Does a solitary kribensis cichlid experience stress?

[songbird9]

Hi all, just joined so fingers crossed I'm posting right

I got a pair of Kribensis Cichlids today and a couple of hours later the Female was dead. My water parameters are all fine and I only keep peaceful community fish, so I'm stumped. I know Krib Cichlids are supposed to mate for life, so I'm worried about my Male - will he take to a new Female? Help!

[flinta]

If you've only just got them, take the dead one back to the shop, they should have a 24-48 hour guarantee. Was there any sign of fighting? What exactly happened in those couple of hours after adding them to your tank?

[songbird9]

They weren't aggressive towards each other at all, actually. I observed them for a good hour and a half after introducing them to the tank and they seemed fine, displaying normal behaviour. Then, a couple of hours later, I found the female dead. It's really confusing me. Now I'm worried about my male, whether he'd accept a new female since they were a pair to begin with.

[flinta]

Were they already in the same tank when you got them, or did you put them together? Were they already a mated pair or just babies when you bought them?

[songbird9]

They were in the same tank, and the guy at the shop said they'd already paired up, although they hadn't bred yet.

[flinta]

I've re-read my previous posts, cringe-worthy English and all. I'm not entirely sure if Kribensis Cichlids pair for life, but since they're young, I think you'll be alright adding another female. As I said before, the shop should replace the one you lost.

[songbird9]

Thanks so much for your help, really appreciate it x

[haven_9]

Just a quick note, Kribensis don't mate for life - I've learned that from personal experience. I had a Nigerkento4 Red pair that mated multiple times, but unfortunately, they didn't produce any offspring. However, their relationship ended in tragedy when the male turned aggressive and killed the female. I ended up selling him, and interestingly, he's now thriving with a new mate and even has babies.

My partner has two breeding pairs of Kribensis, and their experiences also contradict the 'mate for life' theory. The older pair's female has had three different males, while the male had a previous mate before joining my partner's female. The reason for the high turnover rate among the males was due to the presence of aggressive cichlids in the tank, which would often target the males.

In light of this, I'm confident that your male Kribensis will be fine on his own. Nevertheless, I agree that the shop should take responsibility for the deceased female and offer a suitable replacement or compensation.

[Asteron]

I got a pair from my LFS last year, but the female had buoyancy issues so I swapped her out for another. Initially, the new female and male were a bit iffy, but they soon paired up. They've laid several batches of eggs since, no babies yet though.

[dynamo7]

Kribensis Cichlids are actually harem breeders, so they don't really form long-term pair bonds. Adding another female to your tank should be fine, and the male will likely accept her without issue.