Common name/s: Kribensis, Purple Cichlid
Scientific name: Pelvicachromis pulcher
Family: Cichlidae
Origin: Nigeria, Cameroon, West African, Riverine species
Maximum size: 4"
Care: The Krib is a popular cichlid for beginer breeders. It hails from West Africa, and is found in rivers. The fish are usually found in fresh water, though they have been found in Brackish water. They like soft water, and their Ph should be around nuetral, though they can have a higher Ph up to 8, and one down to 5. They are realitivly peaceful, though they should not be kept with some peaceful fish such as the guppies. A good tank mate would be the black skirt tetra, and other mildly aggressive fish as such. Despite being African cichlids, they should not be kept with Mbuna, or other rift lake vally cichlids. The minimum tank size for a pair is 20 gallons.
Feeding: You should give your kribs a mixed diet, as they are omnivours. They will nibble at live plants, but will also eat live worms. They will also eat live bearer fry, and small ghost shrimp.
Sexing and breeding: There are a few ways to distinguish the genders of the fish. One way is the by the fins. The males usually have a pointed dorsal fin as well as tail fin. The females have "eye" spots on their dorsal fin. They also have a rounded dorsal and tail fin. Males are also bigger than the females. The females will also have a red round stomach. After a while of the male and female being together they should pair up. It works best to have the largest male and the smallest female together to make it happen faster. This is to lessen the aggression of the female, as larger females may injure the smaller male. Once paired up the pair will breed about every few weeks. The female will disaprea for about five days. At this time she will be fanning eggs that she layed. they will be in a cave. the male will be guarding the cave entrance. After the 5 days are up the eggs should hatch. They will be in the wiggler stage for about 3-5 days after. Once the wiggler stage is over the fish will be free swimming, schooling with the parents. At night the parents will pick up the fry in their mouth and return them to the cave that they were born in, unless you renovate the cave. The fry have slow growth after a while.
