# Trying Again?



## Shrimpette (Feb 17, 2015)

My kribs slowly lost their first batch of fry. I wasn't able to count them, but the numbers seemed to decrease daily, and by yesterday morning I estimated they had about a dozen left. Then last night I couldn't see any left at all, and they haven't miraculously reappeared, so I guess their first attempt at a family has failed  

I don't know what killed them off - I dosed melafix once when it looked like I was loosing the male (after reading on various sites that it was safe for fry, but maybe it wasn't after all). So maybe it was the meds (although the fry numbers were decreasing even before the night I dosed the tank), or maybe they were slowly picked off and eaten (they had started to venture out farther away from their parents from time to time but I never actually saw anyone being eaten). I'm still in the habit of frequent water changes so I don't think it was a water quality issue.

Anyway, I'm just curious how long until the female is ready to produce eggs again? There has been a very occasional shimmy from the male tonight, but the female either tolerates hanging out with him or else chases him off and there have been a few minor fights (typical couple!)

I'm planning on switching from my fine grained gravel to sand, but I don't want to disturb them if they decide to spawn again. So I'm wondering how much time I have until they are actually ready to try again. Do I seize the moment *now* because they'll be ready soon, or do I have a week or two (or longer) of "recovery time"?


----------



## Rogo (Mar 1, 2015)

Hi Shrimpette,

It's not uncommon for Kribs to eat their first batch of young, or not keep close enough watch on them to prevent them from being eaten by other fish.

My suggestion is that you keep doing water changes so the Melafix is gone from the water, leave the fish as they are and let them do their thing. I wouldn't change the substrate or disturb the tank in any way; let them calm down and get re-adjusted to life in the tank (especially since the male is already stressed from his injuries).

They'll probably start courting again in a few weeks.


----------



## Shrimpette (Feb 17, 2015)

they're already flirting again... sheesh! he was shimmying last night and now she's been dancing for him a bit this afternoon. Crazy fish. Don't know if she can be fertile again this quickly, but looks like they're not planning on wasting much time lol


----------

