Black Kuhli Loach ???????????

[gouramimommy125]

anyone have these guys...if so whats your thought on them? are they enjoyable like a clown loach? do they take care of snails?

[OrionGirl]

I really like kuhli loaches. They tend to be shy, and will do best in a big group, and yes, they will munch snails happily. They will bury themselves in substrate, so do best in tanks with smooth substrates.

[Inka4040]

My kuhlis must be lazy. I have 4 different species, and none of them will touch snails. The more you keep, the more outgoing they tend to become, but don't be surprised if 90% of their visible hours happen directly after you've fed the tank. They do require a fully matured/cycled tank though. Hardy fish, but they are quite susceptible to poor water quality.

[jasonG75]

I have 4 in my tank and their mouths aren't big enough for snails. I recommend a sand substrate along with plenty of hiding spots.

[fishorama]

I have black & striped kuhlis together. The oblongas (black) seem more active & less shy but they're newer. Mine don't eat snails or shrimp so that I can notice. Get a minimum of 4-6, they've very social & love plants & hiding spots.

[rufioman]

I had a kuhli once and he didn't eat snails either. He didn't do much of anything, really, except dart across the tank now and then.

[fishorama]

^^that's because he was lonely. We had a "gift" 1 that hid all the time

[digitalphrage]

A month or two ago, I bought a striped kuhli loach from a pet shop since it was the last one and I felt bad for it. After getting it home and doing more research, I saw that they prefer to live in groups. So, I scoured every petshop (including Petsmart, Petco, Pet Supplies Plus, all the locals) for more striped kuhlies, but to no avail. So, I settled and got the black kuhlies instead, though it's my understanding that they are actually a different species from the striped variety.

Anyway, my experience thus far has been that the striped kuhli comes out at pretty much any time of the day, usually for no more than 20 - 30 minutes at a time. Then he'll disappear for a bit, and come back out again. He isn't very shy at all.

The black kuhlies on the other hand, I've only seen a handful of times since putting them in the tank, and now I'm curious if they're even still in there. They'd strictly only come out after dark. And when I'd get up in the morning, before the lights came on, they'd hide the instant they heard any noise or saw even the faintest light from the lamp in the other room.

So, anecdotally, I'd have to say the black kuhlies are far more shy than the striped variety, though, I imagine in different tanks, with different conditions, and different occupants, the experience might not be the same.

[shaynablizard]

I like them. They are entertaining when they zip around. I can go weeks at a time without seeing them though. Mine have never touched snails.

[kendrid]

From everything I have read in the past Kuhlis do not eat snails.

I've gone through different batches of them and they have behaved differently. The first set of three I purchased were wild and would cruise the tank at night. They were fun to watch.
I had a heater malfunction and cook half of my fish and the Kuhlis died. I purchased three more and they are pretty lame. I rarely see them. I've considered getting a few more since people say they like friends but I have this idea stuck in my head that I'll be adding to the bio-load with three more lame fish I'll never see.

[FishDreamer48]

I have one black and some of the banded kuhli loaches and they are one of my favorite fish. The tank they are in doesn't really have snails and I have never seen them eat them, but they are one of the coolest fish. Love to watch them looking for food.

[kendrid]

I have one black and some of the banded kuhli loaches and they are one of my favorite fish. The tank they are in doesn't really have snails and I have never seen them eat them, but they are one of the coolest fish. Love to watch them looking for food.

My first batch of "cool" Kuhli's that were active used to filter my sand through their gills. It was really cool to watch.

[Khemul]

I just added a Black Kuhli to my tank a couple weeks ago. He is starting to show himself a little more, but rarely when the lights are on. He started out swimming around at night a lot at first, but quickly learned that my rocks have a bunch of deep tunnels in them and decided to claim them as his home.

He comes out when hungry so I'm not too worried. My 2 True Kuhlis hid under my driftwood for over a month before they became active. Now they are extremely active and spend most of their time out in the open, well one does atleast now. The other has gone back to sleeping underneath the deco for some reason (may have to find him soon and make sure he isn't sick).

Haven't seen much sand burrowing or digging, but that could be due to the fact that they have easier options. In my gravel setup they could squeeze under the driftwood. In the sand & rock setup there are a bunch of deep tunnels throughout the rocks that they are small enough to fit into.


I've been told that even though they are different species, all Pangio type loaches should happily group up together. Hasn't been my experience so far but the Black Kuhli is too new to say for sure. If I don't come across a Pangio Anguillaris any time soon I'll probably pick up another Black Kuhli to keep the current one company.

[jeninok]

MY 4 black kuhlis are all over the bottom of the tank all day long now, they zip around without bothering anyone and are really fun to watch. I would like to add 3 or 4 more to my school.

[thebrandon]

khulies don't eat snails.

I like the orange and black khulies my self.

[fishorama]

There are several species of "kuhlis", really pangio, kuhli is 1 species of striped. They get along with other pangios but know they're not the same & would really appreciate some conspecific (same species) friends. They can be hard to tell apart, I think I have p. semicinctus but they may be p.kuhli. I try to keep 6+ of each species of the social loaches, they're much more fun that way.

[WeedCali]

My last one died today :(

[Squad Leader]

I bought 4 kuhlis 2 days ago. They hit the tank and I didn't see them until this morning. 1 had died and I think another disappeared in a suicidal charge towards the siphoning tube and was never recovered. I am going to try to buy 4 more when I can find them again. So far, I haven't seen them eat at all. I know I'm not much good to you, as that is the only experience I have with them so far.

[seandelevan]

For the last 5-6 years I've rarely seen Kuhli loaches for sale in any pet store in the 4 different states i've lived in. I remember 10 years ago you can find them in any pet store out there. I would be tempted to get them if I ever see them again...

[Sawyer]

For the last 5-6 years I've rarely seen Kuhli loaches for sale in any pet store in the 4 different states i've lived in. I remember 10 years ago you can find them in any pet store out there. I would be tempted to get them if I ever see them again...

Really? I thought kuhlis were super common. http://www.petsmart.com/uc/petarticles_db.jsp?ucCategory=ARTICLE&ucTopic=FISH&ucSubTopic=BREED On Petsmart's site they have listed kuhli and black kuhli so some Petsmarts must sell them.

[Khemul]

They tend to either be everywhere or nowhere around here. I swear it seems like all the stores get them at once. :laugh:

Only place near me I've seen with Black Kuhlis are Petsmarts though.


One of the larger LFS in the area did just get a shipment of Kuhlis. Dozens. In one tank. Most active tank I've ever seen (especially if anyone taps on the glass). :eek: Almost makes me want to set up a new Kuhli-only tank. :laugh:

[Jayhawk]

Interesting the different experiences between black kuhlis and stripped/standard kuhlies. I've had stripped kuhlis off and on for years, and I currently have a tried of black kuhlis and I find the black kuhlis to be much more diurnal...my three are out and about all the time.

I do think they eat snails...but only baby snails. They definitely don't eat big snails, but in my tanks with kuhlis I've never seen many/any baby snails.

Eric