Coitus Interuptus....

[haddock]

I have a pair of albino Kribs who have been displaying obvious signs of courtship.

The problem is I also have a 2 inch blue crayfish who keeps kicking the cribs out of their cave. Id imagine it is quite frustrating for them!

I thought if I put in an extra cave then they would have one each but the crayfish apparently needs a second home and now guards both caves vigarously!

I would rather not have to get rid of the crayfish and I can't move the Kribs anywhere.

Any bright ideas welcome.

ps 50G heavily planted tank, tankmates - three gourami (1 dwarf), 4 danios, 3 corys, 5 harlequins, 2 cardinal tetras (did have more).

 

[Ferris]

I'm amazed that its not the other way round. If the Kribs do spawn and have fry, i would expect a dead crayfish. Kribs are wonderful parents and will protect their fry at any cost. How long have they been together in the tank, it may just be a case of giving them some time to get used to each other.

 

[haddock]

How long have they been together in the tank, it may just be a case of giving them some time to get used to each other.

Ferris, I agree with you - I thought the kribs would be able to look after themselves. To answer your question, they have actually all (crayfish and kribs) only been in the tanks for 4 days. I was surprised to see the kribs pair up so quickly (maybe they had already paired in the shop?). They will defend the caves against all the other fish but the crayfish just saunters right in and kicks them out! They hang around right outside the cave until the crayfish goes walk about but they only ever get about 5min before he comes back.

Its fascinating to watch but I'm worried that the kribs will just give up trying to spawn.

 

[Ferris]

I would expect things to change when they've settled in and Kribs don't need much encouragement to spawn, i wouldn't worry about that. The tank should be big enough to cope with the Kribs and the crayfish and i think they will establish their own territories given time. Just keep an eye on things if/when the Kribs have spawned as it could get a bit hectic in there. The other fish will soon learn to steer clear of the Kribs though.

 

[freddyk]

Maybe it will end up working... maybe. Frankly, bottom dwelling cichlids and crayfish are not good tankmates. How big are they now? An adult blue craw fish I would think could harm a little ol krib sleeping unaware at night.

 

[haddock]

Maybe it will end up working... maybe. Frankly, bottom dwelling cichlids and crayfish are not good tankmates. How big are they now? An adult blue craw fish I would think could harm a little ol krib sleeping unaware at night.

The crayfish is about three inches, still with small claws so he can't do much damage yet - The kribs are about the same size. They seem pretty passive considering they are trying to spawn.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

the crayfish may be repeatedly eating the eggs that the kribs are laying.

if you're having that much trouble with the crayfish interrupting them, then you may face further troubles if they ever hatch any fry. my kribs had been competing with bristlenose for a cave before their first batch of fry. the female evidently still felt insecure about the tank and decided to start eating fry. the male disagreed and nearly killed her as a result. during the next breeding attempt, the male refused to share brood care and due to his repeated assaults on the female, all the fry was lost due to insufficient protection. this third time around, i removed the male immediately following the spawn and have been allowing the female to be responsible for brood care. i'm hoping that this will enable the pair to share parental duties during the next spawn.

if your kribs don't feel that your tank is safe, then one or both of them may decide to eat the fry to recover their resources. should they disagree on the tank's safety, good luck.

i think that if you can remove the crayfish from the tank, you should. so long as the crayfish can access their eggs, it will try to eat them. at some point the crayfish and the kribs will come to blows over this and the loser won't come out very pretty.

 

[haddock]

Oh dear.

This morning I found the male Krib dead - I don't think it was anything to do with the crayfish as there are no external signs of a fight. The female looks pretty ropey too - I suspect an internal bacterial infection brought in from the shop ( I had only had them a few days).

Will see how she goes and get another male if she makes it and I'll think about getting rid of the crayfish.

Thanks for all your help anyway. Off to cheer myself up now!