kuhli loaches

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?
--
sophie

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?

Peter
--
Add my middle initial to email me. It has become attached to a country

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

"sophie" wrote in
message ...
| 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?
|


Okay...here's one of those times where the "rule" isn't completley
functional. It may be only 13 gallons, but since kuhli's spend near
100% of the time hidden or sporting about the bottom, they don't get
in the way of the other inhabitants. You must, however, still take
into account that they *are* part of the bio-load, so filtration must
be chosen accordingly. A filter designed for a 13 gallon tank would
assume an average stocking level, so you'd need a filter designed to
support a larger tank, say, up to 30 gallons. I like filters that
have adjustmants for the flow rate, like the emperor PF's, and the
better canister filters. I have a 40 gallon tank that is very heavily
loaded, but the canister filter on it is rated for 75 gallons.g


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sophie wrote:

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?

Ok this is the point at which I horrify people, look away now if you are
sqeamish. In our UK 10g tank we have: an indeterminate number of kuhlis,
probably 6-7 adults and 2 teenagers (from when they bred); a YoYo loach
(adult); an Ancistus cat (adult); 5 neons, 5 scissortails (small). All
on an undergravel with two uplift tubes, air driven. I change 20% once a
week and this keeps the nitrates below 50ppm. All is stable, all the
fish are in the best of health. I literally cannot remember the last
time I dosed them with anything, no ich, no fungus, no finrot and the
kuhlis bred 8months ago.

Peter
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