Pairing Kribensis

[VidVid]

Hey, i just got two new kribs...i believe i got one large male and a much smaller female (considering the 3 evident eyspots on its dorsal fin). The already made pair they sell at the lfs are much more expensive and the assistant led me to another tank at the same shop selling a bunch of male and female kribs but have not found partners yet. The male is at approx. 2 inch long and the believed femal is about 1/1/4 inch long...How long will it take for them to grow to a size that they could be properly sexed??? Will they eventually pair off? because the larger krib keeps harrassing the smaller one everytime it sees it, and i got the two as none paired kribs...If they do pair off, what is the actual size they get before they could spawn???
Thanks for any replies...
P.S. I have a 35 gallon planted so the smaller krib would have a lot of places to hide. So up until two days, theirs no deaths evdent of occuring despite the aggression being displayed by the much larger krib.

 

[kribensis12]

The males are longer and more of a stream line body with orange tinged at the tip of the finns. The female is very deep bodied with a rich purple or red, and her finns will be rounded and she will also have a band of gold on her dorsal fin. I would take the smaller one back and get a bigger one( make sure you sex them). The harder but completly flasses way to sex them is to vent them. The female will have a bigger opening and the male will have a smaller one.

 

[VidVid]

Ok im sure the larger one is male by your description and the smaller one im pretty confident is female, because of the eyespots, rounder tail fin and some times a red/prurple in underneath...The only thing concerning me about is the fact that both my fish have a sort of pointed dorsal fin (3 eyespots on the smaller (presumed female) is the only major evidence to tell each apart, despite the size... Il wait a while until i get a descent picture to show you...Why do i have to return the smaller one? If it turns out to be female, wont it grow up and eventually pair up with the male??? What is the prefered size for them to start spawning???
Thanks again.

 

[VidVid]

Hey, ive now got some picture (not professional) but still enable you to make out the features...

http/i121.photobucket.com/albums/o202/fi...pg?t=1168061947 - Female??? You can see the 3 eyespots on the dorsal...Round tail

http/i121.photobucket.com/albums/o202/fi...pg?t=1168062278 - Female??? Not that clear but you can see the body shape and eyespots...

http/s121.photobucket.com/albums/o202/fi...nt=IMG_6827.jpg - Male???

http/i121.photobucket.com/albums/o202/fi...pg?t=1168062676 - Tank Setup 35 gallon

Thanks for the identities....

 

[Aprilia997]

Regardless of the other fins females always have rounded pelvic fins while the males always have pointed pelvic fins. Everything looks good as to your fish being a male,female pair. The female is the fish that begins the spawning so make sure she gets alot of good foods. A neutral pH will give a balanced mix of males and females from any babies while the more the pH is above or below this causes a heavy tilt towards either males or females.

 

[VidVid]

Thanks...I had a feeling i had a male and female but i just wanted to correct it with one of you. Like i said before, the female is only half the size of the 2 inch male at 1/1/4 inch and keeps getting chased by the male when its in view...There is no serious damage though since my wisteria does a very good job in hiding the little female...I feed them correctly with tetra min flakes, blood worms and brine shrimp... You said that the female begins the spawning but she being chased all the time, i dont know if they are ever going to pair...Should i just give them a while to grow??? Will they eventually pair up due to natural instinct??? What is the actual size of them until they start spawning...
Thankyou very much for any replies. I really want them to spawn.

 

[Aprilia997]

They will be breeding when she is about two inches long. I have several other species of Pelvichromis and they all start breeding when the female reaches two inches or so. They all use small caves to spawn in.

 

[kribensis12]

She is way to small. They will breed when she is about 2 and a quater of an inch. She will breed when her belly gets deeper and her stomach turns a deep purple or red.

 

[VidVid]

OK...thanks...Il guess i have to wait until they pair and probably move them in a temporary 20 gallon until they spawn...

