kribs that are naughty

[lovemylabs]

I've got a pair of kribs, and since they mated, the male's been acting really protective - but not of fry, of the food itself. He's aggressive and territorial whenever I add food, chasing other fish away from it, no matter where it is in the tank.

I'm pretty sure it's not about eggs, since the behavior's the same regardless of the food's location.

I'm wondering if moving the female back to my other tank would calm him down a bit - make him less aggressive and territorial.

[lovemylabs]

I'm still having issues with my male krib acting aggressively over food. He's only been doing this since they mated and I'm wondering if separating them would calm him down a bit.

[swiftfly]

If you've got eggs, the female will likely be hiding in the cave, only venturing out occasionally for food - typical krib behavior. My male goes ballistic when they're breeding, even attacking the glass magnet. I'd advise against moving the female, as she can't defend the eggs on her own, and if you remove her, the male may see the eggs as a snack. If you do need to separate them temporarily due to aggression, it's always best to remove the aggressor - in this case, the male.

By the way, what's your tank's stocking like, and how big is it?

[swiftfly]

I've got a pair of kribs, and since they mated, the male's been acting really protective - but not of fry, of the food itself. He's aggressive and territorial whenever I add food, chasing other fish away from it, no matter where it is in the tank.

I'm pretty sure it's not about eggs, since the behavior's the same regardless of the food's location.

I'm wondering if moving the female back to my other tank would calm him down a bit - make him less aggressive and territorial.

Hi there,

I've moved the female to the smaller tank and the male has really calmed down. A shame, really, as I love having them together. The larger tank's quite heavily stocked, and I wasn't aware of how territorial and aggressive kribs can be when I got them. No surprise the LFS didn't give me the best advice - I was after assassin snails, and they sold me the kribs saying they'd eat the snails, which they don't do particularly well.

When they had fry, they hung around the bogwood. No cave for them, I suppose that's why.

I think keeping them separate is my best bet until I can sort out the stocking or get another tank.

[lovemylabs]

My larger tank is a 225 litre setup, and the smaller one is 60 litres.