Kribensis Hiding

[dcarmor927]

I have had 3 kribensis cichlids for about 10 days...the only problem is i never see them...i know they are still alive, i've up rooted alot of the plastic plants i have to find em hiding in the leaves...is this common for them to be hiding as much as they are...one actually just came out...but he is still the only one...They are in a 55 gallon tank with:
2 dojo loaches
5 clown loaches
5 tiger barbs
2 mickey mouse plattys
1 pleco

none of the fish ever nip at the kribs...any help? thanks in advance!!

 

[kribensis12]

They are probably just stressed. Is there alot of places to hide for them? Kribensis are very shy. Your a lucky person if the fish even come to the top of the tank to eat their food. All the ones i have ever kept are to shy to do that, they wait till it hits the middle part of the tank.

 

[dcarmor927]

thanks for the reply! yea they only really come out for food...but yea there is a lot of hiding room...i might get a tank just for them...what tank size would be suitable for 4 of them?

 

[kribensis12]

I thought you said you had 3? Also, what are the sexes?

 

[dcarmor927]

had 4 one died...waiting for lfs to get more...should be 3 days...they are all males...

here is a link to another topic i asked you to look at...
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=267810&hl=

 

[kribensis12]

Well, they could be hiding from eachother. I would just give them more time. They are most likely stressed out, and moving them again would only make them feel even more insecure.

 

[dcarmor927]

i wasnt going to any time soon but i would eventually like to let them have their own tank...once theyre full grown how big would you say? and how fast do they grow? they are all about an inch atm...

 

[kribensis12]

If they are only a inch, are you posotive they are male? There full size is about 4 inches. It all depends on what you feed them. THe more Protien, the faster they grow. Warmer water makes them grow faster, and so does frequent water changes.

 

[dcarmor927]

haha i thought they were all female but you said they were all male...

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=267810&hl=

 

[markandhisfish]

i must be really lucky with my kribs they are always out and about and confidantly come to topwater to compete with the greedy larger cichlids for food. they have a rock right at the front of the tank they have made their "home" they are always digging under it to make the opening bigger. 1 piece of gravel at atime and they are always out and about swimming round the tank. give them plenty of rock/caves etc make sure they feel secure and im sure they will get braver .

edit to agree with 1 of the poingts kribensis made about maybe they are hiding from each other. when i 1st got my kribs it turned out i had 2 males 1 chased and hounded the other to the point it spent all its time hiding from the other 1 and just about everything else. once i took him 9 ( the stressed 1) back to lfs and swapped for a female they have been happy as larry ever since.

further edit i have just read up again they are all males you say? that is your problem dont get another 1 swap 2 of the males for a female and see the difference in behaviour. when i did it was almost instant.

 

[dcarmor927]

thanks for the reply mark!! the only problem is, the only place around here where i can get them is nearly 45 minutes away, also the only kribs they have are an inch long and i cant sex them properly i guess...i thought i had all females as per the photos in the link i added a few posts back...the guy who sold em to me has even less of a clue then i do...i know pointed dorsal and anal fins mean they are male...but all the ones i have have rounded fins, but Kribensis12 said they are males...so i really dont know... but i guess this is how it goes...the only way i could get a pair is if i paid 85 dollars for one...and since the fish go for 5 each regularly, thats just ridiculous...can someone please tell me ALL the attributes of both male and female that can be easily spotted so i can get the right fish this time?!? Thanks

 

[markandhisfish]

ok heres a pic of my female

sorry i havent got a pic of my male but basic differences are the male is a lot larger and less colourfull note the shape of her caudal fin ( tail ) the males is more spade shaped whereas you can see hers is more rounded both my male and female have the purple belly but its much more pronounced in the female . once you know what you are looking for its quite easy to tell them apart. i agree with kribensis from your pics they all look like males to me. hope this helps

 

[dcarmor927]

yea i really appreciate it...how big is that female? like i said the LFS only has em at 1 inch...maybe he only had males which explains why they all looked the same lol...

on a side note, all of a sudden one of them is all over the place, swimming around and grazing with the other fish...i want the other two to come out too lol

 

[markandhisfish]

she is a tad over 2 inches. the other 2 probably wont come out for fear of gettin their ass kicked by the 1 that is out and about. exactly what happend in my tank. it seems to me that the 1 out and about has establised his dominance over the other 2 he will most likely chase them anytime they venture out hence the hiding . just out of curiosity is the 1 that is out swimming showing a bit more colour than the other 2?

 

[kribensis12]

Yes, i remeber. They are all male.