Kuhlie loach conditions

[firetank]

ive read that to really keep a this fish you need a sandy substrate?

does anyone keep them in a gravelled aquarium or have any opinions they could offer??

thanx

 

[Skippy]

I have kept them in both, and they seem to do fine in both.

The natrual environment for this type of fish I believe is sandier substrates.

 

[firetank]

thanx skippy,

im in a dilemma as im setting a new tank up, and i really want tp keep 4\5 kuhlies (i finally found some this wkend , and want to keep the best conditions i can (ie sandy) just fraid of any probs with the sand conditions (dead patches??)

cheers

hwat best to feed em>??

 

[punch]

I've kept them in both sand and gravel and there dosn't seem to be a problem with either. They are very good scavengers and will eat almost anything that is left over on the bottom. If you do go w/sand and are worried about the "dead" spots, maylasian trumpet snails will fix that. You realy shouldn't have a problem if during your water changes you sift through the sand.

 

[latazyo]

you will be fine with gravel if you want

I haven't tried them with sand y et, but I"m excited to try it

everything from my 3 inch kuhli's to my 5 inch dojo can VERY easily bury themselves in my gravel, as I've seen it with my own eyes

so you're good to go with the gravel

 

[mwood322]

I had a sand tank with kuhlis until recently, with malaysian Trumpet Snails. The tank developed no dead spots, and I rarely stirred up the sand.

I have also had them on gravel with no problems.

--Mia

 

[Skippy]

I can also vouch for the effectiveness of the MTS.

Some people consider them a nusiance, but I consider them a godsend. They till up any substrate, and when the lights are off they tend to come up and help out with algae on the glass. Not to mention they don't eat plants.

If you don't have any MTS's available to you check out www.aquabid.com under snails there are always some on auction, they are inexpensive, and ship easily (which means low shipping costs).

 

[SpunkyCadaver]

Lucky....

I've been trying to find khulies here for months... i love the little guys. One LFS is supposed to be getting small ones today. I'll check there tomorrow...I'd rather have large ones but they'll grow

 

[firetank]

i got mine today...

i dont have the use of a seperate tank to aurantine, so in they went...like a fish to water they are.....

plus i asked for 5 and on a head count noted 6,............

ive wanted these for ages.

well worth the wait.

these are tiny -- 1" long and about 1\8" thick...sweet.

 

[SpunkyCadaver]

Sweet, thats about the size my LFS is supposed to be getting them in. I used to have 3 XL ones (about 3 inches). They were great. I just bought 3 black XL khulies the other day...but 2 died after 2 days for unknown reasons...mabey stress. I have one left and he seems to be doing well. I did note bahaviour I've never seen with my khulies before tonight though with him. I knew that Khulies dug into substrate but I'd never seen them do it in gravel other than to slip under the edges of rocks and stuff. Well my black one tonight freaked out when I moved the drift wood and burrowed right down into my gravel. Its rounded gravel at about 1/8-1/4 inch size. Was very amusing to see, he had is little whiskers sticking out of the gravel at one end and his tail at the other. I've also been getting a great kick out of the pair of Hillstream Loaches I picked up. Very amusing fish. They were sneaking up on my hand in the tank when I was moving the drift wood. They dont look like hillstream loaches I saw pictures of but the guy assured me they were. Their fins dont make as much of a sucker as the hillstreams I've seen pictures of. They are more like little wings almost...they were wiggling thier fins alot when I had my hand in there. Not sure if it was aggression or they were digging the stuff I stirred up into the water LOL.