Because of the streams they come from, it has often been published that they do better with a bit of salt in the water. While it is true that all fish do better with a little bit of salt in the water, it is strongly recommended that you do not make the water brackish for the Krib. Frankly, they don’t live all that much in salty water, and the reason for that is they don’t like it.

The rivers they come in are usually on the neutral side and sometimes border on being soft/acid. You’ll find that the Krib can handle most water conditions without problem because of this, though I’d still recommend keeping them in water with a pH above 7.5.

Heating is important with the Krib as it is with most all aquarium fish. However, they are not overly demanding of temperature, and will do well in most aquariums that are kept between 70-80° C.

Eating is another category that is important for the Krib as with all fish and humans. Fortunately for the Krib, or its owner, this fish readily will eat just about anything you throw at it. I tend to use pellets as cichlids usually spend most of their time near the bottom of the tank and seem to be happier with their food coming to them then having to travel to get their meals.

All the keeping aside, the Krib is a beautiful fish. It’s colors are bright and vibrant, especially when the male is ready for breeding. (which is frankly, most of the time) The Krib typically has a bright red line at the top of it’s dorsal fin, that has a sold black strip just below it. The body is stripped with black and white/cream. Tails tend to be yellow on top and purple or white on the bottom. Females have a very purple body and pelvic fins that help to give the impression of a much larger belly than they really have.

Unfortunately, the ease of breeding the fish often turns experienced hobbyists away from keeping them, feeling that they are not enough of a "challenge" for them. I would love to make fun of those hobbyists right now, but I really would like them to keep the fish too if they haven’t done so before, so I’ll forgo that…for now.

Kribensis. will form monogamous pairs in the aquarium. What this means is that you only need one male and one female to have successful breedings. The easiest way to find a pair is to get an assortment of males and females when they are smaller and then grow them up. Pairs will form, trust me it will be obvious, and can then be moved to a breeding tank. This method is suggested for most all fish that breed in pairs as it is often much more difficult to form pairs when the fish are older. However, with the Krib that’s not really true. You can usually throw together any male and female, and over time they will form a great pair! (a lesson to learn for the rest of us)

Males and females can generally be separated by their body size, shape, colors, and fins. Males are typically longer than the females, while the females have larger stomachs, which are purple/red. Females have rounded dorsal fins, whereas the male’s dorsal fin ends in a point.

When the Krib decides to breed, it will usually select a flower pot or other small cave to breed in. If there are multiple females in a tank, and a pair hasn’t formed yet, you will see the females lowering their pelvic fins slightly so that they look fatter! I assume that a large belly is a sign of fertility in the fish, and that this helps to key the male as to the best possible mate. Without fail, the male Krib will choose the female that has the largest stomach. If there are multiple males in the tank, you will see the females displaying for all of them, but the largest males will attract the largest amount of interest from the largest females. (bonus points! I used the word largest 3 times in one sentence)

After a pair has formed it is recommended that you move them to their own tank of 20 gallons or more. I have more than once seen a pair breed in a community tank, and they are fairly good at taking care of the young in that type of setup, but over time, the young will be killed. What’s more, the Krib tends to be very desirous to defend it’s mate and young while breeding, so your other fish in the tank will often try to find areas where they aren’t being harassed. There are many reasons, but the basic is just that it’s easier and more fun when you move the fish to another tank. I really do consider 20 gallons to be a minimum, though you might do okay with a 10, the results tend to not be as good in a tank that size. (the male killed the female the last time I tried it, though I’ve NEVER had anything like that in a 20 or larger)

The first breeding of most cichlids is usually lost. Go ahead and chalk it up to experience before it happens. It will be experience for you and for the fish. They will be much calmer the second time and the fry will probably all live as long as you feed them. (which creates problems usually as you try to figure out what to do with 80-120 baby Kribs)

The male and female will seek out a small cave that they will use for breeding. I typically put flower pots in the tank for this purpose. The pots bottoms have been broken off and inverted so that they sit about 1-2 inches above the gravel. There are also clay breeding "pots" that you may find from time to time as pictured here. They are wonderful things to use if you can, but if not, you get the general idea, and can break a clay flower pot accordingly. (besides, breaking flower pots is fun)

You will be able to tell the fish have bred because the female will disappear for 1 week and the male will skittishly swim all around the tank. Many people will remove the male at this point. Without fail, I have a higher survival rate of fry if I do so, however, it is fun to leave the male in to watch both parents at work. So I recommend taking the male out the first time they breed, and leaving him in after you’ve already had a successful breeding so you can watch how he reacts.

After the week (5-10 days) are up, the female will emerge with a ton of little swimming blobs. The blobs will follow the female very closely and eat anything they can find. The higher the female goes the more freely the fry will move. The closer the female gets to the ground, the more tight-nit the fry will become. If the female dives to the gravel, the fry will drop and remain motionless until the female moves up again.

Each night, the fry will return to the cave that is used as their home. This may not always be the cave where they were spawned, but usually will be if you have left the fish alone for the most part. (if you bugged ‘em a lot, they will move to cave to cave throughout) I’ve had females that gather up the young a mouthful at a time and then spit them into the cave every night. It is truly something to watch!

Each morning, the female will leave the cave first and scout the tank. Once she is sure that the coast is clear, she will return to the cave and the fry will begin moving out in their strange swarm-like shape again.

The fry grow SLOWLY seemingly without regard for food type or number of water changes. When they are just new born, I tend to feed them OSI’s Microfood or very finely crushed flake. I mix the flake with water and then squirt the food towards the fry. I’ve on more than one occasion had the male or female attack my hand when I put it in to get the food close to the fry, but they have very small mouths that cause you no damage at all. (but you see why you might want to put them in their own tank!)

As the fry grow, you may have a hard time selling them to pet stores, but I tend to have good luck selling them at Fish Society Auctions. If you have one in your area, it’s another benefit of being a memberJ

Adults tend to breed for 2-3 years and will breed every 4-5 weeks if you remove the fry after 4 weeks. The adults live for 3-5 years, though they lose a lot of their beauty in the last year of their life for some unknown reason.

The Krib is a wonderful fish to keep that provides a tiny glimpse into nature. I highly recommend it as your first fish as it is easy to keep and very interesting to watch. The only real worry here is that YOU WILL become an avid aquarist after you keep and breed them. Trust me on that, I’ve seen it happen before, and I’m sure I’ll see it again!