Pelvicachromis pulcher aka Kribensis

[Cacatuoides]

Hi folks,

This morning I finally got to see the much awaited cloud of free swimming fries from the pair which are constantly hiding in the caves....

One observation that shooked me was the speed at which they herd their fries from one locationt to another!! They are able to move their fries from one end of the tank to the other in less than a min!! I wonder if anyone has this experience with their kribs...

One more thing is I suspect they are wild caught as they have a sneaky movement unlike farm bred ones which are seen casually swimming around the tank....the ones I'm having are always cautious of their surrounding and moves about very swiftly (the same behaviour seen in my wild Dicrossus Filamentosus)

I'll try take a picture or a clip if ever I get the chance to

[ahaetulla]

Congrats

[Cacatuoides]

Thanks ahaetulla....

there are at least 60 over little fries there and both parents are very protective over it....their breeding and taking care of their fries behaviour are very different from apistos.....something worth while to experience!!

[benny]

I think valice and genes are also have a brood of fry at the moment. Perhaps they will update here as well.

By the way, you can directly link a youtube clip into your posts here as well.

Cheers,

[Cacatuoides]

Thats really great to hear that fellow brothers are also venturing into this species....looking forward to hearing from vincent and eugene

[valice]

What I saw different from Apistogramma bitaeniata brooding is that the female is very willing to let the male come near the fries. In addition, I found the male more defensive than apistogrammas.

More observations will follow when I have the chance to check them out again.

[Cacatuoides]

Agree. Both parents will care for the fries while for apistos, mostly the female will be the one in charge.

Whats your tank setup like?

[valice]

It is very simple.
Sand, lots of ketapang leaves and sponge filter.
I don't even know what is the pH.

The male is very aggressive. It seemed to kill alot of the other former tank-mates leaving only them as sole pair.

[wks]

Wow! Eman congrats to you. How big are the fries now? Is this the first pair of african cichlid which you told me?

[Cacatuoides]

Valice: What type of sand are you using? My pair isn't that aggressive yet to kill a tank mate

wks: nope. this pair is not the P. Taeniatus "Dehane" which I bought....this is the common pulcher....looks and behaves differently tho....fries are still small about 4mm

[SCOPE]

Congrates.....Great Experience.....

[genes]

Valice: What type of sand are you using? My pair isn't that aggressive yet to kill a tank mate

I believe its normal inert sand from europet.

[benny]

Yes. That substrate is leaf litter on Europet's fine riversand.

Cheers,

[Cacatuoides]

Does C328 sell this river sand? Or any lfs carry this? thanks

[benny]

Those in the tank was ordered from C328. Ask for Europet Riversand. Being pH neutral, I think it's quite good. However, the light coloration may not bring out the best colors in your fishes. Best to add leaf litter to the substrate to try to compensate for the light color.

Cheers,

[Cacatuoides]

Thanks for the tip benny, no wonder I couldn't find it among the other gravel packets... I'm making do with the current ADA aquasoil for now, will definitely try the riversand in future

Update: the fries are growing up nicely each day, really interesting to observe how african cichlids care and herd their fries which is different from apistos it'll be worth while to keep other more colorful african cichlids which are suitable in a planted tank with low ph

[CK Yeo]

Looks like it is krib spawning season.



ck

[benny]

WOW!!! Really krib spawning season!! Congrats!

Cheers,

[ahaetulla]

Ahh.. cute. What food are you choosing to raise them on?

[CK Yeo]

I am not sure what they are feeding on. The fries just absorbed their yolk and the parent are just herding them around. Only one word to describe: CUTE.

Should I be supplementing them with food?

ck