Who Gives A Fish Forums

Hi everyone,

I've had my pair of kribensis for about 9 months now. Initially, they were quite the lovebirds - lots of digging and guarding holes together, dancing, and the female showing off her bright pink belly. But despite all the romance, I never actually got any babies.

Lately, though, it's like they've gone their separate ways. The male's become quite territorial, sulking in his cave and chasing the female away whenever she tries to get close. And she's not flashing her pink belly as much as she used to.

I was under the impression that kribensis were relatively easy to pair. Has anyone else experienced this kind of 'break-up' with their kribensis? I'm still really keen to see some little krib babies.

Would introducing another male and female to the mix help resolve the issue, or would it just create more problems? I'm eager to hear about others' experiences with these lovely fish.

I haven't had my kribensis long enough to offer any advice on "break ups," but I'm wondering if maybe the female just isn't in the mood right now and they'll get romantic again in the future. I recently moved my pair to a separate tank with just a couple of neptunes, and they've started dancing again, which is a great sign. Unfortunately, they ate their first batch of eggs when they were in the community tank, so I'm hoping for better luck this time around. Once I have some swimmers, I plan to move the adults back to the main tank.

As for adding another pair to your tank, I think it really depends on the size of your tank. Unless you're planning to add another pair just to see if they'll form a bond and then remove the original pair, I'd say go for it.

My tank's a decent size, 450 litres, and I think it's pretty clear who's not in the mood - the male, that's for sure. He's always chasing her away, while she's the one trying to get his attention, venturing towards him and all that.

That's one massive tank you've got there, aetherix, I mean 450 litres is more than double mine, but I think you'd be fine adding another pair, the space should be plenty for them to coexist.