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Hi

Just wanted to check whether you think a pair of breeding kribs could be safely put in a 15G tank with 3 Ottos? I've also read that you should at least keep some small schooling fish (neons etc) for the kribs to take their aggression out on when they are at their most aggressive, to save them attacking each other. Is this true? What would you recommedn for this and how many? (I'm expecting the answer to be 6 of a small fish - tetra/rasbora - but I just wanted any thoughts you have).

Thanks

I"ve kept a breeding pair of kribs in a 4ft tank (with their eventual offspring). I found that the pair would declare half of the tank to be their breeding terretory at any point in time.

I think your plan might be a bit close. I'm sure you could keep a breeding pair by themselves in that tank, but I'm not sure about stocking it with other fish, particularly as you could end up with extra baby kribs in there.

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yeah, in a tank as small as 15 gallon the kribs will kill most other fish, the dither principle is kinda archaic fishkeeping primarily spread by people who dont care too much if small fish live or die, it seldom works, and something usually cops for it. Its kinda synonymous with abusive fishkeeping. Ive never seen a fish under such circumstances have a good life free of fear, and thats just not the right way to do things.

Its better to keep other small species out of aggressive cichlid tanks. in 15 gal, nothing will be getting away from an aggressive male krib, including the females if you get a nasty one. Its much better, not to mention ethically sound when dealing with aggressive cichlids , to give them the territorial room they need and plenty of cover and visual barriers. Its the only humane way.

In a 15 gal, its a pair of kribs, (even then youll have to check the female is ok with the male, IME male kribs often kill females.) or a small community of something else , like a small shoaling species.

I have 5 Bolivian rams in my 5ft tank and they are considered the peaceful variety yet one of them is scared of nothing, recently the very large Hoplo was in front of one of the many areas they go to and he/she would not stop picking at the Hoplos fins finally the Hoplo moved. They all patrol the tank as if they own it. I would hate to what would happen in a small 15G tank.

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Keith

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Thanks for all the replies, this is definitely different info to what I've previously found when looking up info on the kribs. I'm sure that I had previously read that a pair would be OK in a 10G - which is why I thought they would be OK in a 15G. I had also not seen that view of dither fish, LHG, so thanks for bringing that to my attention. Again, I had previously read that they were necessary to stop the male and female taking their aggression out on each other. I currently have the Kribs in a 29G with some Harlequins, and they pretty much leave them alone.

I already have the kribs, and they have paired off (a few other females were returned to the LFS after the male had made his choice), so I wasn't concerned about them fighting in the 15G - although I had read that moving them could cause the pair's bond to break which was a little worrying, but I would have kept an eye on them.

The plan had been to move them to the 15G and just leave the otto's in as an algae control. The Kribs have already had 2 batches of fry, but the survival rates amongst the young are pretty low. I had hoped that putting them in with only Ottos would improve the survival odds for the fry, and then to buy another small tank (currently available for a very reasonable price at my LFS) to use as a grow out tank.

However, having read the above answers, I think I'll abandon this plan.

Thanks for the answers, once again I've learnt something new.