In message , Peter
Ashby writes
sophie wrote:

I asked a bit ago what people would choose to keep if they had an empty,
cycled 13 gallon (US) tank.

would a few kuhli loaches and a small school of something tiny work?

why not? give the loaches plently of places to hide out. Ours (10G uk),
have bogwood to hide under, dense plantings of Java fern which they
love, and a penthouse which consists of java fern growing on the top of
a bogwood root just below the surface. There are always at least 3 of
them in there, it keeps them safe from harrassment by the Yoyo loach
(they deserve it though).

Above them we have neons and scissortail rasboras, both of which ignore
the loaches. For authenticity, stick to rasboras, maybe a school of
harlequins?

Thanks Peter, much appreciated.
how much space do kuhlis need? I've read you should have at least six of
them, so if they get to be 3 inches each, I'd have 18 inches of fish
which would mean I'd be overstocked already without adding any
titchyfish. Or do long thin fish need less space per fish?

I'm pretty sold on the loach idea, we've just got a weather loach (busy
quarantining in the 13 gallon right now, awaiting 2 friends) and (s)he
is just the most fantastic fish. I had a terrible fright last night,
after we'd had him less than a day, as he was entirely motionless on the
bottom, I couldn't even see his gills moving. So I poked the glass next
to his nose. No response. I _tapped_ the glass next to his nose. Still
no response. So - very worried - I stuck my hand (and arm) into the tank
and he promptly perked up, climbed into my hand and started wriggling
round my fingers like a cat round your legs, and then gave my whole hand
a good hoovering before sitting down in the palm. what a fish! He also
sucks food into his mouth and spits the bits out through his gills. Not
a pretty fish by any stretch of the imagination, but (s)he has a very
nice face, and is much closer to a "pet" in his behaviour than any of
the others. Quite at home already, too.
--
sophie