kuhli loach in asian tank

deltabear

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Jun 6, 2005
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i am changing my 75 gallon tank to be a mostly asian tank. i moved some upside down cats from the tank and would like to replace them with kuhli loaches. i dont want another fish in there that i don't get to see. when the cats were in there i never saw them, and i moved them to the 55 with smaller fish, they are everywhere and i see them all the time. so i am wondering if tiger barbs or the moonlight gouramis are going to cause kuhli loaches to hide all the time or if they would be ok. i have 9 tiger barbs and three moonlight gouramis in the tank. the tigers only seem to bother each other, i dont know how they will act with something new in tank. the moonlights picked on the cats and made them hide. so if anyone has some experience in this i would love to hear it, thank you
 
one other thing

i dont mind if they only come out at night, i have a night light, i just dont want to never see them like the upside down catfish.
 
The gouramis shouldn't bother them, don't know about the tiger barbs.

I have kuhlis and you don't generally see them much. Mainly at feeding time. I don't have anyone in my tank that picks on them, that's just how they are.

If it's important to you to have a more visible fish, maybe you would want to pick out a different loach. I'm not real familliar with all of them. just what I have, but maybe some other folks can give suggestions.
 
ok, thank you, i am wanting something that doesnt just disappear completely, i dont mind if they only come out just during feeding time. i just could never see the cats or a raphael that were in the tank, to the extent that i didnt know how many i had, and i would forget they were in there. so yes other loaches may be an option i was looking for something sorta small so i dont go over the bioload for the tank.
 
I see my khuli's all the time. I have the black ones though, not the regular ones. It's funny to see them playing around, and with 6 of the I usually at least see a couple. I also have 8 tiger barbs and don't have a problem at all.
 
Kuhli loaches are nocturnal and sensitive to light it is not likely that you will see much of them if you put them in a large tank with hiding places. In my experience I would say you would see them about as often as you saw your upside down cats. I've gone through the process of buying intersting fish but never ever seeing them once they got home, it's the curse of loving cats. I had Khulis, Upside Down Cats and a Spotted Rhaphael. The Upside Down Cats were probably the most active in the day of that trio. The Spotted Rhapael was definetly the best hider. In two years all I have ever seen of him is his whiskers that stick out of his favorite hiding spot.

If you do try them I would suggest a group as they are a little bolder in groups.
 
I see my khuli's all the time. The striped tend to hide more than the blacks, but in a group, all are easily visible. My tanks all include tons of hiding places, and in the 55, there are probably 15 kuhli's, a mix of striped and black. The 55 also has pretty minimal lighting (enough for java ferns and anubias, a few crypts), lots of wood and rock stacks, and the kuhli's zip from one hidey hole to another, or hang out in the anubias.
 
My 72 gallon has 4x65watts of CF lights, so almost 4wpg and they are still out all the time. But like I said they are all black khulies which are supposed to be less timid.
 
thank you

thank you for all the information, i will keep an eye out for black ones then.

one thing about having hiding fish, when they come out you get so excited. i say this because the other day i was feeding my 150 gallon tank, and my stripped rapheal just came out and ate with the other fish. :dance: i was shocked to say the least- he's gotten huge!!!!! :D
 
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