LauraFrog
Fish Gatherer
I have now been looking for a male kribensis for about 5 or 6 months. I want a pair in my community (22 gals containing a few platies, 3 cory paleatus and a young bristlenose, overfiltered and 40% WC done weekly). I've got it on good advice that if you put the female in first, when you add the male she decides he's an intruder and 'beats the living crap out of him'. I've also read that combining a big male and small female is a good way to get a pair and not a pile of torn fins. BUT I CAN'T FIND A FLAMING MALE.
I've decided to quit being cautious because kribs are a fairly cheap fish and an easy one to trade, return or rehome. So I bought the two most male looking in the shop, which were both flat bellied, lacked pink flush, had few ocelli and pointed-ish fins. They are about 2 inches long at the moment. As soon as they were in the bag and away from the large bullying female dominant in the tank, one turned pink and some more ocelli stood out on the fins (where there had previously been faint yellow markings). So I'd say that one's female. The other I can't really tell, I'll have to wait until morning to say but both are in a breeding net in my tank with the lights off. I'm just going to keep buying anything I think is male until I find one.
But what I wanted to ask was: Does anybody have some photos of juvi males or some good ways of telling young males from young females? It's driving me crazy that I can't find a male because they all look the same when they're in the tanks. Either they're pink and have loads of spots on their fins, or they're this bizarre in-between that could be either.
Thanks for your help!
Laura
I've decided to quit being cautious because kribs are a fairly cheap fish and an easy one to trade, return or rehome. So I bought the two most male looking in the shop, which were both flat bellied, lacked pink flush, had few ocelli and pointed-ish fins. They are about 2 inches long at the moment. As soon as they were in the bag and away from the large bullying female dominant in the tank, one turned pink and some more ocelli stood out on the fins (where there had previously been faint yellow markings). So I'd say that one's female. The other I can't really tell, I'll have to wait until morning to say but both are in a breeding net in my tank with the lights off. I'm just going to keep buying anything I think is male until I find one.
But what I wanted to ask was: Does anybody have some photos of juvi males or some good ways of telling young males from young females? It's driving me crazy that I can't find a male because they all look the same when they're in the tanks. Either they're pink and have loads of spots on their fins, or they're this bizarre in-between that could be either.
Thanks for your help!
Laura
