Kribensis Behaviour Issue

[Spanerman]

I have a young pair (about 1.75'') of kribs in my 25g tank with a group of 3 odessa barbs, the female seems to be fine but the male seems to be lethargic and slow but every know and again the female will chase him and he will swim around fine until she leaves him alone and then he is back to is slow self.

They have been in there for about a week, the tank is fully cycled and they are both feeding fine.

Could anyone shed any light on this behaviour?

Sam.

 

[tr0p1cal]

i had this happen when i had a pair, the female was larger and showing her breeding colours, the male would never move only when chased, he lasted about 4 days before he died, i put it down to being harrased to death, i was unable to then find a male big enough so had to return the female.

 

[Spanerman]

Is there any way to stop this behaviour?

Sam.

 

[pauld]

i had this happen when i had a pair, the female was larger and showing her breeding colours, the male would never move only when chased, he lasted about 4 days before he died, i put it down to being harrased to death, i was unable to then find a male big enough so had to return the female.

the male should always be larger , try adding more hideing places and move current decor about , i had a large female in with a group of 4 juvenials she bullied them to death . moved her into a large planted tank with 2 large males and another female now she is the submisive female the alpha pair are a breeding pair .

 

[stubert]

Always wanted kribs since i was a kid, got a couple, at first the female bullied the male, then after a couple of weeks he'd always bully her n i never saw her, so took him back to the shop he instantly started attacking all the other kribs in the tank. Never again obv not all like this but

 

[pauld]

Always wanted kribs since i was a kid, got a couple, at first the female bullied the male, then after a couple of weeks he'd always bully her n i never saw her, so took him back to the shop he instantly started attacking all the other kribs in the tank. Never again obv not all like this but

when you get it right they are brilliant fish to keep with loads of personality .

 

[stubert]

Always wanted kribs since i was a kid, got a couple, at first the female bullied the male, then after a couple of weeks he'd always bully her n i never saw her, so took him back to the shop he instantly started attacking all the other kribs in the tank. Never again obv not all like this but

when you get it right they are brilliant fish to keep with loads of personality .

Yeh im sure they are. Used to nip my corys fins tho aswell, thats a instant ban from my tank

 

[kribensis12]

Always wanted kribs since i was a kid, got a couple, at first the female bullied the male, then after a couple of weeks he'd always bully her n i never saw her, so took him back to the shop he instantly started attacking all the other kribs in the tank. Never again obv not all like this but

when you get it right they are brilliant fish to keep with loads of personality .

Yeh im sure they are. Used to nip my corys fins tho aswell, thats a instant ban from my tank

That is because the cory's are bottom dwellers too.

Anyway, the best advice I can give you is to take both kribs out, re-arrange the tank, and let the male back in. An hour later, let the female back in, That may correct it. It does not help that you have then with barbs. Barbs and similar fish (ie anything that darts around often enough), are not a good mx with kribs because it makes them stressed out and they feel insecure.

 

[stubert]

Always wanted kribs since i was a kid, got a couple, at first the female bullied the male, then after a couple of weeks he'd always bully her n i never saw her, so took him back to the shop he instantly started attacking all the other kribs in the tank. Never again obv not all like this but

when you get it right they are brilliant fish to keep with loads of personality .

Yeh im sure they are. Used to nip my corys fins tho aswell, thats a instant ban from my tank

That is because the cory's are bottom dwellers too.

yep

 

[GrayScale]

It's not a bad idea though to keep them with dither fish. I had mine with serpae tetras and it actually brought them out of there cave more. I'm assuming the female is trying to mate with the male but the male is too young/not ready. As mentioned above, put a couple Terra cotta pots in there or some extra hidey holes so they're both not competing for the same space.I'd recommend 3 caves if possible. Is the females belly plump and have a red colouration to it and has she been moving around some substrate? If so then she's definately trying to get his attention.

You could also try feeding them some live brine shrimp, might wear her out a little and make her happy enoughto where she'll just sit and leave him alone.