How do I figure the inches for bottom dewellers?

[deepwater]

Today I asked my favorite fish guy how to count Kuhli's for my stocking limits are they 4" or can you count them as 2 because their so skinny? I was completely bumfuzzled when he told me "They don't count at all in a well aereated tank. As long as you keep up on your water changes. Bottom dewellers are considered neutral. They clean up as much as they leave behind and don't effect your bio load unless you get crazy". So am I crazy or what's the deal here? Need some info before the buying itch hits big time.

 

[czcz]

Agree that kuhlis are low bioload and great scavengers. Your limit will be swimming area on the bottom. FWIW I first guesstimated with 1" of fish per 12 sq inches of space (someone mentioned it here some time ago as an alternative to "/gal). That gave me 3 kuhlis using 4" adult size. After a few months, I added a 4th because I felt they'd like the company and the tank could handle it. Keep in mind that when comfortable they won't always stay on the bottom. If you have shady spots from floating plants and dense vertical growth, they'll hang wherever They're great fish.

 

[Regen311]

how big do they get and what is the minimum tank size?

 

[czcz]

3-4". They've been recommended here for 5gals by Menagerie (she is wiser and more experienced than I). If I had to do it over again I'd have 7 or more kuhliis in a 20 long, fwiw

 

[JohnPaul]

That part about them "not counting at all" is a little odd sounding. Every fish is going to produce waste, and though kuhli's are scavengers I am pretty sure they are not eating other fishes' poop so in the end they are still producing waste and adding to the bioload of the tank.

That being said, it is true that some fish produce most waste than others, so the 1" rule is only a general guideline. Given their body shape, it doesn't surprise me that kuhli's are something where you could look at a 3-4" fish and figure it maybe only "counts as" 1.5 or 2" of fish in terms of your bioload.

If you want a scavenger for the bottom that truly produces no bioload, consider ghost shrimp. I think I read somewhere that 30" of ghost shrimp produces about as much waste as one, 1" tropical fish. 8O Their antics are a blast to watch as well, as long as you don't have fish in the tank constantly harassing them--in which case, all they do is hide all day and only come out after dark.