I had 4.....I say had cause one I know died. I found him in the filter sock half eaten. Now the other 3 I haven't seen in weeks. I blame my driftwood. It seems to be like the Hilton of driftwoods. All my shrimp, loachs and clown pleco always hide in it. So maybe they are in there but not sure. I even have LED lunar lights at night and still nothing......who knows maybe I should get more and see what happens.
I'm so sorry to hear about the one you lost. About the other three, I wouldn't be quick to blame your driftwood.
I have a few tips on keeping kuhlis in a manner that keeps them as happy as can be, which, in turn, rewards you with incredibly entertaining and amusing fish!
- More kuhlis. If you think you have enough, get a few more. While kuhlis aren't necessarily schooling fish, they are very social. They enjoy the company of one another immensely and will be much more comfortable in the tank if they have lots of friends. I would personally consider 6 to be the bare minimum. Also, you may or may not have luck mixing different Pangio species in terms of them hanging out together. I've heard it go both ways.
- More hiding spots. If you think you have enough, make a few more. It sounds counter intuitive, but the more hiding spots you provide them with, the more you'll see them. They know where every safe place is and thus feel more comfortable being out in the open, knowing that they can retreat to safety whenever they deem necessary.
- Plants. Kuhlis love draping themselves in plants and scavenging around them. Floating plants are excellent as well. If you can, arrange plants in a manner that creates an area of lots of shade from tank lights. I prefer live plants. I'm not sure that I would go with plastic here, as they could very easily cut themselves. Silk may be alright as long as all wire ends are tucked in.
- Water changes, water changes, water changes! They
love fresh water. Nothing brings on the kuhli dance like a like a 50% water change.
I hope you get more kuhlis! They are just such a joy to have in the aquarium.