Who Gives A Fish Forums

My kribensis have spawned and I've got them in their own tank now, I can see the eggs and they're a tan colour so I know they've been fertilized. The thing that's got me puzzled is the female doesn't just sit on the eggs all the time, she'll swim around the tank, then go back and fan them with her mouth. Is this normal behaviour? I mean, she didn't do it with her first spawn, but that was in a community tank, so maybe that's the difference. And the male's not really guarding the nest unless the female's in there with the eggs - he's a first-time dad, so I'm not sure if it's inexperience or if they just don't feel like the eggs are under threat.

The parents will still keep an eye out for any potential threats, but since there's nothing in the tank to worry about, they don't feel the need to constantly hover over the eggs. Sounds like completely normal behaviour to me, especially since the female's just popping in to fan them every now and then.

Thanks for the info, I really appreciate it. I've also noticed the male has lost his colour now the eggs are laid, is this normal too? Another thing I've seen is when the female is out of the pipe, she's actually pushing the male towards it, I'm wondering if she's trying to teach him how to guard the area and be a proper father, you know, for future reference in case they need to protect the area.

I've had a pair that were great parents, the female stuck with the eggs while the male just swam around. They had the whole 20 gallon to themselves and never got complacent.

I think it's best to just let them do their thing, no need to intervene and artificially hatch the eggs, in my opinion.