Spawning Report: Pelvicachromis Pulcher (Kribensis)
Video Journal
Species
Pelvicachromis Pulcher
Kribensis Cichlid
Reproduction
Method of Reproduction: Egg Layer
Number and Gender Distribution of Parents: Single Pair
Origin of Parents: Tank Raised (Purchased from LFS)
Approximate number of fry: ca. 18
Date of Birth: Fry released and free swimming (11/12/2019)
Approx. Number of Fry at 30 Days: ca. 18
Aquarium Conditions
Breeding Tank:
pH — 8.0
GH — 135 ppm
KH — 72 ppm
Temperature: 80-degrees Fahrenheit
Average Nitrate: 10-20 ppm
Aquarium Size: in inches, 30.25” Long x 12.5” Wide x 12.75” High — 20 gal. long
Water Source: town / city water
Water Changes: 30% 1x per week
Filtration System: Two sponge filters, one large / one small
Decor & Environment
Live Plants: Anacharis, Java Moss, Ludwigia Repens, Pothos (grown emersed)
Caves or Similar Hiding Places: Several Large shells picked up from Outer Banks (NC)
Substrate: Eco Complete, medium black-diamond blasting sand, 1 cup crushed coral in bag to buffer soft water
Lighting Type and Timing: one LED shop light, 5,000-K bought from
WalMart, on for 13 hrs / day
Feeding
Food Fed to Parents and How Often: 2x / day — Mixture of Live baby brine shrimp, Bug Bites, Omega One Micro Veggie Pellets
Food Fed to Fry and How Often: 2x / day — Live baby brine shrimp, Powdered Spirulina, Sera Micron, Sera-O-Nip Tabs, Bug Bites
Photographs
Comments & Additional Information
Honest confession of amateur fish-breeders: there were two earlier batches of Kribensis fry with two other parents that failed to survive more than 2 weeks for us. We are not sure what accounts for this, but have several grounded suspicions: (1) Krib fry eat constantly. They need some build-up of edible algae to chew through. Brand new tanks with no algae will require more consistent feedings than our limited 2x daily schedule allows for. (2) Not all parents are created equal. Our two failed attempts had only one vigilant parent who kept watch over the fry. It is much better when the parents share the duties, and shepherd the swarm of little fry around together. (3) In an otherwise empty tank, Kribensis can only take out latent aggression on each other. The addition of some hardy “dither fish” that will live near the surface is very helpful to the parents, giving them a target other than each other. We found that Brilliant Rasboras (Rasbora einthovenii) worked perfectly in our situation. We floated Anacharis, giving them lots of room at the surface to blend in. On one occasion the Kribs did scare them so bad that one jumped clear out of the tank!
By about three weeks, the fry are independent, and explore the tank on their own. They do not fight much (unlike other cichlids we have — e.g. Rams, Mbunas). We observed them occasionally slamming their faces sideways into substrate, tank wall, and shells to break loose algae. It is quite funny to observe.
There is a possibility that our pH of (8.0) will render this batch entirely male. Some aquarists observe that at 7.0 pH the gender distribution of Kribensis fry is about 50/50. Lower (acidic) renders more females; Higher (alkaline) renders more males. We shall see about that . . .
We are pleased to report 18 lively fry. The parents appear gearing up to do it again. Time to move these guys to another grow-out tank!
Hi Dave and Ben, any updates on the gender distribution? Are you able to sex them yet? I'm performing a series of experiments on gender distribution in Red Neon Blue-Eyes which are temperature sensitive and am seeing pretty dramatic results. I'll probably be ready to post the results in another couple of months. I need another batch of fry at high temperatures to hatch and grow to sexable size to get the complete temperature range and gender information. I will be very interested to see how your pH experiments go.
Cheers, Patchin