Korbia xinguensis question

[AutumnEffect]

tl;dr: Are Korbia social fish that prefer to be be in groups of their own kind? Or will one be happy by itself?

I stopped at one of my semi-local fish stores awhile back, and they had a tank marked 'semi-aggressive' cichlids. The smallest fish, about 4", looked unusual. The guys working said it was a customer drop-off and they didn't tell them what it was. Their best guest was a Black Acara. I didn't think that was right, the body shape and markings didn't match. So I bought it.

I first put it in a 75 with some gold barbs and one Cichlasoma 'Ruta 44' about the same size. The Ruta 44 was being a dick, so I moved the Korbia to a 40B with some black phantom tetra and dwarf corys temporarily. It started coming out some and changing colors, which allowed me to finally identify it as a Korbia xinguensis, sex unknown at this point. The Korbia didn't even look at the dwarf corys, which makes sense now since everything I've read so far says they are insectivores.

I've since moved things around - the Ruta 44 is now in a 40B with some black skirt tetras and the Korbia is in a 75 with some Brilliant Rasbora (R. borapetensis).

Does anyone know if K. xinguensis are social fish that prefer to be groups, or will this fish be happy in the 75 by himself with other smaller tankmates like the rasboras? I've haven't seen a whole lot of information about them online. I have also not see any for sale online, which could make sourcing more fish a challenge.

Thanks in advance!

 

[duanes]

Krobia prefer water with a pH range between 5 and 7, and some fairly strong current.
Are considered non-aggressive, so would do best in a group of their own kind, and not housed with more aggressive cichlid species, if the tank is large enough.
Where they are found in nature, they share waters with no less than 30 species of tetras.

 

[bkfamus]

I kept 5 in a 125 with group of Geophagus mirabilis, apistos, tetras, cories and plecos.. no problems ever, but the xinguensis were the bosses of the tank.. no harm, just aggressive when fed.. I'd think 1 would be fine with dithers, but ime the group worked well.. if you're in, or near Maryland, I can source more for you.. and online, I think I saw them recently available at Dan's fish..

 

[AutumnEffect]

I kept 5 in a 125 with group of Geophagus mirabilis, apistos, tetras, cories and plecos.. no problems ever, but the xinguensis were the bosses of the tank.. no harm, just aggressive when fed.. I'd think 1 would be fine with dithers, but ime the group worked well.. if you're in, or near Maryland, I can source more for you.. and online, I think I saw them recently available at Dan's fish..

I am very close to Maryland, I picked this fish up at CTE Aquatics just north of Baltimore. Do you breed them?

It's interesting you say they were the bosses of the tank, this one is very shy and didn't even try to push back when the Ruta 44 was being a bully. Even in the tank at the store, it was off in a corner by itself while the other fish were swimming around. I've only ever seen this fish eat live bloodworms from the substrate at night.

 

[bkfamus]

I am very close to Maryland, I picked this fish up at CTE Aquatics just north of Baltimore. Do you breed them?

It's interesting you say they were the bosses of the tank, this one is very shy and didn't even try to push back when the Ruta 44 was being a bully. Even in the tank at the store, it was off in a corner by itself while the other fish were swimming around. I've only ever seen this fish eat live bloodworms from the substrate at night.

Londontowne Tropicals has some in stock..

Maybe boss was too strong.. they were never aggressive except when feeding.. they outcompeted the geos and even gorged on wafers intended for the plecos and corydoras.. But other than being a little pushy at feeding time mine were calm the rest of the time..

Ime australaheros were definitely more aggressive than K. xinguensis..

 

[bkfamus]

Also, I kept mine for about a year from young and moved them recently.. they never bred in my community tank..

And I referenced autralaheros because I thought they were pretty docile like Krobia, until keeping some red ceibals that bullied much bigger Geo iporanguensis in a 180.. Krobias were very calm, no torn fins, no flaring... basically picked an area and chilled.. but very determined when food hit the water..

 

[AutumnEffect]

I will check out Londontowne Tropicals. Thanks.

Do you know the sexes of the 5 you had? How many would you recommend for a 75?

 

[bkfamus]

No I didn't know the sexes of my group.. they were pretty indistinguishable to me.. I typically by 5 or 6 of most species and wait for pairing activity.. but I never noticed any pairing in my community tank.. may have been too busy in there, or maybe they were still too young..

I would think 5 in a 75 should work growing out until pairing.. I'd guess as they grow and pair you may need to remove any excess males.. They're small, but get thicker as they grow... But didn't seem to require much space in my tank.. Based on size and activity you may be able to get two pairs to coexist in a 75, but I have not had much success w/ other non Geo, Thoricthys, Cribroheros or Amatitlania cichlids w/ multiple males of the same cichlid species in the same tank

Maybe some members with more experience with them will chime in.. ryansmith83

 

[AutumnEffect]

Thanks for the suggestion of Londontown Tropicals, I called them and confirmed they have some K. xinguensis available. I am planning on getting four of them this weekend and will remove fish down the line as needed.

 

[duanes]

It's interesting you say they were the bosses of the tank, this one is very shy and didn't even try to push back when the Ruta 44 was being a bully. Even in the tank at the store, it was off in a corner by itself while the other fish were swimming around. I've only ever seen this fish eat live bloodworms from the substrate at night.

If kept alone, many of these shoaling type cichlids " if" taken out of their natural group element, become either especially shy, or hyper aggressive.
When Thorichthys are in a shoal in a large enough tank, seem docile, but keep one as a single individual, and you never know what to expect, same with many geophagines. (including Gymngeopagines)

Even with very geographically separate cichlids like Madagascan Paretroplines, if in their compatible shoal, are fine.
But alone, if the group gets broken up for some reason, all hell breaks loose.