Kribs in a 135g SA tank?

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Mythic Figment

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 27, 2012
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So I have a 135 gallon tank I am restoring and my girlfriend has asked about kribs. I know very little about them and I read a lot of mixed opinions online. So I am looking for some help to find out if kribs would possibly be decent tankmates for my other fish and my eventual entire stock list.

So I currently intend to do this:
6 geophagus red head tapajos
4 keyhole cichlids
6 angelicus loaches (already have them)
4 turquoise severum (these guys are only temporarily in the tank until I get a breeding pair where I will move the pair to a 75 gallon I will have when they are ready to mate and rehome the remaining 2 unless they get along really, really well with the other fish. I do already have these guys, but they are only 1" long each.)

I will be raising all my fish from as small a size I can get, so long as they are not at a size where they are a threat to their other tankmates. I have read that kribs get down right mean when the breed. If I get kribs, they would replace the geos in the stock list and i would get 5-6 of them. Will 135 gallons be enough room to escape these potential parents? And will the kribs get along with the loaches who also share the bottom level? I have also considered German blue rams instead of kribs. I have read they are much more sensitive to water quality and can be hard to keep alive, so if this is true I think I will pass on them as an idea. I have also read bits here and there about a fish similar in size to rams and kribs called apistos. How do they compare to kribs and rams? Aggression, breeding, size, sensitivity to water quality, etc.

I am torn between the geos and the keyholes living together because the geos are earth movers and the keyholes like planted areas. I have considered fake plants, but would kind of like to try a live planted tank. I can live with either option. It's more about the fish than the plants. :) Thoughts on which of these fish is nicer?

Thanks for the help all. Any info you can give is greatly appreciated. :D


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Kribs at like SA cichlids and need the same care aand act the same. They only grow about 4-5" If I remember correctly but are African. I believe they'll do great with your stock.

I need to spark up my fish life
 
Appistos will be too small for the Severums so will the rams. I say go with the kribs as they are bigger and easily cared for and easliy breed.


I need to spark up my fish life
 
Since the girlfriend brought up the idea of kribs, I think their habitat would be closer to the keyholes in terms of plants. The geos are very nice and I would love some red head tapajos, but I like the idea of a live planted tank, which will please the keyholes more. I have seen tapajos in planted tanks where they don't destroy the plants, but I have to wonder how often that happens successfully? I will end up with a breeding pair of severums and they will be in a pretty plain 75 gallon tank with little to nothing for decoration except some driftwood and a few caves. While they will do well in that environment, I feel my display tank should have more to it.


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Patrick Kostka said:
I have seen tapajos in planted tanks where they don't destroy the plants, but I have to wonder how often that happens successfully?
Click to expand...

I'm doing this using Anubias. I tuck the rhizome of each plant in a cluster of rocks so that the geos digging activity doesn't cause a problem. So far so good. Here's a pic of the tank (110 gal tall) with Anubias, and another with orange-head geos and plants in the background. I could have gone with more plants, but I want them to spread naturally.

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Kribs will often do well with South Americans as long as they have space for a territory if they breed. And if you have a male and female, they will breed. Like South American cichlids (or any cichlids, really) they will get really nasty toward conspecifics in the same tank once a pair has formed. For that reason, I'd buy a small male and female for the tank. Even if they don't pair pond right away, there is plenty of room in a tank that size for two small kribs to get away from each other.

I have used them with larger peaceful cichlids like Uaru, discus, and angelfish with great success. The one thing I did notice is that they don't seem to like their water too warm, so nothing higher than the low 80s is probably a safe bet. Aggression isn't usually an issue as long as they have their own space for a territory. I've always read their attitudes can turn nasty when spawning but mine didn't seem to cause any trouble. If they were in smaller tanks I can see where this might be an issue but that goes for any spawning pair of cichlids.

Keyholes do not need planted tanks. I keep them in my regular community tanks which only have driftwood, pots, and rocks and they are fine.
 
fug202 said:
I'm doing this using Anubias. I tuck the rhizome of each plant in a cluster of rocks so that the geos digging activity doesn't cause a problem. So far so good. Here's a pic of the tank (110 gal tall) with Anubias, and another with orange-head geos and plants in the background. I could have gone with more plants, but I want them to spread naturally.
Click to expand...

I had not thought about rocks before. You will have to tell me how that works out. How deep a sand layer do you have?

I am still torn between geos and kribs. I may just stick with geos since it sounds like they are calmer and less aggressive than kribs.


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