# My new baby!



## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

I'm really not a spontaneous person, I never do anything without a plan. But sometimes your emotions get the better of you and you come home with a fish that you weren't really planing on. I've been a good boy when it comes to bettas, I'm able to walk by them these days with out batting an eyelash unless I see something truly exceptional. I'm in the process of converting my 20 long into a 29 gallon tank I recently picked up at my LFSs dollar per gallon sale. The plan was to for it be a West African biotope with Pelvicachromis pulcher and Anomalochromis thomasi as the stars of the tank. Maybe even a few Killies or upside-down catfish for the top levels. 

Last night I saw this little baby Albino Krib that was a stowaway in an order they received at my LFS. Something clicked in my head and my heart when I saw this fearless little guy (or gal) holding his own in a tank full of Clown loaches & rainbows. I had to take him home. I've always wanted to raise a fish from a baby, so maybe fate brought us together.

The 29 won't be ready for at least another week, My Black Phantoms that are in the 20 are ready to go into the 40 breeder but I won't be able to switch them over until the weekend. So I set up my 2.5 gallon hospital tank for my little Pelvicachromis. It will make a nice little home for him for a week or so until the 29 is ready to roll. It will also give me a chance to test the pool filter sand I plan on using for a substrate for the 29. Last night I pulled a sponge from a betta tank, added a handful of gravel and some Tetra SafeStart and the tank was ready to go. I thought about him all day at work today hoping he would still be there at 5:30. He was!

Anyway, here is my new little buddy!








He's less than a half inch long but very stocky. A little smaller than a Petco baby betta.









This is what I have to look forward to, I'm hoping I get a female!


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## kjg1029 (Jun 14, 2014)

wow! (s)hes gonna be so pretty when it grows! lucky little fella to have found you.

goodluck, thanks for sharing


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## Romad (Jun 28, 2009)

Daw.... so cute.

Did you give it a name yet?


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Funny you should mention a name, I've been wracking my brain all morning trying to think of one.

Judging by the caudal fin I think "he" may be a female. I'm just not sure how early the male traits will start to show. Kribs are super easy to sex when they are mature.

She made it through the acclimation like a champ. She is a bit of a pacer though. I tried feeding her before I left for work this morning but she wasn't interested in the mirco pellets just yet. Perhaps it was too early for her. I ham-handily put too many pellets in her tank, it's too early for me too. Nothing like getting out a turkey baster and sucking up pellets at 5:00AM while you're running late for work.

I can't wait to get home and see her!


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

"Pacer."


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> "Pacer."


Ha! She stopped pacing and now is acting like a normal Krib! She's settling into her new home nicely, sifting sand, peeping in and out of hideaways and eating.









She took some small NLS pellets after work today. I did a water test and ammonia & nitrite were both 0ppm. Nitrates were up at 20ppm which was surprising to me. I did a 50% water change. I find small tanks nerve wracking, things happen so quick! Hats off to you guys who are able to keep bettas in small tanks.

My Kribs crib!









I feel pretty good about keeping her in here for the next few weeks or so. She would kinda get lost in her future home at her tiny size.

I haven't stopped smiling since I brought her home!


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

totally sweet set up,and fish.
i've got the same thermometers as you


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Thanks Lainey,
I just love those thermometers, so easy to read early in the morning!


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## Sailorgirl111 (Jul 16, 2014)

What a beautiful little fish! Props to you for giving the little one such a nice home


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Thanks Sailorgirl!

I was a good boy at work yesterday and finished up all my projects so I could take a rare Saturday off. I got a lot done today on a lil' gals new home...









I still have some things to tweak. I'll be adding a few more plants & some more driftwood to act as sight breaks. I still need to make better use of the vertical space. 29's are a weird size, It's looks a lot bigger than a 20 but you really can't stock anymore fish because of the surface area. I wish they would make a 25 that was 30" long. I'm 6'1 and my armpits get wet when I stick my hands down in the bottom. It's not like I have T-rex arms, this dumb tank is too high! I don't need my lil' gal tasting Old Spice when I fiddle around in her tank. 

She ate her first bloodworms today. Note to self, cut them up in small pieces. She loved them but at one point I thought she was going to choke on 'em. I really got spend some time in the Petco baby Betta thread.


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Update on my little gal, she's doing awesome! I think she's grown 1/8" since last week and will eat anything.









Her tank is finished and ready for her. She's going to stay in the nursery for a while, I want her to be able to eat pellets without them being soaked.









I picked up an African Butterfly cichlid today that will be her tankmate. He's been acclimated and in the new tank. He's shy and getting used to his new home. I'll keep him in the dark for the rest of the day and try feeding him tomorrow. He'll be spending the next three weeks or so under close observation to make sure he's healthy. Then the plan is to add my krib and search for some West African killies!


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## fernielou (May 19, 2015)

Aww she's cute. Keep updating!


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Thanks Fernie, I will 

My butterfly is starting to settle in to his new home and is hiding less and less. Feeding was a minor disaster this morning when I went to put two pellets in and somehow about 25 wound up in the tank. He didn't eat any of them so I had to get out the turkey baster to get them outta there. I'm sure that added to his stress. He has red eyes and black dots running below his dorsal fin which signals that his strain of Anomalochromis Thomasi comes from Guinea in West Africa.









I want to get him eating. He's picking at the driftwood, so he's hungry. I might try some bloodworms later today. His tummy looks a tiny bit sunken in.

I kinda wish that I had some pest snails in the tank, these little guys are snail assassins.


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## DangerousAngel (Mar 26, 2015)

They're both so cute! Congrats on the new additions!!


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Well, it's been over 2 weeks since I got my albino Krib and I'm happy to say that she's doing wonderful! She's grown noticeably and is able to eat small pellets without soaking them. She's very active and spends so much time with her face in the sand, I think she's part corydoras. She tries to eat bloodworms from the surface of the water but with her down turned mouth she keeps flipping over on her back. It's really funny to watch but it must be frustrating for her.









Her tank is finished and her roommate is settling in. I'm trying for a little slice of home for these guys, West Africa. He's circled in yellow to the left. Her little cichlid hut is on the right, kribs love caves.









African Butterfly cichlids are small, full grown he'll top out at 2.5 to 3". To give you an idea of my guy's size, from nose to tail he's about as long as the body of your average everyday veiltail betta. That's without fins. He's kind of a pain in the butt to feed. He likes to pick up pellets and spit them out all over the place, then he comes back for them later. If he keeps that up when the krib gets into the tank, he's going to be missing a lot of meals.


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