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What is this fish?

2K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  Sunsetsonata 
#1 · (Edited)
I wanted a pair of Kribensis for my tank, and after looking through my LFS and not seeing any, I asked someone if they happened to have them. He joined me in my search but couldn't find any either. So I went browsing afterwards and found them myself - point being that the kid was either new or just didn't know his stuff.

There were only 2 obvious females so I picked out one and asked the kid (who apologized for missing the kribs) to grab a mate for her. The males were all small and looked alike and were quite non-descript. It wasn't until a few days later that I went to another LFS and found kribs that were a little smaller and I realized that kribs aren't all that dimorphic and that my male is not a krib at all!

What is this guy (or girl)? He's very plain and not at all what I'm interested in - not to mention, I have no idea of his needs or his compatability in my tank. I have kuhli loaches in there and no way will I tolerate a fish that will grow to eat them! I am guessing he may be a cichlid but he's also quite timid. Any ideas?

Edited to add, yes his eyes are red and he does not really appear to be "split in half." His head looks brighter because there is a white residue on the tank making his body appear paler than it is. (Will have to wipe that off obviously!)
 

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#3 ·
I was thinking that but I cannot see the fins properly.

It does look like a young Apistogramma macmasteri though, they are often confused with Kribs.
 
#4 ·
Hmm, it does appear to be some type of Apistogramma. Macmasteri does look close. Think this guy has any hope of ever coloring up? He (she?) is not much over an inch right now. I took more pictures, hopefully the fins show better. I cleaned the outside of the tank right after taking these pictures - boy does that flash really show the white residue! Ugh.
 

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#5 ·
I happen to think he's adorable! I just got a Krib today, and it looks NOTHING like him.
 
#6 ·
Obviosly not a Krib, defientely in the Apisto family possibly a Mac - male/female(?) seems to be too young to sex.

I think you should try and return the fish to the LFS - it's certainly not what you were looking for and you make some excellent points on caring and compatabilty which is paramount for the well being of the fish..
 
#8 · (Edited)
Getting this guy is probably a blessing in disguise. Even though everything I see online says that kribs are compatable with Kuhli Loaches and Pearl Gouramis, I am ALSO reading about how a mated pair is dangerous to both once they start breeding! Well at least one poster claimed that they pecked her pearl gourami to death. I ended up going to another LFS and adding another female - even more beautiful. She is being chased by the first one but has a lot of hiding places and is still taking food, so I think things will calm down shortly, especially as she gains size (she is younger).

I'm thinking the little guy is actually probably a little girl, from the pics I see of Macmasteri. She is growing on me - yeah she is kind of cute! From what I see they live best in a pH of less than 7 - mine is 7.6! Even if I had wanted her I wouldn't have gotten her for that reason alone, BUT, she honestly seems fine, not hiding or acting lethargic. She is gaining confidence in the tank.

I feel stupid that I didn't know what a male Krib looks like (I do now!). When I asked the LFS kid to grab me a mate, he couldn't have - I know now the only other Krib in the tank was another female, the rest were all these guys. He did show the bagged fish for my inspection and I agreed to it, so like it or not I do bear some responsibility here. I honestly don't think he was trying to scam me, I just think the kid didn't know any more than I did, after all he couldn't find the Kribs in his own store. I've gone to this place in the past and usually find they are quite knowledgeable when I have questions, just not this time.

And just for fun, another pic of my first Krib.
 

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#9 ·
Yeh, her's purty, too! I also looked up the "macs"..that does appear to be it. Did you take him back? If you like him and he seems happy, I personally don't think your ph is too bad.Maybe because mine is about the same. That's why I have so much driftwood in my tanks. I have seven p. pulcher(kribs) ..three males and four females. I bought them as fry and they are too mean to trust with anything I care about.
 
#10 ·
Your Krib looks exactly like mine! I thought the Apisto was really cute too.
 
#11 ·
Well, I ended up returning Mr. Mac last night. I had gotten another female krib just 3 days after getting this "pair," younger and smaller. The krib above is chasing her whenever I feed, but she is holding her own. But when MR. MAC got involved, that's where I draw a line - I want both my kribs to thrive and that just won't happen with two fish driving her into hiding. So much for my timid little cichlid!

So back this guy went. I explained what happened and they were trying to figure out who let me get the wrong fish. Happened to be a kid who had only been there 2 weeks at that point - not to get him in trouble but it sounds like they want to educate him a bit. :) He was actually asked to work there as he was a regular customer with some experience and a good kid. He'll learn. :)

I wish I could have a whole tank of kribs! I really love these guys (girls). I am even contemplating setting up a separate tank just to separate these two. The young krib looks like it could be even more of a stunner than the first one, if she grows confident enough to color up. She IS getting some color, and is eating but isn't getting her fair share from what I can see.

Thanks everyone for your feedback!
 
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