Need Help With New Fish

[madfrog2000]

Hi,
I just got 2 fish off a friend of mine as he was leaving the country.
I believe he called them Kribs which must stand for something.
 
Here is a picture of one of them.
 

 
So my questions are - 
 
What is the full name for this fish?
Is the one in the photo a male or female?
Should they be hiding apart from each other all day?
 
Here is a video of them I am unsure if they are fighting?
 http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhHdGVjoIfw
 

 

[fluttermoth]

Hi there, madfrog (great name, btw!).
 
Yes, your fish are kribs. The full name is 'kribensis', which used to be part of their scientific name; they're currently officially known as Pelvicachromis pulcher.
 
I can't tell the sex of the one in the pic, but someone more knowledgeable about kribs might be able to.
 
It is very pale, which means it's stressed for some reason. It does look like they're fighting in your video, although it could be mating behaviour; fish courtship does tend to be quite rough (the fish want to know they've chosen a strong partner).
 
How big is the tank they're in and how many caves have you got in there? Have you got any kits to test the water? (If you don't, I would recommend getting some as a matter of urgency; nearly all fish health problems are water quality related. Get the liquid or tablet type, not the paper strip ones.)
 
Did you keep the old filter, with all it's good bacteria, when you were given the fish?

 

[star4]

Its been a long long time since I had Kribs, I think the one in the pic is a male. He could be pale due to stress as FM says or it could also be down to having white gravel and they are "blending" into it. I would suggest changing to a darker more natural colour substrate. I couldnt see the other one clearly on the video, it looked like bickering more than a full blown fight. If they are a pair they will do this because they have been moved into a new tank, they need to establish new territory.

 

[madfrog2000]

Hi thanks for your fast reply! 
 
They have been in this tank for roughly 3 days The tank is only 16L has a filter,heater and half a coconut for a cave and some kinda water plant that my friend gave me with the fish.
1 cave, and no have not tested the water I will pop down to fish store tomorrow. 
and no I was not given the old filter.
I did run my tank for a week before getting the fish putting in Tap water Conditioner and Biological Aquarium supplement following the instructions on the containers.
He left the country today so he had to get rid of the fish asap and just it happened that I wanted some.
 
Is 16L bit small for 2 fish? I was going buy another tank for the baby fish if they were to have any. And should I put another cave in?
Just got a picture of them together best I could as I have to setup a webcam to get these. As they never come out when you look at the tank.
 

 
star4: Would I need to take out all the water when changing the gravel? or could I just do a layer of brown on top of the white?
Thanks for the help guys!

 

[star4]

Sorry 16l is too small really. Without a mature filter your tank is not cycled either, you either need to get hold of some mature media or treat the tank as a fish in cycle with daily water changes and testing the water. You could add more gravel onto the top that would help, or if you wanted to remove the old gravel move the two fish to a container, remove all the decor and then remove the gravel. I have done this before just using a net that way you do not loose so much water, but you can get a rather gunked up tank, but as its still so newly set up there should not be too much dirt in the gravel. Wash new gravel before adding it.

 

[madfrog2000]

Thanks for your help again I might have to just look into buying another tank. 
Whats the smallest I could put these 2 fish in? 
And what Could I stick in my 16L tank? As this tank cost me $50

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I struggled to make out sexes of the Kribs in the video clip, but I would expect the one in your photo to be a male.
 
If it was me, I would look out for a 120cm long tank on Ebay or other online sites for second-hand tanks, most of my 7 tanks were not bought new and saved me a fortune. My 120x3037cm cost me £25 with a two tier metal stand, a couple of years back, last summer I won a Rio400 for £50 that went on my old 5-foot stand in the garage.
 
A 4-foot tank, with a cave at either end and plenty of line of sight barriers (bogwood, fake/real plants, ornaments) around the middle would give each Krib a decent sized territory. It would also give you better options for ditherfish, as I strongly suggest upper water fish of a similar adult size to Kribs, especially if they turn out to be a sexed pair and they have fry... Kribs are usually brilliant parents, just like my Steatocranus (Blockhead Cichlids) and they will kill small/fragile tankmates to protect their own youngsters.
 
As written earlier, I suspect the pale colour is due to the coarse white gravel, soft darkish sand would be far more suitable for Kribs.

 

[madfrog2000]

Hey, 
 
Thanks I will keep an eye out for a longer tank. 
And will look for dark sand tomorrow at fish store.
 
Does anyone know if I could put 6 Neon Tetras in the 16L tank(Or a couple of guppys)? Would hate to waste a tank I just brought.
Also what would be a good upper water fish to go with Kribs?

 

[hobby5]

Welcome to TFF. Sorry for your bad start.
 
Imho 16l is to small to keep anything longterm except a single betta. On your last pic the one to the left is a female and the other one is male (first pic.) Otherwise they would have killed each other in that small tank already. You should be looking for a 80cm long tank minimum.

 

[fluttermoth]

You could keep a few male Endlers (three or four) in there; guppies would fit, size wise, but you'd only have space for three, and there could be aggression problems with that few of them (Endlers are more peaceful). Definitely no neons; they're small but active. And most of the other 'nano fish' prefer larger shoals.
 
Apart from that, it's shrimps or snails, or a betta, as hobby rightly says.
 
Of course, that depends on how hard or soft your water is, and the dimensions of the tank as well.
 
But you main priority right now is to get the kribs into a decent sized tank, and get it cycled, which means test kits and a lot of water changes. You'd be better off doing a fish-in cycle with a bigger tank than in the tiny one.

 

[RSVBiffer]

I am not sure that is a Krib, I suspect it could possibly be Apistogramma cacatuoides. That would explain the pale coloration as well but cannot make out much in the video.

 

[fluttermoth]

I am not sure that is a Krib, I suspect it could possibly be Apistogramma cacatuoides. That would explain the pale coloration as well but cannot make out much in the video.

They're definitely kribs.

 

[RSVBiffer]

Fair enough, just looked very similar to the Double Red to me

 

[madfrog2000]

Okay going down to pet store soon to get test kit for water.
And also checking out a 3ft tank that is on New Zealands ebay kinda site.
I can't seem to find any 4ft atm under $50.
 
If I get this bigger tank do I use the water from the 16L? or fill up the bigger tank and wait a couple of days for the chlorine to go while leaving the fish in the small tank?
 
Thanks again

 

[hobby5]

The water contains no usefull bacteria. They are all substrate bound. As your small tank is not cycled properly I would move the fish to the new tank directly. Also move the filter and substrate and any decore from the small to the new tank. This will hopefully move some of the benificial bacteria too. To remove the chlorine you should use some dechlorinator, which work kind of instantly so no need to wait longer than a few min.