First kuhli loach!

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isellcars

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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.


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dani_starr

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Aug 6, 2011
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Your kuhlis are adorable! It's funny, whenever I look up kuhli loaches on youtube, your first couple vids you posted were the first to pop up! Small world!

I have 8 black kuhlis, and I hardly ever see them now except for dinner time (and that's usually only 3 or 4 at a time) or after a water change. They discoverd not only can they hide UNDERNEATH the driftwood forest, they also can go INSIDE it. Lol.

I am considering do live black worms though, yours certainly have grown a lot, mine haven't. (I have them in a 29 gallon with lotsof driftwood, sand, and some live java and anubias)

Your yawning video is precious! :D
 

kcartwright856

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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.
 

kcartwright856

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Your kuhlis are adorable! It's funny, whenever I look up kuhli loaches on youtube, your first couple vids you posted were the first to pop up! Small world!

Your yawning video is precious! :D
Thanks so much! I guess the tags that I put on the videos are working! I was having trouble finding good kuhli videos on Youtube, and I am addicted to filming them, so it's a win-win.
 

abcdefghi

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- 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.
This is really good advice, when I just had 2 I would rarely see them, now that I have 16 of them, I see them out at all times of the day. They do love literally hanging in plants, they will find a leaf and just lay across it hanging down.

1 of mine has discovered the food comes in at the top of the tank, it's funny to see him mixing it up with the angel and neon's at the top of the tank for food. Not sure how he discovered this, but I suspect that he was in the plants (I have some driftwood that is the height of the tank, with plants attached) and noticed food coming in. Now when I drop the food he is right at the water surface.
 

dirtydawg10

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I agree...good advice. Although my kuhli was a loner. All his buddies died but he did have plenty of hiding spots and I saw him all the time. Especially when the lid got lifted on the tank for feeding time and water changes. As soon as he heard the sound the kuhli dance would start and the cat would come running for the show. Good times! lol
 

kcartwright856

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They got their first real "treat" last night! I thawed a cube of brine shrimp for them to try to give them a bit more variety, and they really loved it. I wish I had thought to get the camera out. I think I'll be giving them those once a week as a treat. The rest of the time, they get the live blackworms, frozen bloodworms, and a bit of the Repashy aufwuchs gel that my otocinclus eat. I'm planning on getting the scavenger and community gels for them to try out as well. Variety is the spice of life!

Two females have emerged from the bunch! That was awkward wording. I don't mean that they just became females... more like I just got proof that they are females! They are developing a lot of tiny, tiny yellow eggs. I don't know as much as I'd like to know about such things yet, but it's my understanding so far that they should turn a green color as the eggs/kuhlis mature. I know that my kuhlis aren't fully grown yet, so I'm assuming that this is a puberty thing.

Seriously... these are probably my favorite fish so far.
 

kcartwright856

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I'm picking up some Indian almond leaves next weekend! The idea spawned from the notion that the kuhlis really enjoy leaf litter, but I have more selfish plans. In around my driftwood and one of the clay pot caves, there are always massive amounts of poo in varying stages of decay. Now, I do two 50% water changes every week and vacuum the sand each time, but this poo just piles right back up! My sand is light, so this is rather unsightly.

Then, the idea occurred. If you can't get rid of it... cover it! So, I'm going to give these leaves a try. The plan is to scatter them over the poo piles to camouflage them. I'm a touch worried about just how tan my water will get, but I have a feeling that it won't be too bad with my water change schedule. Also, I can always stick some Purigen in the filter if it really bothers me.

I hope that the idea works for both me and the kuhlis!
 
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