Are my Kribs Killers?

[c1tyfc]

first off water params.... Ammonia 0ppm Nitrite 0ppm Nitrate 13ppm PH 7.2

using my params above and sig below, what would you say are the possible reasons for two Golden tetra deaths in the last 2 days? I have turned the light off for 2 days to control algae. I have fed them less than usual but not drastically. All fish look happy except Tiger barbs, who have lost colour in their stripes(the stripes look a cloudy green colour).

The Kribs have chased the tetras, but i have not witnessed any severe violent behaviour.

What is going on?

I have twice gone to the tank and found a tetra with fins and eyes eaten, and it is always the Kribs nibbling on the carcasses when i look.

Thanks for any help in saving the last 3 Tetras

 

[millym]

hi
sorry about your fish...i dont know what size golden tetras are but we had a pair of kribs in our tank when we started off then added neons + danios which rapidly kept dying( we found chewed bodies everywhere)....mystery solved when i spotted one of the kribs attack, kill & half eat a neon before i could do anything. they (kribs) were having a wonderful time ...neons for brekfast,danios for dinner etc etc. they will eat/kill smaller fish so if your tatras are small they need to be moved or they will be eaten too.

 

[CFC]

Sorry but it will be the kribs, i have a pair of kribs which i sometimes keep a handful of glowlight tetras with as dither fish and as soon as the kribs start spawning i generally lose a glowlight before i get a chance to remove them again. The reason i use the glowlights is to stop the kribs from turning on each other after i remove the fry, this way they blame the disapearence on the tetras not each other and the pair stays harmonised, cruel i know but nessasary im afraid.

 

[Zippy]

Could they be getting ready to breed, i know from my kribs that they show nasty behaviour when breeding, just a thought.

Do you have plant pots and caves and stuff?

 

[Supersalmon]

In my experience with Kribs I have never had them kill any of my fish even when breeding, but they will chase other fish away usually just chasing, occassionally they will nip other fish. I find that they tend to ignore some fish but will chase others, for example, they chase my siamese flying fox a lot and will pursue him round the tank, whereas they ignore my rainbows, danios and tetras. However I have never seen them to kill any other fish, though I do have a big tank (400l) with plenty of hiding places. At the moment I have a Krib pair with 6 week old babies. Mummy wants to breed again and is displaying to daddy all the time and is trying to entice him into their cave. When she first started this behaviour she chased the 6 week old babies away but did not eat them or kill them. Now that she is serious about breeding again she just ignores the babies, in fact they still kinda follow her around even though she ignores them, but she doesnt even chase them anymore. She will still gather up her current brood and protect them from other fish as well. Its kinda funny, seems like she wants to breed again but she wants to protect her babies as well. They are such good parents, humans could take a leaf out of thier book.

 

[jumpman]

Similar to CFC I keep penguin tetras with mine as dither fish. I occasionally lose one, but better than more expensive fish!! Most seem quick enough to get away.

I find my kribs are more worried about catfish, and when they are around they leave the top dwellers alone....I have four synodontis who don't seem togive a damn that the kribs keep trying to nip them (well they are twice their size after all!)