Individual Fish Description Page

This page will give a completely detailed profile of the selected fish, from A to Z. The profiled fish will be chosen randomly by Badman, and will come from the complete genre of tropical fish. I will try to up-date the profile on a monthly basis. If you have a specific fish you want profiled please vote for it in the favorite fish poll on the main index page.

Classification

Order:	Perciformes
Sub-order:	Percoidi
Family:	Cichlidae
Genera:	Pelvicachromis

Common name

Kribensis, Dwarf Rainbow Cichlid.

Tropical West Africa, the Niger river Delta

A fairly slender fish with slight lateral compression. The nose and head area heading toward the back forms a gentle slope The Dorsal fin starts at or just before the Pectoral fins and its rear portion is pointed in the male, rounded in the female. The Caudal fin is somewhat higher than it is long, with its shape being generally round. Males can reach a length of three and one half inches, with the females slightly smaller.

Kribs are an attractive fish and their coloration varies. Here is a general color. The back is brownish with either a Blue or Lilac sheen to it, becoming an off White to Ivory towards the belly area which also has the same sheen as the back area. The most distinctive trait is the large Rose to Purple colored marking on the belly which extends almost to the back. On the back edge of the gill covers there is a Brown spot edged with Red on top and Blue on the bottom. The Anal fin is a pale Lilac The Ventral fins Have bright Blue front edges with blue fin rays and the body of the fins are is violet in males and Red in females. The males Caudal fin has one to five "eye" spots that dark in color and edged in Yellow.

This is one of the most popular Cichlids we keep. They are an African Cichlid, but do not inhabit the Great Rift Lakes so their requirements are not the same. Kribs have several advantages over their larger cousins. They can be kept with other and they don't do the usual digging of the substrate. The territories they establish are small so a large tank is not needed or you can keep several in one large tank. They will even breed in a community set up. The Kribs live mainly in West African rivers and they prefer shallow water with lots of shelter from plants and drift wood and rock caves. they tolerate a temperature range of 77 to 82 F. (25 to 28 C. ) a pH of 5 to 7.5 and soft to hard water. a very adaptable fish. feeding Kribs is no problem as they will accept all types of food including live, frozen and flake.

Shallow areas with leafy plants, bog wood and leaf debris in slow moving water in Southern Nigeria.

krib with fry

The Krib is a typical shelter breeder which will spawn in a rock cave or an inverted flowerpot which have narrow entrances. The Red-Brown eggs hatch in two to three days with both parents guarding the fry. The babies are free swimming four to five days after hatching and are easy to raise. the young can be feed baby brine shrimp "Artemia" and fine flake food. growth is fairly quick.

back to the fish profile page.