Fish rescue (and I'm new to kribs)

[mbsqw1d]

So I took part in a fish rescue last night, a guy on here was giving away his setup (Roma 240) including the fish etc. My mate was happy to take the tank but wouldn't be setting it up until he moves house. So.. I said I'd take the fish. Arguably a bold (stupid) move ?

I collected:
6 x penguin tetra
4 x kribensis (2 x male, 2 x female)
1 x otto
1 x clown pleco (8 yrs old!)

These have all gone into my Roma 200 (52g)
24c (75f)
5.7 dGH
7 PH
--
20+ peppered corydoras, 10 x phantom tetra

I also obtained:
3 x dwarf chain loach
1 x hillstream loach

These have gone into my Roma 240 (62g)
21c (70f)
5.7 dGH
7 PH
--
12 x odessa barb, 13 x giant danio, 13 x golden barb


From first glance this morning,everything seems to have settled ok. The kribs however, in my opinion, seem a little bit cramped. I've got some cichlid caves arriving tomorrow however I'm not sure if thats going to cut it. Are 4 x kribs in a 52 gallon (3ft) too many? Do they work in pairs? If I were to rehome 1 male krib, would the 2 female with 1 male be ok?

I think I should look at getting some more ottos so its not alone.

Never had a pleco before, theres plenty of bogwood in there, but I presume algae wafers are the way forward?

If you had all the above fish and those two tanks, how would you set them up?

 

[castor]

So I can’t help you out with the the cichlids . I’ve never had any besides convicts . But I can tell you that your tank is over stocked . General rule is one inch of fish to one gallon . So you need to keep up with water changes or you could have some problems very soon with a tank overstocked like that . But if your friend takes some when he sets up his tank . It shouldn’t be too bad for a little bit . As for the pleco . Bottom feeder pellets or wafers are just fine . If you’re lucky . He will live another four more years

 

[Slaphppy7]

So I can’t help you out with the the cichlids . I’ve never had any besides convicts . But I can tell you that your tank is over stocked . General rule is one inch of fish to one gallon . So you need to keep up with water changes or you could have some problems very soon with a tank overstocked like that . But if your friend takes some when he sets up his tank . It shouldn’t be too bad for a little bit . As for the pleco . Bottom feeder pellets or wafers are just fine . If you’re lucky . He will live another four more years

The "inch of fish per gallon of water" is really an old, outdated myth...after all, who would keep a 10 inch fish in a 10G tank?
You are much better off using a tool like this, when calculating/considering stocking: http://www.aqadvisor.com/

 

[Essjay]

From what I understand, kribs pair up and need to choose their own mates. Having a 'spare' female isn't really a good idea. Think of them as African rams.

Are the 4 you now have two obvious pairs?

I would be inclined to keep just one pair in a tank. Your tank is big enough for one pair, certainly. If you are worried about keeping 2 pairs, maybe move one pair to the other tank or rehome one pair.

 

[mbsqw1d]

So I can’t help you out with the the cichlids . I’ve never had any besides convicts . But I can tell you that your tank is over stocked . General rule is one inch of fish to one gallon . So you need to keep up with water changes or you could have some problems very soon with a tank overstocked like that . But if your friend takes some when he sets up his tank . It shouldn’t be too bad for a little bit . As for the pleco . Bottom feeder pellets or wafers are just fine . If you’re lucky . He will live another four more years

I can't really help it with the corydoras, they're constantly breeding and new fry popping up from time to time. I'm certainly not looking at introducing anymore other than upping the ottos.. wil wait and see how the otto does first

 

[mbsqw1d]

From what I understand, kribs pair up and need to choose their own mates. Having a 'spare' female isn't really a good idea. Think of them as African rams.

Are the 4 you now have two obvious pairs?

I would be inclined to keep just one pair in a tank. Your tank is big enough for one pair, certainly. If you are worried about keeping 2 pairs, maybe move one pair to the other tank or rehome one pair.

Its obvious which is the dominant male, not so sure which one is his lady friend tho.. the females tend to stick together. Need to study them a bit more.
The other tank has the odessa barb, golden barb, giant danio, chain loach and hillstream loach. I currently have that set at 20-21c. Moving 2 kribs over would mean increasing that to at least 24c i think?

 

[Slaphppy7]

Kribensis breed prolifically, and often, more times than not

More: https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/pelvicachromis-pulcher/

 

[AquaBarb]

They are pretty peaceful for cichlids but you may have problems when it comes to them breeding.

Id move a pair over to the 240. 24c will be fine for the others.

 

[Colin_T]

Put a plastic or ceramic flower pot at each end of the tank. Let the Kribensis pr off and move one pr out when they have chosen their partners.

Kribensis do best in prs (1 male & 1 female).

 

[Wills]

Sounds really cool Kribs are a really under rated fish, they got common for a while (and you can still get them in most shops) but stunning fish. Either tank would work for a pair and your other fish would work (depending on temps) if you wanted to keep them all? You have a lot of fast mid water fish that work with cichlids. Think your over all numbers will put a strain on the tanks though.

Wills

 

[mbsqw1d]

Sounds really cool Kribs are a really under rated fish, they got common for a while (and you can still get them in most shops) but stunning fish. Either tank would work for a pair and your other fish would work (depending on temps) if you wanted to keep them all? You have a lot of fast mid water fish that work with cichlids. Think your over all numbers will put a strain on the tanks though.

Wills

I've upped the temp of the barb tank as @AquaBarb suggested. So far I've moved 1 male over, the one that was being chased.
The dominant male seems to have claimed a piece of bogwood and has been doing some digging. I've added a cave around there and he's been going in and out whilst doing a shaky dance thing to the females.
1 female tends to hand around with him now. The other female, stays at the left side of the tank and will go over and chase both the male and female. Pretty sure this is the one that i also need to move?

 

[EllRog]

I've upped the temp of the barb tank as @AquaBarb suggested. So far I've moved 1 male over, the one that was being chased.
The dominant male seems to have claimed a piece of bogwood and has been doing some digging. I've added a cave around there and he's been going in and out whilst doing a shaky dance thing to the females.
1 female tends to hand around with him now. The other female, stays at the left side of the tank and will go over and chase both the male and female. Pretty sure this is the one that i also need to move?

Sounds it mate. Sounds like there's alot of breeding behaviour going on already. That seductive "shaky dance thing" sounds like wolf whistling and winking

*edit - alot of 'sounds' going on there. So what!?

 

[mbsqw1d]

Sounds it mate. Sounds like there's alot of breeding behaviour going on already. That seductive "shaky dance thing" sounds like wolf whistling and winking

*edit - alot of 'sounds' going on there. So what!?

Sound mate, sound ??

 

[mbsqw1d]

Sounds it mate. Sounds like there's alot of breeding behaviour going on already. That seductive "shaky dance thing" sounds like wolf whistling and winking

*edit - alot of 'sounds' going on there. So what!?

The one he's trying to pull is a bit bland, I think he's picked the wrong one tbh ??‍

 

[EllRog]

The one he's trying to pull is a bit bland, I think he's picked the wrong one tbh ??‍

We've all been there, nightclub lights turn on...