Kribs and breeding

[Daveo]

Well I am going to be putting some Kribs into a tank and would like to breed them just for fun well I would like some help with ratios(Males/females and what not)
so lay the info on me hey when I get some pics of them I will show you them

 

[619 Fish GOD]

Here's my 2 Cents

Kribs are a great fish and like most cichlids they Pair.They breed in caves and a flower pot on its side is good.They are agreesive (Like chasing and stuff) towards other fish when they come to there terrtory (Bad spelling)

They need a 20 gallon min

HTH

 

[freddyk]

Are your plans to put them into the 20 in your sig, or a new one? If new, what size?

 

[sylvia]

It has to be a new tank unless you take out the fish in your sig. first as the kribs will get very aggressive when breeding and you'll find it difficult to raise the fry as well.

 

[Daveo]

Actually I would put them into the that tank But all in habitents are going to be moved to another tank that has already been set up(20gal. Long). So they would be the only ones and then I would use a under gravle filter and lots of caves and rocks and plants so thats what I will Do.

Daveo

 

[sylvia]

I don't like UGF They aren't particularly good filters and can get clogged up and things easily. They are also unsuitable for cichlid tanks because you need an even layer of gravel for them to function properly and cichlids tend to move the gravel around to their liking. Seeing as you are going to be breeding them... if you are looking for a cheap filter that won't suck up babies, I'd preffer 2 sponge filters each suitable for a 20 gallon (you should always over-filter with sponges). This is only my opinion though. I just know that most people don't like UGFs and I've never had good experiences with them.

 

[Daveo]

Not to be a jerk but you were definataly doing something wrong. I worked in a fish store and we used nothing but under gravle filter and they worked great and we had a 300gal show tank full of nothing but cichlids and plecs and it had under gravle filter in it and a two over the tank filters but they worked great the water was crystal clear.


Daveo

 

[freddyk]

They do quite well with tankmates, and it's fun to watch them defend the territory, which they can't do if they have nothing to defend against. You'll want to avoid anything too aggressive or too energetic (barbs) or anything that can easily invade their nest in the night (many catfish).

Kribs are monogomous pairing fish. They aren't always compatible though, so just buying a male and female may not work. If you can sex them when you buy them, get two males and four females, and let them pair off - then you can return the leftover females. If you can't sex them, just buy a bunch and let pair form, returning the rest.

In a 20 you can squeeze in two pairs if you don't want any other bottom fish, or one pair if you do. I prefer to cator to one pair.

They'll readily accept prepared foods, and will enjoy the typical live and frozen treats (blood worms, brine shrimp etc.)

The main reason I wouldn't go with a UGF is simply that cichlids do dig, and go very well with sand, as do all bottom feeders. With good water movement and sand, I literally never need to clean the substrate too, an added bonus.

 

[sylvia]

The thing about UGFs is that all they are realy doing is sucking down the dirt and putting it under the gravel out of view. This limited 'mechanical'(they aren't realy mechanical at all) filtration is nothing compared to power filters or even external ones. Compared to sponges and the available medias for other filters, they do little more when it comes to biological filtration either. The bacteria live in the gravel anyway.

I do not doubt that the LFS you worked at used them successfuly. Aquarists did so for many years until the pther types gained popularity. However, there is no denying that the more advanced types are much more efficient at providing all types of filtration. If you are going to use one in onjunction with a UGF fine but a UGF alone isn't the best option.

As for the cichlid tank, if you didn't have the extra filtration I'm almost certain you would not have had crystal clear water. The gravel is essential to a UGF and cichlids do move this around a lot. That means you have area over the UGF where the layer is thinner so basicaly filters less. Unfortunately this is also where water flows easiest so most will be passed through these 'weak spots' rather than from the areas that would provide more efficient filtration. I also assume you'll at least be using some form of finer gravel as it is a cichlid tank and they enjoy digging and moving gravel around to their liking.

Here are some sites with UGF info related to cichlids:

http/www.cichlids.com/info/Under_Gravel_Filter
http/www.rockymountaindiscus.com/Discus_..._Filtration.htm

And some random ones:

http/badmanstropicalfish.com/FAQ/FAQ16.html
http/archimedes.galilei.com/raiar/lifttube.html
http/www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwugfiltr.htm
http/www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwfiltration.htm

You'll notice that most suggest the use of different filtration with cichlids and generaly reccomend the use of other filters besides UGF to compliment the biological filtration they do offer.

Good luck with whatever you choose - I think the link contain several views - just make sure your water parameters are in check and make use of whatever works for you

 

[Daveo]

As for the cichlid tank, if you didn't have the extra filtration I'm almost certain you would not have had crystal clear water. The gravel is essential to a UGF and cichlids do move this around a lot. That means you have area over the UGF where the layer is thinner so basicaly filters less. Unfortunately this is also where water flows easiest so most will be passed through these 'weak spots' rather than from the areas that would provide more efficient filtration. I also assume you'll at least be using some form of finer gravel as it is a cichlid tank and they enjoy digging and moving gravel around to their liking.

I'm sorry this is going to come off strong......(I do respect you, that goes for everyone here and I also respct your fish keeping skills......... but I do know what I am doing)

The water was clear. We did use two other filters, and It was a 300 gallon tank. Do you know what that means...300 pounds of gravle, for every gallon you should have 1 pound of gravel. The fish DID NOT MOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and we had a 300gal show tank full of nothing but cichlids and plecs and it had under gravle filter in it and a two over the tank filters but they worked great the water was crystal clear.

the gravel was like 6-8 inches deep. And it was clearer than a class of water from a brita filter(those things just do wonders for drinking water). So please don't question my fish keeping experiences when you have not even seen the tanks. I really don't like it when people do that(not to say your a bad person, Your great person and I respect your aquarium abilities...But, I do know what I'm doing).
Oh did you not take the time to consider that I'm only putting 2 of them in a 20 gal... BY THEM SELVES!!!!

Thanks for listening


Daveo

 

[Morrgan]

Not to question your fishkeeping skills or anything, but the kribs won't leave gravel alone. They dig during breeding, so there will be uneven spots here and there, bringing about the problems sylvia mentioned. The UGF won't work properly, but then again, since you'll only have two fish, it might not need to.

One thing to consider is that since they dig, it might be better to have fine gravel or sand instead, especially since you plan to breed them.

 

[Daveo]

yes I realize this. If that starts to happen then I will most likaly let them breed and then put them back in the main tank raise the fry in the twenty long. . Remember While there are many that move the gravel there are just as many who won't )


I just love cichlids

Daveo