is my pale female krib possibly breeding?

[briko9]

Hi

I recently introduced 2 male kribs to my 400L tank, hoping they'd pair up with my two females. Everything seemed fine until today...

Both males had paired up and were defending their territories at opposite ends of the tank. They'd occasionally clash, but the pairs seemed well-matched. One pair, with my most dominant female, had been busy about two weeks ago, clearing out some large shells. Then, about a week ago, the female just vanished.

I thought maybe she'd laid eggs and was hiding, waiting for the fry to appear. But today, I saw my usually feisty female looking almost colourless and being chased away by the male. She looked weak, too - other fish were hovering around her, and she kept tilting to one side before correcting herself. It was a real shock to see this tough little fish in such a state.

I'm wondering if the timing's right - could she have laid eggs in one of those shells, and the male's chased her away? Maybe she's feeling down because of it? I checked my water parameters just in case, and my pH had risen to 7.2, so I added some corrector. Everything else looks good - ammonia and nitrite are zero, and nitrates are at 5ppm.

For now, she's hiding in one of the shells, but I'm not sure which one. I turned off the tank lights to give her a chance to sneak back in. Could the timing be right for her to have laid eggs? If so, shouldn't I have seen some sign of the fry by now?

I'm really fond of this fish, and I want to do what's best for her, so any advice would be appreciated.

Oh, and happy Christmas to everyone.

[oakleyride]

I'm thinking you should have seen some sign of the fry by now if everything had gone to plan, but I'm no expert. The fact that she's almost colourless and being chased off by the male, that's a pretty clear sign of submission and it's possible she's just not ready to spawn at the moment. I'd keep a close eye on her, if things don't improve, you might need to consider separating her for her own well-being.

[briko9]

Been away for a bit, had a nasty bug to deal with. No baby kribs, I'm afraid - the female was getting chased around by the male, but they seem to have made up now and she's back to her normal self, colour-wise.

My other pair of kribs at the opposite end of the tank appear to be getting along swimmingly, but these two... well, it's more like a battle for dominance, given their status as the tank's top dogs. Still, the female's settled back into her shell, so all's well for now.

Lost one of my Blue Rams, sadly - it had a hernia, and despite my best efforts, it just didn't make it. It lasted a couple of weeks after I first spotted the issue, but the hernia kept coming back after feeding time, and I think it just got too much for the poor thing. I did some research and it seemed like a long shot, but it never seemed to be in pain, and it was still eating, so I decided to see it through.

[briko9]

We've got baby kribs and they're an absolute delight to watch. It was the more aggressive pair that ended up spawning, but so far they've been great, just a bit of chasing but nothing too serious. They're jointly caring for their babies, which is lovely to see.

I turned the tank lights off this evening but kept the room lights on, giving the mother a chance to round up the babies. Instead of following her into the cave, she picked each one up in her mouth and carried them all in - it was quite a sight.

My 8 year old daughter is now smitten with the kribs and wants her own tank full of them, I have to admit I'm tempted too.