Tankmates for Kribs

[Balance]

so I'm not sure what happened to my original post, but here it is a again (that explains why they're no replies lol)

I've got a 20G tank that I'm planning on putting a pair of Kribs into.

I'm looking for some decent tankmates that wont get torn up by the kribs....

would a small school (3-5) of Tiger Barbs or Green Tiger Barbs do well?

thanks in advance for any input!

 

[ScubaSteve]

I wouldn't go with less than 6 tiger barbs... that way the aggression stays within the group....

 

[Avalon]

Kribs aren't that violent. They do get testy when they are breeding, but not too rough. Basically, they defend their territory against intruders, but they don't seek out other fish to kill, unless there is another unwelcome krib.

I would choose fast fish. Small tetras would be fine, or maybe some rainbowfish. You could get away with livebearers too, but I don't think guppies would fare well. Gouramis do well also, botias will do well, but I'm not sure about cories.

 

[fishboy]

I like danios in my krib tanks. Keeps the kribs on their toes, defending the territory against the danios, and keeps big mama krib off beating up the father.

-Daniel

 

[bigfoot150]

Well as a proud krib keeper I can say that for the most part kribs are not very mean. They can be kept in a community tank with just about anything so long as they have their space. Cories, loaches, gouramis, tetras, rainbows, SAEs, and rasboras all make good tankmates. The only fish that might have a hard time are other cichlids including angels.

I have also bred kribs on several occasions. As mentioned above, as long as the kribs are given enough space and the tank is big enough you should have no problem.

I actually have a pair in a 20G right now that are raising some fry. If you are planning on breeding them I recommend that you don't have many tankmates. I also wouldn't recommend barbs as they will end up eating your fry very quickly once the fry are free swimming. I also suggest that you don't put any loaches in a breeding tank as they will also eat the fry. Some small tetras or rasboras would be good tankmates.

One other thing to keep in mind is that if you are successful in breeding your kribs you will end up with several fry that will need to be raised. This will add to the bioload of your tank and could stress the system.

 

[Fruitbat]

If you want to keep your tank African you might consider one of the smaller species of Synodontis catfish as your bottom dwellers and the Congo Tetra (Phenacogrammus interruptus as your mid-level fish. Here are a couple of pictures from my tanks:

Synodontis eupterus (this is a juvenile...as adults they will be too big for a 20gallon but there are others that stay smaller).

Phenacogrammus interruptus