Kribensis Babies....aaaaawwwwww

[Tabbiespice]

Hi everybody

Well it was finally confirmed today. What a Christmas pressie!! I awoke to find my Kribs have brought their babies out into the tank today

They are so cute......impossible to count but there could be as many as 50 if not more.
Parents are being excellent.....was expecting the Mum to be a nightmare but its the Dad that is being more aggressive even towards the female.

Problem is that it was an unplanned breed and I wasnt even prepared with fry food

Help!!! What do I feed them....have got a dash to the shops tomorrow as obviously nothings open today. I crumbled up some flake into almost a powder and added that but I dunno if they managed to eat any of it.

I am completely at a loss as to how to care for these little uns

Food?
The other inhabitants in the tank? They seem to be leaving them alone but you never know.
Can I expect any of them to survive? I havent been able to cater for them today so will they all die overnight?
How long before they are able to look after themselves?
What about lights out? Should I just turn off tank lights as usual?

I just dont know what to do wacko.gif

Help anyone?

Jackie
xxxxx

P.S. will try and get some pics if poss

The guy I got them from said he had no luck breeding this pair at all so I feel quite proud that I have managed it in just a month of starting my first ever tropical tank up !!

 

[Tabbiespice]

Hi again

Well the babies survived the night although there doesnt seem to be as many.
Instead of sticking to the bottom they are venturing higher up into the water which is so cute, up to half way up the tank. They are quite fast.
The parents are constantly on alert and they must be shattered

Might try and get some pics later

I have been giving frozen livefoods primarily as they tend to sink to the bottom whereas dry foods stay at the top
The result is that the family are getting loads and the poor mollies, and swords are stuck at the top and dont get as much.

Should I remove the other fish as they are stuck at the top and any deviation means a nip from one of the parents........they all seem a bit depressed. As for the loach then he is getting hassled alot being a natural bottom dweller but trying to catch him to remove him to another tank would be impossible

I have heard that the parents may well scoff the fry when they want to spawn again..........is that likely? Should I remove the fry and at what age in order to save them?

What about water changes? I normally do around 50% a week (the tank is only 3-4 weeks old) and give the substrate a good going over but I am reluctant to do that while the fry are so small and I really dont want to freak out the parents too much.

I am sorry for what may be simple common sense questions but I would dearly love to raise these fry to maturity and see them develop.

Please help?

Jackie
xxxxx

 

[shrimply]

I have just had my very first lot of krib babies. I had the same problem of getting info.

If it is possible I would remove other inhabitants and the male. First I remove the only two other fish in the tank and then the male looked a bit ragged so I removed him too. This makes the females job much less stressful.

It is best to feed liquifry 1 for the first week then the next stage which I think is liquifry 3.

In about a months time I was told to remove the female leaving the young alone.

The rest of the tank should probably be left alone. I only do a water change once a month and that has been put on hold. Also if it is an internal filter you have to be careful. Mine is switched of at the moment.

They really aren't hard to breed but they do need to be comfortable so well done.

If you have any questions feel free to PM me. As I say I am new to this but I had a long talk with the guy at my local aquatic store so do have some idea what I am supposed to do.

Pics would be great.

 

[Tabbiespice]

I have just had my very first lot of krib babies. I had the same problem of getting info.

If it is possible I would remove other inhabitants and the male. First I remove the only two other fish in the tank and then the male looked a bit ragged so I removed him too. This makes the females job much less stressful.

It is best to feed liquifry 1 for the first week then the next stage which I think is liquifry 3.

In about a months time I was told to remove the female leaving the young alone.

The rest of the tank should probably be left alone. I only do a water change once a month and that has been put on hold. Also if it is an internal filter you have to be careful. Mine is switched of at the moment.

They really aren't hard to breed but they do need to be comfortable so well done.

If you have any questions feel free to PM me. As I say I am new to this but I had a long talk with the guy at my local aquatic store so do have some idea what I am supposed to do.

Pics would be great.

Thanks alot for your reply

Weird thing is my male seems to be more protective of the fry than the female.
I def need to remove the other fish as they have a miserable life at the moment and dont even swim around as its attracts the parents attention and they get chased.
The loach though I will never catch (too hard and would disrupt the whole tank) so unsure what to do with him.
What info have you been given on the male krib then? I have been told that its usually the female who gets too aggressive and can often kill the males which is why you should put your smallest female with your largest male (if breeding is planned hehe)
I really would prefer not to seperate the parents as they are such a bonded pair and are never apart.

I feel so responsible for the little things........its unlikely that the first batch will survive but its sad if they dont.

Let me know how you get on and I will attempt some pics although they are camera shy

Jackie

 

[shrimply]

Loachs ae usually really greedy. If you put a piece of it's food inside a net and left it sitting on the tank floor it would probably venture right inside and you could wip him out. Just an idea.
If not he will have to be left.

I believe the male is supposed to guard the territory whereas the female usually guards the young. I had to remove mine as his fins looked very battered and the female kept chasing him away. Are you sure you have not got the pair the wrong way round( hope this doesn't sound rude but if not it is very unusual)

I think that once put back in the same tank they will pair up again. Especially if they are the only two in the tank.

I never really planned breeding either but since i have the little ones I would love to keep some alive. I also think that I am unlikely to get a good result.

Good luck