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Perhaps the most widely know of the riverine African cichlids, the krib is a fine addition to any species tank. Not a large cichlid and peaceful for the species the krib is easy to breed and fun to watch. During breeding the bright reds on the body become very bright making it one of the most colorful cichlids available.

Quick stats: Listed tank sizes are the minimum Size: Up to 4" (10cm), females smaller Tank: 24 inches Strata: Bottom, middle PH: 5.0 to 7.5 Hardness: Soft to medium. dH range: 0.0 - 12.0 Temperature: 75ºF to 84ºF (24-29°C) Classification Order: Perciformes Suborder: Percoidi Family: Cichlidae Genera: Pelvicachromis

Common name

Kribensis, Dwarf Rainbow Cichlid.

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Distribution

Tropical West Africa, the Niger river Delta

A fairly slender fish with slight lateral compression. The nose and head area heading toward the back forms a gentle slope The Dorsal fin starts at or just before the Pectoral fins and its rear portion is pointed in the male, rounded in the female. The Caudal fin is somewhat higher than it is long, with its shape being generally round. Males can reach a length of three and one half inches, with the females slightly smaller.

Kribs are an attractive fish and their coloration varies. Here is a general color. The back is brownish with either a Blue or Lilac sheen to it, becoming an off White to Ivory towards the belly area which also has the same sheen as the back area. The most distinctive trait is the large Rose to Purple colored marking on the belly which extends almost to the back. On the back edge of the gill covers there is a Brown spot edged with Red on top and Blue on the bottom. The Anal fin is a pale Lilac The Ventral fins Have bright Blue front edges with blue fin rays and the body of the fins are is violet in males and Red in females. The males Caudal fin has one to five "eye" spots that dark in color and edged in Yellow.

Male	Female

This is one of the most popular Cichlids we keep. They are an African Cichlid, but do not inhabit the Great Rift Lakes so their requirements are not the same. Kribs have several advantages over their larger cousins. They can be kept with other and they don't do the usual digging of the substrate. The territories they establish are small so a large tank is not needed or you can keep several in one large tank. They will even breed in a community set up. The Kribs live mainly in West African rivers and they prefer shallow water with lots of shelter from plants and drift wood and rock caves. They tolerate a temperature range of 77 to 82 F. (25 to 28 C. ) a pH of 5 to 7.5 and soft to hard water. a very adaptable fish. Feeding Kribs is no problem as they will accept all types of food including live, frozen and flake.

Shallow areas with leafy plants, bog wood and leaf debris in slow moving water in Southern Nigeria.

krib with fry

The Krib is a typical shelter breeder which will spawn in a rock cave or an inverted flowerpot which have narrow entrances. The Red-Brown eggs hatch in two to three days with both parents guarding the fry. The babies are free swimming four to five days after hatching and are easy to raise. The young can be feed baby brine shrimp "Artemia" and fine flake food. Growth is fairly quick.

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From: Joe Date:03/27/2008 These fish are very aggressive. I have 3 pairs of them in a 75 gallon fish tank, mixed with 3 big tinfoil barbs, 3 fully grown pictus cats, two pecostomus, and a pair of huge fully grown convicts. The kribs are the smallest fish in the tank and they are VERY AGGRESSIVE. They are not aggressive towards each other amazingly, but they are at war with the convicts. And at anything else that goes into there territory. The 3 pairs of kribs I have breed constantly and are very colorful and beautiful. They just cant stand the convicts. I do recommend these fish but try to have only 1 pair per tank, unless your tank is 75 gallons and up. Then multiple pairs may be kept, but they need lots of caves and hiding places to call their own. These fish vary too. I have some in different tanks that are peaceful, others are just downright vicious.. From: J3ff Date:5/07/2007 I've had a pair of breeding kribs in my old rekord 60, I recently bought 4 young kribs, for my new 3ft by 2ft by 1 1/2ft high, tons of coverage (Japanese garden look, black sand, gapes decorations and plants), 2 pairs of male and female, had them just other 3 weeks and they get along fine, after a week or so they paired off, pretty much each pair to each end of the tank. a lot of myth covers this species, I've had 1 occasion where one relentlessly attacked my betta, due to it being more decorative, but I've found if the prettier fish are added a few weeks before they seem to leave well alone. Yes they need their own space, but my community tank Has a load of different varieties of fish and I've never had trouble... I have 2 plecos, 2 kissing gouramis (fair size too), 4 black fin tetra, several various danios, the odd barb, khulis, couple pearl and honey gouramis and my 7 inch black ghost knifefish.. no trouble at all, just have to make sure my black ghost has it's own cube of bloowdworms... From: John Date:1/16/2007 First of all, if you give them enough space and good water quality they WILL NOT fight. The only time when kribensis get edgy is during mating. It has nothing to do with what they think of the other fish, only if the other fish comes too close and the krib doesn't want it too. Please don't keep too may full grown adults in one tank. 2 in a rekord 60 is just about OK. Yes, lots of plants, caves and areas to hide. I use a mixture of slate, polycarbonate rock, real rock and broken terra-cotta pots alongside 4 fake plants and 4 real. (All my pairs are housed in rekord 60's) From: Wendy Date:10/22/2006 I have a pair of these pretty fish and they get on well with all my others mainly guppies and a trio of pearl gourami. Tthey have their own area with caves and are breeding I think problems occur when there are too many fish in the tanks as like humans they all need their own space better to have fewer happy fish than crowded miserable ones which will resort to fighting to claim some territory From: Charlie Date:03/22/2003 I noticed that the other comments show very different experiences with Kribs. I too started with my kribs in a community tank and had to move them to a tank of their own. I purchased 5 young Kribs. When they were attaining sexual maturity pandemonium struck. For about two months they attacked everything including each other. Finally, The dominance question was settled and they became the peaceful (for cichlids) fish I had heard of. Things I learned They need space, mine have six gallons per fish They need lots of places to hide. The dominant fish don't pursue others once they enter a cave or dense plant. The more caves the better. I have four plastic "rock" formations which they love. They are among the most interesting fish I have found yet. I love having them. They hate fish which are more decorative than they are and will rip fins off of showy fish like guppies and Bettas From: David Date:01/12/2002 I'm new to this species, but I'd like to comment on there aggression. I purchased three at my lfs and placed them in a 5 gal. Over the next 3-4 days the dominant fish was relentless. I provided as many hiding place as the space would provide but it was hopeless on the 5th day I had one Krib. I was not discouraged entirely. I tried again with 5 Kribs in a 20-gallon long and the stress level due to aggression is much reduced. From: Brad Date:01/27/2002 Keep only one male and one female in each tank. They will constantly be competing otherwise. From: Jude Date:02/01/2002 I am studying 16 of these fish and there aggression is marked. Several males can be kept together in a tank of about 15 gal but if a female is present or even visible in a nearby tank, the fish will damage each other. Females should not be kept together as they are as aggressive as the males and will also fight for territory. From: carla Date:02/05/2002 I've just started with this fish ,I did have three but now only two and they seem to be doing well I've provided caves and hiding places but they spend a lot of time showing off at the mirrored back my tank is a triangle shaped 3ft by 2ft and 2ft high and I've also got two plecs, two bala sharks,six golden barbs and various tetras and also three khulis CLICK HERE FOR MORE COMMENTS

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