Female Kribensis (Pics!)

[kribensis12]

Thats a nice krib! It sounds like a neat pet store!

I'm 16, in the U.S. you can get your license by then! Which, I have! So, now I can drive where ever I want, when ever I want (within reason!).

 

[mr130gallon]

Thats a nice krib! It sounds like a neat pet store!

I'm 16, in the U.S. you can get your license by then! Which, I have! So, now I can drive where ever I want, when ever I want (within reason!).

i can get my learners in canada at 15.5 years old. but for some reason i decided to get it 4 months after i turned 16... silly move i suppose.

the neatest thing about the pet store is that their pirahnas are all 'trained' to eat flake food, thats a pirahna i could afford to keep!

 

[fry_forever!]

Wow! You have taught me many things about that pet store, mr130gallon. lol

And that must suck to only have 3 pet stores near where you live, erk628!

Thanks, everyone!

 

[OldMan47]

Mojo, there are people near you on the west coast. I run across them on here all the time. Since we no longer have locations in the left column under the avatar, like on the old forum software, you would need to put it in the signature area if you want people to see it.

 

[fry_forever!]

Okay, my krib is acting a little weird now. I have made those DIY coconut caves for her, and one in particular she always hides inside. And every time one of my juvie swordtails swims close to her, she chases him away. It's like she's defending the cave already. I shone a flashlight inside once to see what she was doing, and she was just sort of floating there, occasionally picking at the pebbles inside.

I'm kind of worried, because she's in there more and more regularly now, and she rarely comes out, not even to eat.

Also, she's not really eating much anymore, she kind of lets flake food pass by her, leaving it to the swordtail to eat. I fed her some live BBS two days ago, and she seemed to eat that eagerly. After that though, she didn't eat anything. (That I saw) She's also not producing much waste.

I'm actually really worried, to be honest. She looks perfectly healthy, and is showing natural behaviour, (besides hiding in the cave all day, as far as I know) but she doesn't eat much.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[indigoj]

Flake isn't ideal for kribs, you need a decent quality sinking pellet or slow falling granuals like tetra prima or hikari gold (not necessarily those brands but that type of food) also some veggie pellets and occasional meatier food like bloodworm.

Guarding the cave is not unusual, she's still settling in too, feed her little and often - try to target feed so she doesn't have to compete for food - and give her as much peace as possible.

 

[fry_forever!]

Flake isn't ideal for kribs, you need a decent quality sinking pellet or slow falling granuals like tetra prima or hikari gold (not necessarily those brands but that type of food) also some veggie pellets and occasional meatier food like bloodworm.

Guarding the cave is not unusual, she's still settling in too, feed her little and often - try to target feed so she doesn't have to compete for food - and give her as much peace as possible.

Thanks. I feed her pellets too - shrimp pellets and algae discs. I target feed, too. She doesn't seem very interested in the food, but once it falls to the bottom, she picks at it a little bit. I don't see her producing much waste, either. Do you think she'll die of starvation, or is she getting enough food in her system to keep her going?

Thanks. (You're talking to a worry wart here, lol)

Oh yeah, and I'm severely allergic to bloodworms, so can't do that, unfortunately...

 

[indigoj]

LOL, you don't have to touch the blood worms - use rubber gloves!

How long have you had her now and what are your water stats? What other fish are in there? How big is the tank? (yeah I know it's in your profile but it's a pain for everyone to have to go check - so post it here as you are asking for advice)

 

[fry_forever!]

Um, not that easy... lol I can't even breathe the molecules - my throat starts closing off - anaphalactic shock. I have to use an epi-pen if that happens...

Anyhow, okay, here goes...

Tank size: 17 gallons
Stats:
Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrate - 15ppm
ph - 7.3
Temp - 78F
Tank established in: 2006
Tank mates: One juvenile swordtail
I've owned her for exactly a week now.

It's completely live planted, with real driftwood and DIY coconut caves.

She seems to be completely enjoying the caves, and defending them from the swordie, but she's not eating a lot, just picking at the ground from time to time, (and spitting out any food that she does take in) and not producing much waste at all, for all I can see. (She's always in the coconut caves, practically...)

I was watching her this morning, and I could of sworn I saw her flick against the ground. Maybe she has gill flukes or something? She looks like she's breathing really fast, and her gills are a little inflamed. I could treat that easily, but I heard once that kribs are really sensitive to medication....?
Should I treat at half a dose?

I may repost this in the emergency section, but for now, any immediate help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks A LOT!

 

[indigoj]

Ok, flicking is a sign of irritation - often a sign of whitespot before the spots appear or poor water quality - were the test results you posted from today or from a few days ago? (adding fish can cause an ammonia spike which could then cause the symptoms you describle)

Heavy breathing could be stress as could the not eating.

I'd do daily 20% water changes for a couple of days now and keep a really close eye on her. How is the swordtail doing?

 

[OldMan47]

Blood worms can cause a severe allergic reaction in some people. Even when frozen and handled with gloves they can be a real medical problem, not a minor inconvenience.

 

[kribensis12]

Kribs are no more sensitive to meds than any other fish. It sounds like gill flukes. I would treat her immeadiatley.

 

[fry_forever!]

That's what I thought. Though, I haven't seen her flick since, and she seems to be doing a lot better. (Though I did nothing) She still looks like she's breathing a little heavily, but she's really active, and she picks at the ground all day.

And yes, Oldman47, you are right. It is really a terrible allergy to have if you are a fish keeper....

Thanks for all the advice!