Kuhli Loach Rating

I have kept Kuhli Loachs on different occasions. Each time I get them I think they will be an interesting fish to have in the tank, but every time I am disappointed. They find themselves a place to hide, usually under a log and will remain there most of the time. The few times I get to see them is if they decide to come out for feeding when the tank light is off or when I shine the torch light under the log.

I would personally not keep them again as I feel they do not contribute to the tank. Of course I could just be having bad luck with them.

Good Points:

• Their appearance is different to most fish
• Suitable for community tanks
• Peaceful
• Scavengers 
• Hardy

Bad Points

• Nocturnal
• Tend to hide under objects
• Dig themselves into sand

Score

• 4/10

Disaster

Disaster! After being away for a week, we came back to a healthy working tank, no deaths and the automatic feeder working well. Tonight I noticed the Kuhli Loaches swimming around the tank which was a bit unusual, when I suddenly realised that I could not hear the pump running in the tank. After a quick investigation, I discovered that the pump has packed up. So I am off to the pet shop tomorrow to see if I can get a replacement. Luckily it did not happen while we were away!

Kuhli Loach Fact Sheet

Here is a fact sheet of the Kuhli Loach

Scientific Name	Pangio Kuhlii
Family	Cypranid
Common Names	Kuhli Loach, Coolie Loach
Origin	Thailand, Malaya,Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Indonesia
Adult Size	10 cm
Social	Peaceful, suitable for community tanks
Lifespan	10 years
Diet	Omnivore, eats most foods
Breeding	Egglayer
pH	6.5 - 7.5
Hardness	5 dGH
Temperature	22 - 26 C

Tank Update

The sick Molly is still sick. He has started eating a bit, but generally is not doing well. There are a few scales that are missing and the speckled Molly is returning the favour of chasing him around the tank. I am surprised he has lasted this long.

The Kuhli loaches are settling in and have made the gap under the bogwood their home. They can be found hiding there most of the time and only come out when the lights are off or there is a bit of food out. But they are slowly acclimatising to the tank and every now and then we see one swimming along the bottom.

I now know why they call the shrimp "Ghost Shrimp". It is not because they are see-through, but it is because you do not get to see them! Since they have entered the tank, I have only seen them a few times. They appear to like the Java fern and now and then I see both of them hanging on the leaves. Occasionally a fish will chase them around until they get away.

Last but not least, the snails have been reproducing. The total number of snails have increased and we have even seen some snail egg sacks on the Java fern's roots. They appear to live mostly on the Vallis and Java fern. I might have to invest in a fish that likes snails for dinner to start keeping the snail population under control.

I also noticed that the Vallis was starting to block out the light to the plants below, so I decided to do a bit of pruning. I thinned out the longest leaves, creating space for the new leaves. I decided to cut the leaves just as they reached the surface. Some of the off-cuts were nearly a metre long, so the total length of the leaf must have been over a metre.

Reluctant Guests

Today we bought the most difficult fish and crustaceans that you can catch, or so it appeared when the pet shop guys were trying to catch them. It took ten minutes to catch four Kuhli loach (Pangio Kuhlii) and just as long to catch the two Ghost Shrimp (Palaemonetes kadiakensis). Both groups are scavengers. We had fun getting them out of the bags when we got home. The shrimp slipped passed the net as we were pouring the water over the bucket, but likely L was better at catching them than the pet shop boys were. Loaches were just as fun, one decided it did not want to leave the bag and got itself trapped in the corner. Luckily I was able to coax it out into the tank with a few shakes of the bags.

Once both the shrimp and the loaches were in the water they disappeared into a variety of hiding places. Last night they had settled in a bit and it appears the loaches like to live under the bogwood away from the light. The shrimps on the other hand have hidden themselves somewhere in the tank, but now and then we see them on the Juwel Rock background. I am hoping that once everyone settles down, we will see more of both the loaches and shrimp.

Kuhli loach

Ghost Shrimp