Breeding Kribensis
Breeding Pelvicachromis pulcher: a cave-spawning dwarf cichlid. Sexing the purple-bellied female, pairing from a group, caves, ~300 eggs and biparental fry care.
Overview
Kribensis (Pelvicachromis pulcher), also called the Purple Cichlid, is a cave-spawning dwarf cichlid from Nigeria and Cameroon. It forms monogamous pairs and breeds readily, which the KB record rates as beginner-level difficulty.
Sexing
Males grow to about 10 cm and females to about 7.5 cm. Males have pointed dorsal, caudal and anal fins. Females develop a characteristic purple belly when in spawning condition and are rounder-bodied than males.
Conditioning
Rather than buying a random male-female pair, it is preferable to acquire six or more juveniles and allow a pair to form naturally, since forced pairings can lead to aggression or death.
Breeding Setup
Provide plenty of caves as potential spawning sites; upturned clay flowerpots with a small piece of the rim removed work particularly well. Gentle air-powered filtration is preferred to prevent fry from being drawn into power filters. Spawning conditions are about 24-27 °C (75-81 °F) at pH 6.5-7.0.
- Temperature: 24-27 °C (75-81 °F)
- pH: 6.5-7.0
- Spawning site: caves / upturned flowerpots
- Filtration: gentle, air-powered
Spawning Behavior & Trigger
Up to 300 eggs are usually laid on the roof or wall of the selected cave.
Egg & Fry Care
Eggs hatch in 2-3 days and the fry become free-swimming after 7-8 days. The female tends the eggs while the male defends the territory, and both parents lead and protect the fry. Fry accept brine shrimp nauplii or microworm as first foods and will also browse on algae and detritus.
Common Challenges
Forced pairings can result in aggression, so natural pair formation from a group is the safer route; managing pH also matters because it skews the sex ratio of the brood.