# WTF- Kribensis Acting Like A Piranah



## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

they might be getting ready to breed or something, have you seen them digging or making a cave or something?


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## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

monkeyruler90 said:


> they might be getting ready to breed or something, have you seen them digging or making a cave or something?


Lol, no. The female usually chases the male non-stop and has been for some time. Poor guy usually ends up hiding in the mass of floating plant leaves. It is hard for me to imagine the two copulating. The guy is so stressed, he usually tries to avoid her knowing what may be in store for him. In his constantly stressed state, I don't even think he can get it up. Having said that he female seems to have taken on a very deep purple color on her belly. I read somewhere that this was a sign that she was ready to breed. Also, I read that when Kribensis want to breed the female will constantly chase all the fish and try and stake out the whole tank to herself. However, I have not seen this. She leaves the Bristlenose Pleco and SAE alone and only ocassionally chases the Blackskirt around. The only real target of her agression is the male. But what is interesting, is when I stick my hand in they put their differences aside and attack my hand like a couple of rabid dogs.


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## Natty (Apr 2, 2008)

Obviously they've been influenced by something on TV.

Joking. Are there any other odd behaviors? I'm not familiar with these guys, but was wondering.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

We had a breeding pair of Kribs at my work and they would do the exact same thing when they were getting ready to spawn or had just recently spawned. You may have some baby Kribs floating around soon


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## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

legomaniac89 said:


> We had a breeding pair of Kribs at my work and they would do the exact same thing when they were getting ready to spawn or had just recently spawned. *You may have some baby Kribs floating around soon*


NOOOOO!!!!! No more Kribensis, these guys are planted tank wreckers. Almost on a daily basis I have to skim of torn off pieces of plant leaves that the kribensis tear off and spit out.


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## rpayer (Jun 9, 2008)

My rams will attack my hand sometimes...


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## fishwolfe (Jan 14, 2009)

kribs are not pairing fish and should be kept with at least a 3f to 1m ratio.multiple fish helps spread out this aggression.plus if you have 2 females only the dominant one will color and the sub-dominant wont.venting is the only way to tell for sure unless you actually see them breed.

wait....your female???is chasing the male???
is the female bigger than your male?that is strange, i have kept and breed them, but never seen the female being that aggressive towards a male.seen them attack my scrubber when they had babies but this seems different.
did you alter something in the tank?add or remove fish or structure etc...?


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## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

fishwolfe said:


> ...wait....your female???is chasing the male???
> is the female bigger than your male?that is strange, i have kept and breed them, but never seen the female being that aggressive towards a male.seen them attack my scrubber when they had babies but this seems different.
> did you alter something in the tank?add or remove fish or structure etc...?


When I got the both of them about a year ago, they were both the size of a thumbnail. At that time, they both got along, with no issues. They have grown considerably and are now about the size of my pinky or a little smaller. Over time, the female began acting aggressive towards the male. The female is about 1/2 an inch bigger than the male. She is the aggressor.

The only change that I made was to remove the hygrophilia polysperma plant that the Kribensis was totally mutilating. I caught them both tearing pieces of the leaves off and then spitting them out. They totally mutilated a othewise healthy algae free plant. 

Also, I have an uncovered tank, so use some cardamine lyrata as a floatiing plant to prevent greater evaporation and keep my SAE from jumping out. I have to really thin out the cardamine weekly to prevent it from totally choking out the surface as it grows like a weed. The male often hides in the mass of cardamine lyrata to keep from constantly being chased by the female. Lol, everytime I thin out the cardamine and his hiding place is exposed, the female gives him chase and he sometimes gets pinned into a corner. Perhaps, she wants to start a family and he does not and is not willing to cooperate, so she has gone pyscho on him. It is only at feeding time that she will not chase him or when I put my hand in. That is when they put there differences aside, almost like the greater good of attacking my hand. They probably blame me for bringing them together and their wrecked union, lol :icon_conf


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## fishwolfe (Jan 14, 2009)

that is strange.since you haven't had them spawn yet it might just be that the female is ready but the male isn't.if you have another tank i would separate them till the male gets bigger.also being separated you may find out you have 2 females,a dom and a sub.i have read that these are pairing fish but i would say that they only pair for mating, other than that i had better success with the 3-1 ratio.


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## Ebichua (May 13, 2008)

Put em in a jar and shake em around. That'll teach em whose boss.


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## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

Ebichua said:


> Put em in a jar and shake em around. That'll teach em whose boss.


Yeah, I am tempted. Thanks fishwolfe and legomaniac89, and natty for the humor. I am beginning to think that the old saying. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" may even apply to fish re: the female's behaviour towards the male . I will not worry too much, the other fish do not appear to be the target of any agression right now. And the Kribensis do not have teeth(Thank God). If worse comes to worse, I will buy and wear some heavy duty gloves when I put my hand in again. Let them try and nip at that, that will teach them a lesson :icon_twis


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## annette (Jun 18, 2008)

Sounds to me like they are breeding or getting ready too. Maybe some observation will clue you in. Sorry but it is kind of funny but I guess not to the person getting nibbled on! that is territorial behaviour so i'm guessing breeding or going to.


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## Raul-7 (Oct 17, 2003)

Yes, my Kribs just produced another brood and they've terrorized the entire inhabitants of their 20L. However, that attacking behavior is normal. I hand feed the pair I have sometimes so now when they see my hand they think I have food for them.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

my rams also attack my hand. I think it's just the thing with cichlids and their popular behavior disorders.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Homer_Simpson said:


> Having said that he female seems to have taken on a very deep purple color on her belly.


I had Krib in the 70's. I could have sworn it was the male that had bright colors. For when female died I would get another. When it got older it had bright colors and thus didn't have a breeding pair.


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## aschaal03 (Feb 2, 2009)

My angels do this when I siphon the tank :icon_lol: They're young still and about the size of a silver dollar so for now it's just cute.


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## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

Lol, I put the fear of God into them by chasing them around with my finger every time they did that :icon_evil :icon_twis Now they fear me and know better than to bite the hand that feeds them.:fish1:


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## Trallen44 (Dec 10, 2008)

Homer_Simpson said:


> Lol, I put the fear of God into them by chasing them around with my finger every time they did that :icon_evil :icon_twis Now they fear me and know better than to bite the hand that feeds them.:fish1:


:hihi: That would have been a good one to get on video!


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## boltp777 (Jan 16, 2009)

lol wow kribs are like women in real life. they chase you around and drive you crazy and make you hide and if shes crazy enough she'll bite your hand off lol


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## redfalconf35 (Feb 24, 2008)

boltp777 said:


> lol wow kribs are like women in real life. they chase you around and drive you crazy and make you hide and if shes crazy enough she'll bite your hand off lol


HAHA, that reminds me of a story i read a month or two ago about this woman who got mad at her boyfriend and bit his tongue off while kissing him.

My angels used to try to eat my fingers when i would stick them in. It felt really funny, and i didn't mind. When i actually needed to get something done i'd wiggle them around at the surface, splashing the water around a bit. The angels wouldn't bug me the rest of the day.:hihi:


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Could we see a picture of the 40 gallon tank?


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## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

Hilde said:


> Could we see a picture of the 40 gallon tank?


As per my signature, here is a slide show of the tank, from the time it was first set up and over-run with algae to present.
http://s131.photobucket.com/albums/p312/aadhanani/?action=view&current=8f4a168c.pbw&t=1235255269


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