Sex Of My Kribs

[tibby25731]

Hi

I have been reading the various topics on kribs as I have 2, the lfs didn't tell me if they were male or female and I was a bit clueless as I am new to fishkeeping - I presumed they would be both male or both female! But one of them chases the other a lot, and 2 weeks down the line, they seem quite different in shape. have a look at some pics from last week. Spot has some obvious spots on the dorsal fin, and does all the chasing. Spot is more of a bright yellow and only has a very faint brown/black stripe running horizontally. Spot also seems to have a larger belly. Stripe has 2 very obvious stripes, is not as long as spot and doesn't have such a large belly. Stripe seems quite henpecked and hides sometimes to get some peace! Spot is always pushing Spot around, until my pleco comes along and bashes Spot away! They don't seem to be hurting one another but Stripe seems a bit perplexed!

Spot on top:

Spot on the left:

Thanks for any help you can give me!

 

[kribensis12]

Hi

I have been reading the various topics on kribs as I have 2, the lfs didn't tell me if they were male or female and I was a bit clueless as I am new to fishkeeping - I presumed they would be both male or both female! But one of them chases the other a lot, and 2 weeks down the line, they seem quite different in shape. have a look at some pics from last week. Spot has some obvious spots on the dorsal fin, and does all the chasing. Spot is more of a bright yellow and only has a very faint brown/black stripe running horizontally. Spot also seems to have a larger belly. Stripe has 2 very obvious stripes, is not as long as spot and doesn't have such a large belly. Stripe seems quite henpecked and hides sometimes to get some peace! Spot is always pushing Spot around, until my pleco comes along and bashes Spot away! They don't seem to be hurting one another but Stripe seems a bit perplexed!

Spot on top:

Spot on the left:

Thanks for any help you can give me!

You have 2 females. I have never seen such wonderful coloration on a regular female kribensis!!!!!!!! I really like spot! If they are nipping eachother, i'd remove the other, as kribs can get nasty when they want to. I'd keep spot as she is Gorgeous and get her a nice male. Her babies would be stunning!

 

[tibby25731]

Thank you! Spot is my favourite, i have to say. But I am wary of taking Stripe back to the pet shop, I was not overly impressed by them... Is there anyone in the Manchester, England area who would like Stripe? I love them both but am a little worried for Stripe as she is always hiding now!
If I got a male and they had babies, what would I do?!? I only have 1 tank and the pet shops round here are not wonderful so I have no idea what I would do with the babies? Any suggestions, cos I would really love to see baby Kribs! And if I just rehomed Stripe and left Spot by herself, what then? Would she be OK by herself?

 

[kribensis12]

It depends on the fish. Most fish dont like being alone. What is wrong with your lfs? Kribs are pretty hardy, but it dosent mean abuse them at the lfs! If you leave them in the tnak maybe 3 willl make it if the parents spawn again. If you dont want a male( personally i'd breed her, as she is GORGEOUS!) then get lots of other fish so she feels secure.

 

[tibby25731]

well, I'm pretty sure the whitespot my whole tank suffered from last week came from that particular pet shop. And some of their tanks had dead fish - I didn't buy from any of those tanks, but it upset me to see it. Plus they gave me some terrible advice - I have found out on the plec forum that my plec bought at the same time is going to outgrow my tank, and I did specify that i was new to fishkeeping and told them my tank size and inhabitants! So I have decided not to go back to that shop.
I do have a friend who has a cichlid tank, he may be able to take Stripe. Which still leaves the problem of what to do with Spot. I really have no idea what to do with krib babies and have no other tank to move them to or anything. I have no idea about fish breeding! Would I be able to manage with just one 60 litre tank? And would I be able to find homes for my babies?
I have just rearranged all the furniture in the tank in the hopes that Stripe manages to mark out a territory, as squeezing behind the filter is not the place for her to live out her life!