geeks_15

I should add a couple things regarding pelvicachromis taeniatus. There are many varieties. Some are hardier than others. Some breed more easily. Some require different water conditions (hardness, pH).

My p. taeniatus 'moliwe' have breed without much help from me. I've fed the fry baby brine shrimp and they have done the rest.

My p. taeniatus 'lobe' on the other hand, laid eggs in the quarantine tank. The eggs didn't hatch and they have shown no interest in breeding since. Maybe I should put them back into the QT.

gonathan85

Kribs (pelvicachromis pulcher) are actually available as 1 inch specimens at the LFS. They look pretty colorless, but are fun to watch in the tanks.

I'm slowly being turned off to the Dwarf Cockatoo Cichlids, and might attempt them after trying a pair of Kribs. The Kribs will give me some experience with dwarf cichlids that I am lacking at this point. I'm not one to jump into something that is out of my league (cockatoos), and realize that I might just end up killing them.

Should I go with 1 pair of Kribs? Should I try for 1 male and 2 females?

ddavila06

i did a trio and didn't go so well, two paired and i felt bad for the left-aside-lone-female...they had bunch of babies and the only regret i have is that they won't let anyone get close so the tank looked like crap...dirty and algea everywhere for some reason in their side. i just saw one new fry come out today, oh no! now it starts over...they are great fish though!!! and is so funny seeing the female herding the babies around

Philosophos

IMO A. cacatuoides is as easy as you will get for apistos. If you can keep your pH neutral and water change 50% weekly (happens anyhow if you use EI) then there's nothing really to worry about.

Kribs are a rather agressive fish compared to south american dwarfs. Use hearty dithers, not sensitive tetras with them. It's hard NOT to spawn these guys, and at very least one of them will be good parents, if not both. Definitely a good intro to dwarf cichlids if you have harder water or infrequent water changes. Otherwise, I actually found them harder on other fish in the tank, but easier to spawn than apistos.

-Philosophos