 

[kribensis12]

The only reason I would take the smaller one back is because if it is picked on, it probably wont pair with the bully. At least mine never paired with the bully( They always ended up dead).

 

[VidVid]

il definately take that into consideration if i see any damage...Right now, there is no damage to the female since my tank is pretty big and planted...The little one is only seen together with the male at most 3 times a day for a few seconds...at feeding time, they can eat together alright...Im giving it time and observing and after each passing day, the female is coming more out often and the male has gathered some patience to ignore the female at times...But i keep seeing this thing that the male does; he gets close to the female, and for a number of seconds, just circles round her with his side facing at her...He doesnt chase her but as soon as she swims away fast (not slow) then that is the time he chases her...What is this behaviour??? So overall, no damage what so ever, i see improvement in the male at times but as soon as i see any damage to the female, then i would transfer her to the 15 gallon spare until i know what to do with her....Thanks again.

 

[kribensis12]

He wants to pair off with her but she is not ready so she runs away and he chases her hopping to "get some
"

 

[VidVid]

k...think im getting close to pairing them since my smaller female krib is now roaming the tank freely without being harassed...this maybe due to the fact the male is hiding in a small anubias driftwood cave but before, he usually roams and seeks her out, but now he doesnt...You said the female was not ready. Can i place her in a cycled, aquaclear filtered and heated 15 gallon tank (shown below), so i could give her all the nutrient she needs and allow her to claim territory and as soon as she gets bigger, i could then place the male and hopefully spawn them??? Or can i just place both of them in the tank so they could quarrel a bit and develop trust as they grow, then hopefully they will make a strong bond then spawn???
The pics of the setup are below:

http/i121.photobucket.com/albums/o202/fi...pg?t=1168494597 - Overal setup of the 15 gallon, is this setup ok?.

http/i121.photobucket.com/albums/o202/fi...pg?t=1168495434 - A little cave for them to spawn.

P.S. Right now, you can see one wisteria, diftwood planted with java moss, a branchy wood and a java moss ball, and a temporary betta which i will rehome once i added the kribs...Is the cave a suitable size? Its about 2 inches tall, 3 inches long and the wood makes like a sort of roof shelter that comes over and covers them from above (2 inch from front of wood)...I will also add a transluscent plastic card holder thats about 4 by 4 inch in size (as an alternate cave)... Do they need airation when spawning??? I have a spare 10 gallon for the fry to be put in if hopefully they spawn.
Thankyou very much for your help.

 

[VidVid]

GOOD NEWS!!! Just a few hours writing the my above reply, i have noticed my male and female together...The smaller female, at times, nip the male but that doesnt bother him too much...They follow each other around now...At times the female shows a hint of her red belly but as you said, she is not quite ready yet to spawn beacuse of her small size and the male, at times still chase her a bit to try and "make her" spawn, but she does not really care much as she follows him around and vice versa...Il give them a couple more days and see if they really are a pair and not just 'a fluke'... If they really are a pair, is it safe to place them in the 15gallon aquarium (shown above post), to feed correctly, grow out and most probably spawn??? And one more thing, the larger male does not accept flake food for some reason as readily as the female does (who eats everything including spirulina discs)...The male only likes frozen bloodworms and brineshrimp. Is this normal??? Thanks...
P.S. il try to update on the progress

 

[kribensis12]

Put the female in the 15 gallon alone. Put some tetras in there( about 5) Feed her Nothing but frozen Beefheart, Frozen or Live Brine Srimp, Tubifex Worms, and High Protein content Flake. lEave her in there for about two weeks. Do a water change every 2 days taking out about 15 percent. After the first week take a pic and post it on here. I will be able to tell you if she is ready to spawn. They may look like a pair, but the female will end up hidding behind the heater. This is called conditioning. She just might be old enough but conditioning her will make her strong, grow faster, and be ready to take on the male and duties of bieng a parent. Please send me a pm and I will give you my e-mail so you can update me daily. Hope this helps.