Is krib caring for her eggs?

[janesa]

Hey everyone, I'm a krib breeding newbie - just letting the pair do their thing. This appears to be their second spawn. Last time, I spotted the typical behavior and found the eggs, but they vanished by morning.

Fortunately, the eggs are laid near the opening of the wall crevice, giving me a front-row seat. It looks like she's kissing the eggs - fingers crossed she's not trying to eat them again.

Is this behavior normal?

[Seabuddy]

Sounds like she might be eating them, I had the same concern when I first saw her 'kissing' the eggs, but I'm hoping it's just her way of caring for them this time around.

[maxxy]

It's possible she's just keeping them clean, I've seen that behavior before with my own female, she'd do the same thing and the eggs would hatch out just fine.

[janesa]

Unfortunately, they didn't survive the night. Fingers crossed for a better outcome next time around - after all, it's still early days for my krib breeding experience.

[Seabuddy]

Aww that's such a bummer. I'm guessing she probably did eat them, huh?

[janesa]

I'm pretty sure it was one of them, he's still super protective of the cave. She's only about 7 months old, and he's probably around 9 months old now. I wasn't trying to breed them, and to be honest, I'm not sure what I'd do if the fry actually made it - I don't have another tank to grow them in. Guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens next time.

[Seabuddy]

Fingers crossed for next time

[swiftfly]

From what I've read, when a female krib 'kisses' the eggs, it's basically her way of keeping them clean and circulating the water around them. That's the gist of it, anyway.

I was just curious, what ever happened with those eggs from a while back?

[janesa]

I'm still in shock - I just spotted mama and papa krib swimming around with a bunch of tiny fry, 10 to be exact. I was starting to think I'd never see the day, especially since I only caught a glimpse of the eggs briefly. Papa was still guarding the cave, but it turns out he was just doing his job, keeping an eye on the little ones. I managed to snap a few photos, but they're so small you can barely make them out - I'll have to try again tomorrow with my tripod and a better flash setup.

[reefwalker]

That's amazing, I'm so excited for you. Your male did a great job protecting the fry, it's clear he knew what he was doing. I'd love to see those pictures, even if they're hard to make out - 10 little fry must be adorable.