2 Kribs Or Not 2 Kribs - That Is The Question.

the_lock_man

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Ok, current stocking is a Dwarf Gourami, 2 Peacock Gobies and shoals of CPDs, Cardinal Tetra & Corydoras Habrosus.

It's a 100l aquarium.

Do I get 2 Kribs or not?
 
Personally I'd tend to stick there, but I'm prone to understocking. It would be somewhat heavy on the bottom dwelling type fish as well though with the gobies and kribs.
 
Why not increase the Peacock shoal if you want more movement?
 
The kribs would eventually try eating the Habrosus cories which wouldn't end well...
 
Too dangerous IMO, same as I would never combine my Steatocranus with small tankmates (~6cm Lionheads even killed a 4-5cm juvenile Ilyodon last summer). West African dwarf cichlids are best housed in roomy tanks (minimum 3-foot, ideally longer) if part of a community, with tankmates as big as themselves* and resilient fish.
 
Two of my Steatocranus from last year's double batch of 50 bonded and at a second attempt at breeding this winter, revealed ~25 fry at the weekend, in their 60x30x30cm nursery (read as pre-emptive move to save my other African fish in the Rio240 when they tried breeding ~6 weeks ago). They will need an upgrade soon and will probably go in my 120x30x37cm tank, probably without the parents, that way I can safely combine them with my 7 adult Ilyodon xantusi and their 9 teenagers (which should be safe as houses as they have a size headstart). These livebearers are by far the best tankmates I have found so far for these cichlids, they grow to at least 10cm and are a little fiesty.
 
I might get round to trying the biotope correct Brycinus longipinnis this year, but I'm a little wary of reports that they have been known to starve tankmates to death because they are gannets at feeding time!
 
 
* An exception seems to be my duo of Steatocranus cf. ultraslender, who behave well with Beckford Pencilfish; Microsynodontis spp.; Pareutropius cf. mandevillei. But these two at ~12 months old are far smaller than my Steatocranus casuarius, they are ~6cm TL and the thickness of a biro/pencil, whereas my casuarius are ~7/9cm at this age and a good 2cm+ girth. 
 
N0body Of The Goat said:
Too dangerous IMO, same as I would never combine my Steatocranus with small tankmates (~6cm Lionheads even killed a 4-5cm juvenile Ilyodon last summer). West African dwarf cichlids are best housed in roomy tanks (minimum 3-foot, ideally longer) if part of a community, with tankmates as big as themselves and resilient fish.
 
Two of my Steatocranus from last year's double batch of 50 bonded and at a second attempt at breeding this winter, revealed ~25 fry at the weekend, in their 60x30x30cm nursery (read as pre-emptive move to save my other African fish in the Rio240 when they tried breeding ~6 weeks ago). They will need an upgrade soon and will probably go in my 120x30x37cm tank, probably without the parents, that way I can safely combine them with my 7 adult Ilyodon xantusi and their 9 teenagers (which should be safe as houses as they have a size headstart). These livebearers are by far the best tankmates I have found so far for these cichlids, they grow to at least 10cm and are a little fiesty.
 
I might get round to trying the biotope correct Brycinus longipinnis this year, but I'm a little wary of reports that they have been known to starve tankmates to death because they are gannets at feeding time!
 
Is this basically a hint to say I have a point? XD I get what you're saying though :lol:
 
I wouldn't, they can be right so and sos, and you have some small (pygmy cories) and some slow (gouramis) fish that could be easy targets for grumpy cichlids.
 
sadguppy said:
I wouldn't, they can be right so and sos, and you have some small (pygmy cories) and some slow (gouramis) fish that could be easy targets for grumpy cichlids.
 
While I agree they can be right so and so's some people can keep them successfully with gourami's :) I kept mine with Shadow Catfish(Hyalobagrus Flavus) which only get to about 2" max and are the most docile, slow fish you could own and my kribs didn't bother them :)
 
Paradise<3 said:
I wouldn't, they can be right so and sos, and you have some small (pygmy cories) and some slow (gouramis) fish that could be easy targets for grumpy cichlids.
 
While I agree they can be right so and so's some people can keep them successfully with gourami's
smile.png
I kept mine with Shadow Catfish(Hyalobagrus Flavus) which only get to about 2" max and are the most docile, slow fish you could own and my kribs didn't bother them
smile.png
Consider me a little envious, Hyalobagrus flavus are lovely little catfish, some came into stock locally but I was advised that our tap water really needed mixing with RO for their long term health. Like my Pareutropius cf. mandevillei, another midwater schoaling diurnal catfish.
 
So, what instead, then?
 
Something roughly the same size as the DG, mid- or bottom-dwelling, colourful, in a pair or trio.
 
N0body Of The Goat said:
 

I wouldn't, they can be right so and sos, and you have some small (pygmy cories) and some slow (gouramis) fish that could be easy targets for grumpy cichlids.
 
While I agree they can be right so and so's some people can keep them successfully with gourami's
smile.png
I kept mine with Shadow Catfish(Hyalobagrus Flavus) which only get to about 2" max and are the most docile, slow fish you could own and my kribs didn't bother them
smile.png
Consider me a little envious, Hyalobagrus flavus are lovely little catfish, some came into stock locally but I was advised that our tap water really needed mixing with RO for their long term health. Like my Pareutropius cf. mandevillei, another midwater schoaling diurnal catfish.

 
I still have them :p
 
And I have to ask you as I'm not sure but do you reckon TLM would be OK with a pair/trio of Agassizi?
 
I've got Dwarf Gouramis and Kribs. They're perfectly fine together in my tank. The Kribs stay down the bottom generally and the Gouramis stay up the top so I've not experienced any issues. My tank is a bit bigger than yours though to be fair, a 288l.
 
Lunar Jetman said:
I've got Dwarf Gouramis and Kribs. They're perfectly fine together in my tank. The Kribs stay down the bottom generally and the Gouramis stay up the top so I've not experienced any issues. My tank is a bit bigger than yours though to be fair, a 288l.
 
It's more the Habrosus Cory's that worry me. Kribs get big enough to think they can eat them and may try to while defending their eggs/babies... This would end badly as A. dead corys and B. they have spines so possibly dead kribs too if you can't catch them to get the corys out their mouths :/
 

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