Krib acting strange

[Squirrelbuddies]

I have a pair of kribs in a 55 gallon along with 9 congo tetras. One of them has been hiding for the past two days. I think it's a male based on the more pointed tail and dorsal fin (but I could be wrong.)

A month ago I added 3 USD catfish and they came down with a bad case of velvet. Two died and the third is in a separate tank now. I treated with CopperSafe and the congos and kribs appear to be fine -- except that now one krib has been hiding for the past two days.

Ammonia and nitrite are zero. Nitrate is 10ppm. HOWEVER, I tested the phosphate and it was off the chart last night. Did a 15-20% water change and tested in the AM. Still off the chart (over 10ppm). So I did a 25% water change tonight and will test in the AM. Never had a problem with phosphate in the past. Not sure if it was due to overfeeding when I was away on vacation for a week or if it's from not vacuuming the gravel well enough. Or, the CopperSafe will kill algae and some plants --so maybe it's from the dead algae or decaying plant roots I found. Anyway, this is all being rectified.

My question (sorry for writing a book on this): Is the krib acting strange due to the high phosphate level or is it a breeding thing? All other fish are fine.

 

[jimw13uk]

When Kribs get set for breeding they usually stay close together and will be in and out of a cave as that where they will lay and raise the fry.
You may see the "body shudder" from both M and F when they are breeding and also the bellies will go purple - more so in the F who will also extend her fins to make her belly look bigger.

If the male is hiding away but the female is out and about I very much doubt they are breeding as the F is more liekly to be the one hiding in the cave.

I would keep an eye on your readings and carry on with daily(or bi-daily) water changes until all readings are down to a nice level.

IMO the male Krib is probably stressed out which IME can be fatal for them. I had a 2 year old M , very healthy and happily breeding - I then chased and caught him to move the pair to a new tank and the next day he was dead - stress.