Kribensis Pair

[Mushy999]

Hello! Just some questions about Krib pairs. I bought a male and female Krib from my LFS which settled in quite nicely in my 60L. The male was slightly smaller than the female which I was a bit concerned about but they were acting fine together in the LFS and initially in their new home. That was until I fed them and the female decided to take a disliking to my male. She would chase him whenever she saw him and would nip at him. I was considering taking them back to my LFS. Then one day, starting off with her still chasing him, they suddenly were ok with each other and started shaking at each other. The female's stomach turned the characteristic red and now they're always with eachother. It seems to me that they've paired now but I may be wrong.

My question is: is it normal for a pair to happen were the male is smaller than the female? I know females are meant to always want large males. Also, what made her suddenly change her mind?

[madagascariensis]

it could be that she has changed her mind because there is no other male in the tank...
if two (male/female) humans were the only survivors after an apocalyptic event, then they
likely will EVENTUALLY fall in love too, even if the male were a particularly ugly specimen.

normally cichlids can be choosy so the normal procedure for getting a pair
of cichlids is to buy 6+ youngsters and let them choose on their own, so you
were lucky on your purchase.

60 liters is a bit small for a mating pair of kribs though, especially if your want tankmates.
I personally would not keep kribensis in less than 125 liters...

[Mushy999]

Yeah that makes sense, didn't think fish as stubborn as Kribs would be like that though!

I do have backup plans in case things do get nasty in the tank, my parents have a 110L tank which they could be moved to and my LFS have said they will take in fish if necessary. For now though they are getting along well with the other residents!

[William]

They temd to accept most partners when kept in pairs as long as extremes are avoided.

[madagascariensis]

they will do fine for a while, but well, the kribs have paired up for a reason, and
once they feel that their eggs and babies need protection the other tank mates will need room to evade the aggression.

[Mushy999]

I've had experience with Kribs breeding before and I know what they can get like so I'll do something about it. The other residents stay away from their area of the tank anyway as their area is more suited to them.