Removing Male Krib After Breeding?

[HandsyHands]

Hi,

I recently bought a pair of Kribs who have successfully bred, the fry are now free swimming with the parents but the male has become incredibly aggressive. I expected aggression defending the fry and all but figured as they were in a 6ft tank with only a few tank mates (1x Heckelli, 1x L333 Pleco, 1x Bristlenose, 6x Kuhli Loaches) there wouldnt be too much of a problem. However the male krib constantly chases the Heckelli all over the tank, which won't stick up for itself and i'm worried it will die of stress. Can the male krib be removed without causing any problems for the female and fry? Or any suggestions?

Cheers!

 

[Redbone]

Once they decide they don't want company, kribs can be very final and deadly. One possibility is remove the "bullied" fish and see if your male becomes more docile after this "threat" is removed. He may feel he won, but more likely he would find a new perceived enemy.If he does launch new attacks, it would probably be wise to remove your "agressive" male. My own experiences are that once a pair of kribs become breeders, they tolerate few if any close tankmates. That is a nice, large tank though and I have to admit it may be possible to finesse a stalemate in a large footprint like that. Remember how fast kribs are when angered...tank may not save mates.

 

[HandsyHands]

Cheers Redbone.

I have removed the male, he just wouldn't leave the other fish alone. I feel bad for splitting up the parents though, especially as it is just in their nature. Once the fry are independent, if they survive, i will move the female in with him and decide what to do from there i guess. Thanks again.

 

[nmonks]

Despite being bought and sold as pairs, Pelvicachromis are not pair-forming cichlids in the wild. Normally the male holds a territory within which several females hold their smaller territories, and he'll mate with them all. In other words, they form harems much like some South American dwarf cichlids. It says a lot about the adaptability of this genus that Pelvicachromis spp will breed in pairs, but you'll often see the same thing: after spawning, the female disappears into the cave and the male swims about in the open, seemingly at a loose end! What I've noticed with Pelvicachromis taeniatus is that eventually the female decides she needs some help, so a few days after the fry have hatched, you'll see both sexes guarding the fry. But this by no means essential to success, and the female is more than able to rear the brood on her own.

For what it's worth, aquarium dynamics can play a role in pair bonding. Cichlids that have to deal with a potential threat form stronger bonds, and under aquarium conditions, that's often some sort of "target fish" like a spare cichlid or a shark-minnow that throws its weight around but doesn't actually pose a real danger to the fry. Obviously the target fish needs to be fast enough to avoid trouble, and strong enough to look after itself, so I'd advise you to read up on the topic before randomly throwing in aquarium fish and hoping for the best! Paul Loiselle has described the use of target fish at length, e.g., in his 'Cichlid Aquarium' book.

Cheers, Neale

Can the male krib be removed without causing any problems for the female and fry? Or any suggestions?