My Fish!

[Ong Bak]

So as per my previous thread where I asked about fish that are similar in temperament to Kribs, I got some kribs

When I picked them up ( about 2 weeks ago now) I spent about half anhour in the shop watching the tank, in a lucky turn the most attractive (and least agressive too) male and female already seemed to be paired off, and were staked out over some driftwood.

Got them home and within 3 days they had spawned in a little terracotta pipe(Cunningly made from 2 of those little terracotta pots anubias come in). While I was pretty excited, I noticed the male was being slack and hiding inside some of my driftwood and not helping out or guarding as other kribs I've had have, and later on when one of my BN's hassled him out of the log, the female took a swipe at him.

A day later I noticed he had a discouloured spot behind his gills, large and white, where none of his normal colours were showing up, he was also looking pretty ill so I separated him. I believe it was some sort of parasite and the scales in the vicinity wer under alot of pressure and being pushed out, but no-where else on his body. Everything that I found with similar symptoms suggested he was already gone, and he was getting worse by the hour, so I had to let him go

The female kept the eggs for another day and a half until I came home and the pipe was empty both of her her and the eggs, not surprising really, I think it was her first spawn as she was quite young, and her mate had just died/run off.

So on Saturday I picked up a new male from a different store, a little larger and more mature than the previous one, but still some great colours, and also he wasn't the bullyboy of the tank. Unfortunately as soon as I got him home the female was chasing him about the tank left right and centre, and he spent alot of his time hiding in the logs or behing the filter pipe. I was worried that my purchasing for colourful placid guys was backfiring on me This morning i came out and flicked the lights on to find her strutting and curving her belly out with spread fins showing off to him, whilst he flared and strutted back. Looks like she might have been a little shaken up still from her last mate's demise, and has gotten her groove back.

Fingers crossed things work out, I am going to try and get some pics of the strutting tonight, unless they have retired to the pipe

Nick

[dobbin4]

I recon its best to remove the fish if you have probs like you say and how do you know that the B/nose did not like the eggs. Also looks like the female had taken a bite out of the unlucky male.

Did you treat him or kill him??

[Ong Bak]

Well as I said, she seems to have warmed up to them as of this morning watched the for a good 45mins to an hour with no problems, just a lot of display, my fiance even rung me up about lunch time today saying she hadn't done any of her uni work at all because she had been staring at the show all morning

As for the BN taking the eggs I don't thinkit was likely, as even after the male was gone she was constantly in the cave tending the eggs and if she was out she was hovering above it, and warning the others off it.

With regards to her taking a bite out the unlucking male, I don't think so, I couldn't see any surface damage aside from the raised scales, ie none missing, the swelling was entirely beneath the skin. You might be right though. Regardless I put him out of his misery as he was losing balance in a pretty extreme way and darkening in colour, with the developments happening pretty quickly.

Nick

[dobbin4]

But in your first post you say you saw the female take a swipe at him.

Would that not suggest she had taken a bit out of him and all he needed was some treatment to recover.

Then you say & the eggs were gone?

Sure she did not move them.