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I'm planning out my new tank COMPLETELY before I get started on it and I've got everything with the tank itself pretty much figured out. I'm pretty sure that, with the help of others, I've decided what fish I'm going to get:

2 Kribs (1M,1F)
1 male SFF
8-10 tetras (I'm still debating between buenos aires, glowlights, red-eyes, and cardinals, but I'm leaning more towards glowlights)
2-3 YoYo loaches
2-3 ottos

What I want to know is, in which order should I add the fish to be sure that each fish has equal oppurtunity to claim its own territory? I do know that the ottos should be the last fish that I add to insure that water parameters are perfect because of how delicate they are during transition and acclimation. And the loaches should be added before the kribs because they are both bottom-dwellers, correct?

How many gallons is your tank?

Chris

I would actually add the yoyos after the kribs to get the kribs settled before having to share the lower regions of the tank with the yoyos. Though the kribs may defend their chosen territories, they are unlikely to outright attack the yoyos. I'd think if the Kribs go in last, they are more likely to stress out and take a longer time to settle in.

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...

i don't mean to sound rude on this one, but i have to be straight foreward here. If you put a pair of mated kribs in your tank, you will kill everything off, except maybe the female krib. I've bred kribs, i have 3 adults hanging around, and i've made many mistakes with them in community settings. Tetras would make a good dither for one male or female. They will not manage to catch the tetras, simply bluff charge the school, that will keep your otto's alive with any luck. As for the yoyo's, i haven't mixed kribs with the ones i've gotten recently, so no clue there. I'de reccomend going with glowlights, they'll hopefully stress less than cardinals.

*edit PS*

by SFF do you mean a betta? i'de strike that one off the list of possible fish to survive a krib encounter... i've had a kribensis swim to the top of the tank to pick on an angel fish twice its size.

Alot of this will depend on how large your tank is and how many hiding places/territorial markers you provide, if you are worried about the Kribs aggressive behavior. And as someone else already stated if the sff is a betta I would not add him with the Kribs. Just my personal opinion.

I just got a Male and Female set of Kribs. I am housing them in my 40G long that is very well planted. Tank mates are Brilliant Rasboras, Skunk loaches, Otos, a few guppy fry, one male guppy and Cherry shrimp.

Thus far the Kribs have only payed attention to the guppy fry. Not really picking on them but checking them out. They seem to get along with everyone else.

One thing though. My kribs are still young. Maybe 2 inches long.

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

Alot of this will depend on how large your tank is and how many hiding places/territorial markers you provide, if you are worried about the Kribs aggressive behavior. And as someone else already stated if the sff is a betta I would not add him with the Kribs. Just my personal opinion.

Yes, the SFF is a betta, I'll scratch him off the list. My tank is a 30 gal with dimensions of 36"x12"x16".

IMO, add the ottos first. Then the tetras. Then yoyos (but only one, maybe two). Lastly the kribs. And I too would not recomend the addition of the betta.

As for kribs and their aggression, I have kept them spawning with many different fish, including but not limited to; other cichlids, yoyos, other loaches, corys and other catfish, multiple livebearers, and just about all families of other fish. I have rarely seen the aggression mentioned sometimes. However, that is not to say it cannot be there. All fish are individuals and some are more aggressive than others, they all have their own personalities. But, I have had common kribs spawn somewhere around 100 spawns. And I have yet to see it. They do have their respected territories and yes will protect it, as well as protect thier fry.

Currently I am keeping in a 29gal, two young pairs of Humilis (one spawning now) in with a pair of montizuma swords, 2 pair of M. maccullochi rainbows, a breeding pair of oil cats, and 4 small farowella. The humilis are probably the most aggressive of the Pelvicachromis genus. All the other fish have learned to stay away from the cave of the spawning pair. But they go about their way in the rest of the tank. I just recently took out a 5 inch yoyo, as I thought he was infringing on the spawning of the Humilis. It appeared I was correct, as they spawned a few days later.

IMO, your choice of fish will be fine.

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