The New Kribensis Fry

This morning I noticed mummy and daddy kribensis moving gravel under the big green pot in the tank. They were making a tunnel at the back of it going from one side of the pot to the other. Funny as they did exactly the same thing in the first tank...

Another look at the tank a couple of hours later, revealed that today was the day that mummy and daddy kribensis decided to show off their new batch of fry with a cautious excursion from the terracotta pot to their new tunnel under the green pot. This afternoon they ventured to the front of the tank and my son, Joshua, took these incredible first photos of them all. (thanks Josh!!)

I can't believe that it has only been one month since their last batch and I had forgotten just how tiny the babies are. I have probably said this previously, but honestly they look like a moving cloud of dots under mum and dad. So so sweet.

OMG OMG OMG

I noticed that my female Kribensis belly was looking whitish the last couple of days so I just couldn't resist checking... and OMG yep there are tiny gray moving eggs inside the pot!!

Woohoo!!

This time I upended a terracotta pot in their new tank instead of lying in flat to see if that would make a better cave for them - apparently it did as there was no digging and moving gravel this time. ;)

Video of the Kribensis Parents and Their Babies

I love it how doing this blog enables me to learn different things like adding photos and videos - so

here goes a vid of the parents and their babies:

The Proud Parents

The proud kribensis parents showed off their young for the first time this afternoon!

I discovered them all quite by accident while playing with my new digital camera lol - perfect timing or what? :P

I wasn't even sure they had laid their eggs yet - everywhere I read said that she disappears for a week and stays with the eggs - and every day I have seen both of the male and female. But I did notice a few days ago that her tummy looked paler than it had been and that made me wonder...

Anyway here are some pics of mum, dad and the new babies. Seems like there are about 50ish babies. Click on the photos to see the full view.

Mum and dad together with the babies -

Dad with the newborns -
Mum with the newborns -

Kribensis Cave Digging Continues

I arrived home from shopping this morning to find my 16 year old Siamese cat spellbound in front of the Krib tank. Apparently all the activity inside has piqued his interest.

The female krib was busily excavating cave one, while the male was equally as busy working on cave two. Honestly it looked like they were trying to outdo each other until suddenly they stopped and swapped caves!

This working on one cave each and then swapping caves has continued throughout the day. I am so going to laugh if after all this work they lay their eggs inside one of the flowerpots instead!!! lol

Kribensis Getting Ready to Breed

My breeding pair of kribensis are getting jiggy with it!!!

I came across a breeding pair of kribs a week and a half ago, who were then proudly showing off their tiny offspring. Tony, my favourite aquarium dealer, told me they should be spawning again in about 2 weeks. So they are right on schedule!

I knew something was fishy (no pun intended) when I caught them busily making a cave on the far side of a terracotta flower pot. Seems like they were after a little more privacy than was offered. One was obviously on guard while the other would pick up a couple of gravel rocks and spit them onto a pile which has all the makings of a battle trench. After a few times of this they would swap roles.

This has continued throughout the afternoon. Now for some reason they have started making another cave next to the other flower pot provided, nestled close to the side of the tank. But the second cave digging seems more half hearted. So now they are keeping very busy taking turns on first one cave and then the other.

Perhaps the happy couple are still undecided upon the final venue...

Now I am eager to see what they are up to when the tank lights go on in the morning.