Multiple Kribs

[Fishy_7]

Is it wise to have multiple (say 2 - 3) with a single male in a 4ft (235litre) tank. I am guessing the should the male pair up with one of the ladies, there is enougqh room for the othes? Thanks.

 

[Duz]

Kribs can be very territorial and normally its best to only keep 2 in a tank unless you overstock by having a cichlid tank. 2 males or females will fight quite a lot of the time for territory and so its always best to give them lots of room so they have enough room to retreat to. It might also help if you get 1 male and 1 female as this will lower the rate of aggression. Personally I wouldn't keep any more than 2. But thats just me, I'm use to having a small tank. Hope that helps a little bit.

 

[Fishy_7]

Thanks for your comments. One question I have is how comes in fish shops when they have many in a tank, they are usually well behaved and there is very little aggression? Do large numbers make them more docile?

 

[Duz]

When they are kept in large numbers they can't set up a territory because there are way too many other cichlids around and thats why they always look peaceful. If you want to get rid of the territories you have to have a cichlid tank (just cichlids) as you have to overstock your tank to get rid of the territories. When you reduce the numbers down, there is more room and so they can start to set up small territories and as the numbers become lower it will be more like the wild as 1 fish can own a pretty big territory.

The territories basically just say to other fish this is my patch. If they have a larger territory they can have a large selection of food to eat and potentially more mates will come into their area for them to breed with. You can then start thinking about breeding conditions, they normally like hiding places to keep their fry safe. If they have a larger territory they could have more hiding places and so the chances of them reproducing are higher. If that makes any sense

 

[Fishy_7]

Certainly does, thanks for that.