Care
The real Pelvicachromis kribensis is a beautiful West African dwarf cichlid which most of us will be more familiar with as P. taeniatus. Due to confusion over common names, it can be a challenging fish to research, as inevitably the confusion with the ubiquitous P. pulcher complicates things enormously.
A pair of these exquisite little cichlids are suitable for community aquariums measuring 90cm or longer. Larger groups should be given much more territory. The substrate should consist of natural coloured sand or fine gravel, and dark shady areas should be provided with plenty of plants, bogwood, and caves. Java moss covered coconut shells or clean new flowerpots are particular favourite hideaways, and a pair is likely to choose such a location as a spawning site. Excellent water quality should be maintained at all times, and boisterous tankmates are not advised. If kept in cramped quarters, breeding pairs will become quite aggressive towards their tankmates, so adequate space must be provided.
This fish may have missed out on the common name Kribensis, but you’ll often see it labelled as taeniatus until the new name gains wider use. As these are quite rare fish, you’ll usually see a locality or strain name in combination, such as Bipindi, Dehane, Kienke, Lobe, Lokoundje, Makoure, Moliwe, Nange, Nyete and Wouri. As it turns out, most of the taeniatus forms in captivity are actually kribensis, as Cameroon was seemingly more widely explored by fish collectors than Nigeria. A second new species (P. drachensfelsi) from Cameroon was previously known as taeniatus 'Wouri' and has similar care requirements.
Feeding
Flake, granules sinking pellets and small frozen foods such as daphnia, mosquito larvae, brineshrimp etc.
Breeding
These fish are less common in aquaria due to the impact of pH on the sex of their offspring and a reluctance to spawn in harder water. Courting pairs are easy to spot as they select and modify a spawning site, with the female displaying her belly as a sign of her readiness to deposit eggs. The male’s primary role is to defend the territory and he will require an outlet for this aggression to ensure that he does not direct this hormonally induced behaviour at his mate. Without a common enemy, many cichlid pairs tend to bicker, and a threat is required in the form of target fish (which must be able to escape the defended territory to safety for their own welfare) or even a mirror attached to the outside of one of the aquarium panes. Often, the first signs that spawning is occurring is when the pair disappear for some time into one of their favourite caves. Once the eggs have been deposited and fertilised, they will take approximately 5 days to hatch and a further 3 or 4 days to become free-swimming. A typical brood size would be around 40-50 young. The parents are very defensive of the fry and will be seen herding them around the aquarium, where they will forage on live foods such as newly hatched brine shrimp and microworms. Once the young fishes are independent it’s best to remove them before the adults attempt to drive them away.
