Breeding pair of kribs problem?

In an aquarium we keep the cichlid pairs like kribs and angelfish together.

In nature, after spawning, they would be able to wander off from each other and the next time they would probably spawn with a different partner.

Angelfish usually adapt well to monogamy, and discus, but kribs in my experience of breeding them since 1970, don't. They turn on each other BECAUSE they have been together so much longer than is natural for the species.

I may let a young pair breed together two or three times, but then I am watching. If the male does not stay on perimeter duty as he most often does from the start, then I pull him out and let the female raise the fry the rest of the way herself. I could take a chance and leave them together longer. With luck a pair could breed for several years. But if your fry come from a variety of partners, they will have more genetic variability and be closer in that way to a wild population of kribs.

If a pair come to the point yours has, the both of them are high risk partners for any other krib and ultra high risk if placed back together. An abusive male krib will be as likely to beat a new partner as to spawn with her, and he will be a poor father too, trying to take over the lead from the female. A female that has been beaten and recovers is very likely to view any male at all as a threat, and she is very likely to attack and kill him preemptively.

Another factor is that as kribs get older they need more space. If you have your pair in a ten or 15 gallon tank, moving them to a larger tank after a couple spawns would have helped. Also about two inches of Java moss covering the tank bottom gives the fry and the parents more privacy, something kribs value. You may have noticed if you look too long at the fry in their pit, the parents move them to a new pit more out of your view.

If you are a risk taker and want to put them back together, wait several months, put them into a new larger tank with decor unfamiliar to both and lots of live plants or frilly plastic ones. Then watch very carefully. It could work. Keep in mind I have been breeding kribs a long time and I am tired of seeing mayhem so I break up pairs much sooner than the average krib breeder. And I get the side benefit of a genetically sturdier strain.

a million. they are too small. 2. No. 3. sure, whilst the time comes. Kribs choose to reproduce in a cave, so place 3-4 medium sized terracotta flower pots, and a pair of" percentpipe on the backside of the tank. Kribs and firemouths the two recover from 5" long, so no. Your tank is purely too small. 5. parent on 4 pairs and additionally try to be secure.

It can happen ,sometimes there is no reason it just happens .

I had a pair of Angel;s that did that and they had to be kept separated .