that they were given away, they even had a tough time eating out of fear of my krib.

Thanks for the help

 

[Renate]

If you add any other fish the fry will get eaten. Has she reared any fry?

 

[Alps]

If you add any other fish the fry will get eaten. Has she reared any fry?

well she sometimes lays eggs even though there is no male so no fry. but she still gets aggressive during egg time and feeding time so I need some smaller fish that can handle some aggression from her that preferably aren't too docile themselves

 

[Renate]

From my experience Serpae and Tiger Barbs are semi aggressive. The older they are the more aggressive. The tiger barbs seem to be faster than the Serpae were. I wonder if zebra danios would work for they are very fast swimmers and very cheap.

 

[bellmcc]

I would say danios too.I have 3 in the chichlid tank, and they are fast, they have never had a problem.

 

[Mr Bliss]

Yeah danios work great as dither fish with any cichlid that isn't big enough to eat them. The only drawback is that they're extremely active and lively fish, so if you're looking for a calm, laid back atmosphere in the tank, something else might be a better choice. If you get them, get as many as you can safely fit in the tank, to make them feel more at home.

Many medium-small sized tetras (for example emperors, serpae, black widows) work with kribs. Emperor tetra males have elongated fins, and people often warn against keeping them with any potential fin nippers, but in my experience they're tough enough to take care of themselves. Problem is, these tetras (as well as tiger barbs) can sometimes get pretty aggressive towards each other if kept in groups of less than 10+, and you might end up with one dominant male keeping everyone else in hiding.