Furry Diary

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Kribensis

Pelvicachromis pulcher (Boulenger, 1901)

Also called Krib, Rainbow krib, Rainbow cichlid, Purple cichlid, Red krib

SpeciesShort profile

From West Africa: eastern Benin, southern Nigeria and coastal western Cameroon.123

At a glance the quick version

Length8.1 to 12.5 cm321
Sizesmall
Hardy and widely recommended as a first cichlid
Bright colours, especially breeding females
Easy to breed with visible family care
23

Looks how to spot one

Small, colourful cichlid

A neat, elongated cichlid; males are longer with pointed fins, females are smaller and rounder and show a rich purple-red belly when ready to spawn.23

Colourspurple-red belly (females)gold sheen on the female's dorsal finalbino form23

Personality what they are like

Sociable and community-friendly most of the time, becoming firmly territorial when guarding a nest.2

Daily activity how busy a day looks

Active on the lower levels, digging and exploring around caves and plants.23

Grooming and care the hands-on bits

Provide caves and plants; it digs out nest hollows, so a soft substrate works well.23

Home where they are happiest

Tropical water of about 24 to 27 C, pH roughly 5 to 8 and up to about 12-19 dGH, in at least a 60 cm tank (FishBase suggests 80 cm) for a pair.21

Food basics what goes in the bowl

Takes most foods; cichlid pellets as the staple plus live and frozen foods. Wild fish eat a lot of algae and plant matter.213

Company who they like around

Best as a single pair in a community with small tetras, barbs, danios, rasboras, Corydoras and similar fish.2

The story where it all began

George Boulenger described the species in 1901 as Pelmatochromis pulcher, and it became the type species of Pelvicachromis in 1968. Mixed-up names over the years are why the trade still sells it as 'kribensis'.3

Fun facts for the dinner table

  1. 1

    'Pulcher' is Latin for 'pretty' or 'beautiful'.3

  2. 2

    The water's pH can shift how many female versus male fry hatch, with more females at higher pH.3

  3. 3

    Both parents guard the brood, leading the free-swimming fry around the tank.2

  4. 4

    A spawn can number up to about 300 eggs, hidden inside a cave.2

Recognised by the official bits

IUCN Red List
Least Concern (assessed 22 April 2019)1
Taxonomy
Described by Boulenger in 1901 as Pelmatochromis pulcher; type species of Pelvicachromis (1968)3

The care rhythm Furry Diary remembers it for you

A typical home-care rhythm for a Kribensis. It is our own starting plan, not a vet's advice, and you can change every line in the app.

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Where this comes from

Every breed page shows where each fact comes from. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are pet people, not a science magazine. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

  1. FishBase: Pelvicachromis pulcher fishbase.seused for distribution, size, water parameters, IUCN, wild diet
  2. Seriously Fish: Pelvicachromis pulcher seriouslyfish.comused for size, water parameters, tank size, diet, behaviour, dimorphism, breeding
  3. Wikipedia: Pelvicachromis pulcher en.wikipedia.orgused for names, etymology, history, size, colour forms, pH and sex ratio

Checked 2026-09-30. Text is written in our own words from these sources.