Kribs and their spawn

[Gamegurl564]

Heya folks,
My sweet little Kribs just had babies. I had a moment of despair when I turned the lights on this morning and saw no babies.
10 minutes later, presto they were there. Big sigh of relief.
Where were they? Do the parents hold them in their mouths over night?
I had wondered if they took turns sleeping as they have quite a large brood, quite the handful.
Just wondered if anyone knows, it doesn't seem they could hide that many babies, there are over 50 at least.
Cheers and have a great day

 

[GaryE]

A lot depends on your decor. They aren't mouthbrooders. But you will see the signalling from the Mom if you have lights that progressively dial down. She will find a spot along the bottom or in the original breeding cave. She can sense the oxygen levels there, and she will signal to the fry to get right down on the gravel in a safe spot.
The parent will appreciate a bit of light in the room (not from the hood) that will simulate moonlight, because they defend the fry using sight. They'll doze and keep an eye out. When my kids were infants I could hear a pin drop when I was sleeping, but I still got rest. I had a brood of kribs hatch a week after my first daughter was born, and I was kind of struck by how similar my reactions were to theirs.
Watch the pectoral fins of the mother, to see how she communicates with the fry. In time you'll see the parents trading off and giving each other breaks.

 

[Gamegurl564]

Thanks so much for your reply. I can see the signals from Mom and they are such awesome parents.
It's going quite well so far.
Cracks me up when one or the other parent sucks up a wandering baby in their mouth and takes them back to the flock.
Super cool stuff.

 

[GaryE]

Sometimes they seem to simply clean the brood, methodically grabbing each baby, rolling it through the mouth and spitting it back into the group. It's one of the best shows in fishkeeping, til at around 6-8 weeks, when in the wild the young would disperse. Since they stick around in a tank, with nowhere to go, the parents interpret that as them planning to eat the next brood, and begin to attack them as intruders.