Kribensis digging behavior

[roninja]

hey, i've got my kribs in the breeding tank now and they've been digging like crazy, pits everywhere after just a week. a couple things i'm wondering about though.

is all this digging directly related to spawning or is it just them being kribs.

should i just leave it all as is? tank's due for a clean and i'll be filling the pits in anyway.

and if they are breeding, how can i tell? they've made a couple of decent caves but i cant see inside either, would it be a bad idea to lift the rocks and pots to take a peek?

cheers

[wingbeat]

To be honest, I think the digging and pit-making is more of a geneflake thing, rather than a direct sign of spawning. If you're due for a tank clean, go ahead and fill the pits in - the kribs will just dig new ones and have fun doing it.

As for the caves, I'd advise against lifting the rocks and pots, even if you're curious about what's going on inside. If they have spawned, disturbing them could stress the parents out and they might end up eating the eggs or wrigglers. If they have bred, you'll find out soon enough - just be patient and keep an eye on the tank.

[roninja]

Thanks for the info, I've got another question - when do they usually start spawning? I'm not entirely sure how old they are, but I'd say the male's about 2 inches and the female's around 1.5 inches.

[wingbeat]

They've likely got a bit of growing to do yet. My pair was a fair bit bigger when they spawned, I'd say the male was around three inches, the female two to two and a half, but that was years ago, so my memory's a bit fuzzy.

[roninja]

ok so if the digging's just geneflake behavior, do you think it's safe to move them back into the community tank now? my pair of rams seem to be getting along again and look like they're ready to spawn, so i was thinking of moving them to the breeding tank