newbee's krib breeding help

[finleyr]

I've been trying to breed Kribs for a couple of months now, but it seems like nothing's happening. I've got my water parameters in check: Ph is around 7.5, Kh is 8, Gh is 5, and the temperature's between 25-26 Celsius. My tank's 120L, so 30 US gallons.

I've got 2 males and 4 females in the tank, and they've got some decent caves to work with - 2 terracotta pots with holes in them and 4 coffee mugs on their sides. I've noticed that 2 pairs have formed and they've started making nests, kicking all the substrate out of the mugs. But that's as far as it's gone. This was before I added the pots, and for weeks after that, nothing else happened. The females are always dancing for the males and hanging out with each other, but they never go into the pots together.

My feeding schedule's pretty regular - Nutrafin Max flakes and Tetra Prima Granules twice a day, with the occasional Bloodworm treat once a week or so.

I'm stuck, to be honest. I've been waiting and waiting, but clearly that's not working. I've asked around, and everyone seems to think that breeding Kribs is a breeze, so I must be doing something wrong. What am I missing?

I'd really appreciate any help or advice you can offer.

[rustle]

Are they actually old enough to breed, I mean Ive had them for a while but is 2 months enough time for them to be ready?

[floralyn]

I've been trying to breed Kribs for a couple of months now, but it seems like nothing's happening. I've got my water parameters in check: Ph is around 7.5, Kh is 8, Gh is 5, and the temperature's between 25-26 Celsius. My tank's 120L, so 30 US gallons.

I've got 2 males and 4 females in the tank, and they've got some decent caves to work with - 2 terracotta pots with holes in them and 4 coffee mugs on their sides. I've noticed that 2 pairs have formed and they've started making nests, kicking all the substrate out of the mugs. But that's as far as it's gone. This was before I added the pots, and for weeks after that, nothing else happened. The females are always dancing for the males and hanging out with each other, but they never go into the pots together.

My feeding schedule's pretty regular - Nutrafin Max flakes and Tetra Prima Granules twice a day, with the occasional Bloodworm treat once a week or so.

I'm stuck, to be honest. I've been waiting and waiting, but clearly that's not working. I've asked around, and everyone seems to think that breeding Kribs is a breeze, so I must be doing something wrong. What am I missing?

I'd really appreciate any help or advice you can offer.

Take out two of the smaller females, give 'em a 15% water change with some cooler water, and start feeding 'em bloodworms every other day. Try to keep the temp closer to 26-27 degrees Celsius. The females will keep dancing around like you mentioned and pick out a spot for spawning. If you're planning on having multiple breeding pairs, I'd recommend getting two more males, but be warned - when they start spawning, they'll chase and try to hurt the other fish. They might even eat the eggs right away. For me, when the male's belly turns pink, it usually means they'll spawn within 1-3 days. Kribs are monogamous, so they'll form pairs. If you only have one male and female, they'll breed together - that's what my pair did. A bigger tank might also help reduce stress during spawning, so you might not have to remove any fish.

[riverrun4]

I'd ditch the coffee mugs and plant pots - they're not the most natural thing for your Kribs. Coconut caves would be a better bet. Your water parameters are fine for breeding, but I've got to say, a GH of 5 is really low - mine's 175ppm straight from the tap and even with an RO unit, it's still 70ppm. At 5ppm, you're gonna be looking at pH fluctuations, which can be deadly for the fish. What test kits are you using?

For breeding, I'd recommend adding some dried oak leaves to the tank - in the wild, they'd be swimming over leaf litter with bogwood and roots to hide in. It makes them feel more secure. Conditioning the females with bloodworms works a treat, but don't disturb them - they're secretive about spawning. Raising the water temp by 2-3C can also induce spawning.

I'm currently breeding 9 different strains of Pelvicachromis, and the common Kribensis is by far the easiest to breed. Get a natural setup going and just leave them to it. If you've got 2 spare females, remove them - they'll just distract the pairs from spawning and cause them to chase each other off.