I think Kuhli Loaches are under appreciated!!!

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Got mine when my tank was only 1 week old. Had a seeded filter and soaked with Tetra Safestart. Got 5 and 1 passed away. Think there was something wrong from the lfs because I had a gourami that also passed away from the same tank at the lfs.

Had them now for just over a month and they have grown! There's never any left-over food on the sand. But I think my one is carrying eggs. She really is plump. Just hope that one of the other is a male and I might get a surprise soon :)
 
epiphysis said:
Got mine when my tank was only 1 week old. Had a seeded filter and soaked with Tetra Safestart. Got 5 and 1 passed away. Think there was something wrong from the lfs because I had a gourami that also passed away from the same tank at the lfs.

Had them now for just over a month and they have grown! There's never any left-over food on the sand. But I think my one is carrying eggs. She really is plump. Just hope that one of the other is a male and I might get a surprise soon :)
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So lucky >.< That would be nice.
 
Kuhli Loach said:
I would get 5, because I have a 30g tall and have 1 gourami, 5 danios, 4 tetras, 1 bristlenose pleco, and 7 kuhlis you should have enough room, just plan everything put well!!! :D
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Ok you have similar tankmates as I would like. I want zebra Danios, maybe some other danios, maybe tetras. I want a dwarf crayfish and some cories to. And a betta. But I feel like I am missing the perfect element! I want really active exciting fish.
 
The reason kuhli loaches aren't in many shops are that: they escape tanks really easy and end up either in the filtration system or other tanks. They are hard to find and hard to catch. They need to be kept in large groups to really get the most from them and the majority of people don't want 6 of them. I should know I work in an aquatics shop.
 
I have seen kuhlis more than I have ever seen zebra loaches. One reason they are harder to find than some species, is that they are hard to breed in captivity. They are certainly not rare. But, availability depends on your area. However, I definitely do not think they are under-appreciated. Most everybody who sees them loves them! A whole bunch of people on here have them. Mine are certainly not under-appreciated.
I am going to add that I am glad they are not as easily available as the clown loach. Clown loaches are beautiful, amazing fish and I would love to own them someday, but teir mass availability means that tons of people buy them on impulse and put them into situtaions where they can't thrive. I very commonly see or hear of them in tanks that are wayyyyyy too small. Kuhlis on the other hand can be a bit harder to find than clowns, so I think that saves them from bad situations sometimes. Maybe that is off-base, but thats how I feel. :)
 
epiphysis said:
Got mine when my tank was only 1 week old. Had a seeded filter and soaked with Tetra Safestart. Got 5 and 1 passed away. Think there was something wrong from the lfs because I had a gourami that also passed away from the same tank at the lfs.

Had them now for just over a month and they have grown! There's never any left-over food on the sand. But I think my one is carrying eggs. She really is plump. Just hope that one of the other is a male and I might get a surprise soon :)
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Congratulations!!!
 
I have a dozen of them, both striped and black in my 46 community. I love these guys, although I have to admit, mine are larger than the thread states so far. My smallest is maybe 3 inches, but my largest is easily 4.5-5 inches.

I respectfully disagree that kuhlis need 55 gallons. You might actually be thinking of clown loaches. :)

I personally wouldn't recommend anything less than a 26 for them, as they really need the room to zoom. A smaller tank just wouldn't afford them the travel room they require.
 
LyndaB said:
I have a dozen of them, both striped and black in my 46 community. I love these guys, although I have to admit, mine are larger than the thread states so far. My smallest is maybe 3 inches, but my largest is easily 4.5-5 inches.

I respectfully disagree that kuhlis need 55 gallons. You might actually be thinking of clown loaches. :)

I personally wouldn't recommend anything less than a 26 for them, as they really need the room to zoom. A smaller tank just wouldn't afford them the travel room they require.
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Wow, 5 inches is awesome! My regular kuhlis are all about 3-3.5 inches right now. I have had them since they were 1.5-2 inches. The black ones seem to get bigger IME. My black one is closer to 4.5 inches. But, the black ones are a different species after all.

IMO, I would say at least a 20 long would be good. I have actually never seen 26g tank, but that sounds like it would be big enough for kuhlis!
 
My 4 are more than happy in the 30 gal. I recently made a cave for the bn plecos but they claimed ownership of it. And I see them constantly crawling around. But whem the lights go off they take over.

I still have the one that ceeps on getting more plump every time I see her. Starting to worry about it because its been a couple of weeks that she's been gaining size. She's struggling to swim as well. Will have to keep an eye on her.
 
Is it just me or do Kuhli Loaches produce a lot of waste? I keep finding a lot of waste accumulated where they hide. Especially when I dig through the sand during my pwc. As if they are trying to hide the evidence from me. It's crazy how much I vacuum out each week. I have five of them.
 
Actually, kuhlis are known for having a low bioload. Maybe you feed yours too much?
 
Kuhli Loach said:
You know I really hate, how clown loaches and yoyos and zebras are all more popular than kuhlis when kuhlis are a GREAT species the stay out of the way, can live with almost any species, clean gravel and decor and are amazing to watch! The only bad things are they can dissapear for months in the gravel and eat algae wafers, which isn't a problem for most because plecos eat them too. And if you have 6+ kuhlis you will see them much more and will be more willing to come out and play with their species!
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I have kulis, clowns, yoyo, poka dot, horsehead. Love them all as you can tell im a massive loach fan
 
LyndaB said:
Actually, kuhlis are known for having a low bioload. Maybe you feed yours too much?
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Possibly. I'll cut down the feeding (currently twice a day).
 
Mine eats whatever lands on the gravel and they can find. Flakes, bloodworms, shrimps and tubifex are their favourite at the moment.

But they mainly live of algae wafers. I put in 4 wafers every night for them and my 2 bn plecos and nothing goes to waste. But they do tend to make a mess between the rocks where they play during the day.
 
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