Would any of you familiar with the Pelvicachromis taeniatus "complex and its seemingly infinite color/locational varieties refer to them as the striped kribensis? Now I realize that some of the varieties have prominent stripes, in some cases on the female and in others on the male. But is that truly the most prominent feature of the fish? When flipping the pages of Tetra’s Cichlids From West Africa I see bright colors and countless ocelli or false eyespots. If any thing Baensch should have referred to the fish as the spotted kribensis.

The particular fish in question and the reason for writing this article is P. taeniatus "Nigerian Red." As with most kribs this fish reaches an average maximum size of 3" males and 2" females. As the name implies there is a fair amount of red on the male, focused in the cheeks, while the dorsal and caudal sport yellow lines with black circles. The females get the typical rosy red belly surrounded by a cream colored midsection. Running front to back are the stripes, both gold and greyish black. The dorsal is pale yellow with one or more black eye spots present. The tale is spotted with faint black and yellow spots.

Spawning takes place in the same manner as in P. pulcher, the "common krib." A cave is used by the female to house the eggs and newly hatched fry. Inverted flowerpots or coconut shells with a ¾" hole or opening in them work well. The 20-100eggs are laid suspended from the side of the cave and hatch in about 2-3 days. The fry survive off of their yolk sack for another 4-5 days before they need to be fed. I start the fry off with powdered food and move them onto newly hatched brine shrimp after a few days. Pelvicachromis are usually role model parents and tend to the eggs, fry, and juveniles with great detail. Personally, when I notice eggs in a cave I remove the cave and place it in a shallow container filled with tank water. With the eggs facing upward so they’re visible. I set an air stone next to them to gently help circulate fresh oxygen rich water around them. In this way I can watch the development of the fry and I raise a larger number of babies then when they’re left with the parents.

Despite the natural West African river system these fish hail from containing moderately soft water with an acidic pH, these fish will breed in moderately hard water with a slightly alkaline pH such as Milwaukee tap water. There are several things to keep in mind in regards to water values in the breeding tank and with raising the fry. Higher hardness values will tend to lead to fewer eggs laid and hatched and pH values will affect the ratio of males to females that develop.

The big question regarding this fish is why is it a 15 point or class C spawn? The best answer I can come up with is scarcity. Only in the last several years has P. taeniatus become readily available from private breeders and found its way properly identified into the aquarium stores. Before, you would have to examine incoming shipments of wild Pelvicachromis with the hope of finding a few specimens of a non-pulcher type. It is still possible to obtain P. taeniatus and a few others this way, but now days it’s much easier to just find a fellow hobbyist or wholesaler who deals in these very diverse and wonderfully colored jewels of West Africa.