Kuhli Loaches

S

stussy28

AC Members
Apr 22, 2008
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Buffalo NY / State College PA
I recently bought 3 Kuhli loaches, 2 orange and black striped, and one all black. That was all they have until Tuesday when a new shipment comes in. I thought that they would swim together since they are all Kuhlis. The two orange and black striped swin figure 8s around the tank and often rest right next to each other, but they ignore the all black one. Are these the same species? If so, are they ignoring the lone black because it is not orange and black striped?
Another question about them is: they buried themselves in the gravel at my LFS, but they wont bury themselves in my eco, anyone have kuhlis that will bury themselves in eco?
 
They are 2 different species in the genus pangio. There are several pangio species. It'll help if you can get a few more of both & they may need some time to adjust to your tank.

I have my pangios on small pool filter sand but they don't dig much. I have botia type loaches on Eco & they rarely dig either. As long as there are caves or other hiding spots they may not need to dig. In stores they don't usually get much,if any,hiding areas. Most loaches are naturally nocturnal or crepuscular, dawn & dusk active so they like shaded areas, plants etc
 
Is it a 20g long? I'd get 3 more striped & 4 black kuhlis if you can. If it is a long you might also think about a few more danios, 3 shoaling fish tend to be a bit stressed & often nippy with less than 6 or so but they need the swimming length too.
 
the 'black loach" is a relative of the orange and black pangio kuhli...but they come from a different type of habitat...
the pangio oblonga.. likes a lot more driftwood, more water movement and loves to play...with other pagnio oblonga......
the pangio kuhli (orange and black) likes a softer quieter water..sort of a still type of water but they are also playful..if they are not burying themselves it means they are rather happy and feeling safe.
having both in one tank is fine just make sure there are at least 3 of each..they are happier and play more then.
also make sure your substrate is smooth..u basically want the teeny tiniest smooth river rock u can get..i also usually make 1/4 to 1/2 of the tank substrate with sand..and i have found the easiest way to do that and keep it realtively clean is by using a 9x 12 (oblong) silicone baking pan or rubbermaid container around that size.. fill it with play sand...and put it in the tank and put gravel and plant stuff around it..so the sand is level with the other gravel...put a coupl moss balls on the sand area and the kuhli's go wild...i have watched them curl up aorund the ball and roll on it..
i keep a clean and ready pan of sand to exchange as needed...and life is simpler.
Enjoy your loaches they are fun
 
Interesting about the moss ball, I hadn't heard that before.

stussy, get 2+3 loaches. Do you have your tank well covered? Speedy swimmers like the danios (& SAE) tend to jump more in small tanks but if you've had the 3 for a while I'd get 3 more. The SAE will eventually outgrow the tank
 
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