Buying Fish Online

[fluttermoth]

They just disappear. Some times the eggs will last 4-5 days and others will last only 1 or 2 days. I was wondering if I could raise them away from parents or something like that from Tom

I would give them time; young cichlids often need a few tries before their parental instincts kick in.
 
I wouldn't advise raising them away from the parents. There is some research I read that fish need to be parented to know how to be parents themselves, so if you take the eggs away, you'll just be raising even more fish that aren't very good at it
 
It's really only worth doing if your fish are very rare, which kribs aren't; you also have to think about what you'll do with the fry; kribs are not that popular (it's not just me! ) and not many shops will take fish from hobbyist breeders (that's why my mum had so many tanks of fry everywhere; she couldn't get homes for them ).

 

[Seal36]

I'm not giving up on them yet but it is so infuriating but I guess when they get the hang of it I will be going where can I sell some I have too many. I will let them raise them then as I want to see the behaviour that the kribensis take on when raising fry. Ah ok can you think of a rare ish fish that will do well in a 70 litre that I can sell the fry on from. Do you like the apistogrammas from Tom

 

[fluttermoth]

Apistogrammas are a better choice for breeding than the kribs; they are more popular and easier to sell/pass on. There are a few dwarf cichlids that would breed in a 70l, but you might have to invest some money, if you want one of the rarer species.

 

[Seal36]

I don't mind investing some money what species did you have in mind. I like the look of apistogramma panduro but don't know wether they are rare enough or not and how easy is it to breed apistogrammas from tom

 

[fluttermoth]

Panduro would be a good choice. Most apistos are fairly easy, but (obviously!) the rarer the species, the harder they are ('cos, if they were easy, they'd be common, right?!)
 
Personally, I particularly like A. borelli and A. macmasteri (no, I haven't bred either of them myself; can't afford a pair!).

 

[Seal36]

Ok and I read somewhere that apistogramma do better as a trio 1 male 2 female is that correct or is a pair good enough from Tom

 

[fluttermoth]

Trios are best for most apistos, but pairs work fine too.

 

[Seal36]

Ok thank you and also can I ask what your mother used as caves for her kribensis. Mine have spawned in a PVC tunnel 3 times now but now that they are on sand and not gravel the PVC pipes don't go with the tank. I tried sticking sand to the tunnels but that did not look good. I am going to try putting some rocks together but need some other ideas for natural caves for the kribensis to spawn in. Also was wondering if I put the PVC tube on the bare tank then cover it up with sand and dig out the entrance if that would work from Tom.

 

[fluttermoth]

She had coconut caves and rock ones as well; the kribs preferred the rock ones, from what I can remember.
 
I'd be inclined to disguise the tubes; I put bogwood or a rock over the top (I have some small tubes in one tank for the kuhlis, and big sewage pipes in my oscar/catfish tank). I'm not sure about burying in them in the sand; you could try it and see if they like it Cichlids can be very individualistic; what one pair like, another pair won't go anywhere near!

 

[Seal36]

You just gave me an idea I could make a tube out of bogwood. I could have 3 small bits of bog wood 2 on the floor and one on top and that way they shape is still the same for the fish but it looks more natural for me from Tom

 

[Seal36]

How many times can kribensis lay eggs as mine are about a year old and they have had 4 spawns and their 5th was due today but it had not happened and I was wondering if the females can only have a certain amount of eggs. Also how long can kribensis live for and how regularly can they lay eggs from Tom