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-KUHLI LOACH

COMMON NAME KUHLI LOACH COOLIE LOACH SCIENTIFIC NAME Pangio Kuhlii FAMILY Cobitidae ORIGIN Thailand, Malaya, Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Indonesia TEMPERATURE 24- 28ºC PH 6.2-7.5 HARDNESS Medium Soft to Medium (4 - 10 dGH) MAXIMUM SIZE 10cm DIET Flake, sinking pellets, algae wafers, frozen foods, cooked vegetables RECOMMENDED MINIMUM AQUARIUM 15 Litres SOCIAL Peaceful TANK REGION Bottom LIFE SPAN 10yrs CARE Easy 9/10 BREEDING Egg Layers

The Kuhli Loach is a small worm-like or eel-shaped freshwater fish belonging to the loach family (Cobitidae). It is elongated with slightly compressed sides, and very small translucent fins. The dorsal fin starts behind the middle of the body, and the anal fin well behind this. The eyes are covered with a transparent skin, and there are four pairs of barbels about their mouth.

Kuhli Loaches are a basic orange or yellow color and 15-20 dark brown or black bars circling the body. The belly is white. There is a fairly rare albino variety where the dark bars are replaced with pink and red eyes (not necessarily available in Aust.) and a "black variety" which is uniformly dark.

All kuhli's need well-established aquaria and should not be considered for newly set up tanks. They are a relatively undemanding fish and once acclimatized can thrive in a wide range of water parameters, although softer and more acidic water is generally preferred. They need rounded gravel or sand, and actually seem to prefer a bit of organic mulm on the gravel, unlike most loaches who are very sensitive to it. They appreciate caves, holes, and other places to hide. Because they come from streams, they absolutely love water currents in the aquarium.

Best kept in groups, the larger the better. Three fish is the absolute minimum that should be kept together.

Ideal Tank Mates: All non-aggressive fish with similar requirements. These fish get along famously with clown loaches or other non-aggressive loaches. They do require the company of their own kind and a group of at least three is absolutely necessary - four or more is better.

They are easily fed and accept flake, sinking pellets, thawed frozen bloodworm, brine shrimp, frozen fish dinner etc. Worms are a particular favourite, but should not be fed exclusively.

Nocturnal by nature they are generally only seen when the tank is dark, therefore it is best kept in a well furnished tank with lots of hiding places. Remember seeing all those clowns pile out of their tiny car at the circus? Well… large numbers of kuhli’s can be seen sharing a single cave, and it’s the same astonishment when a large number of kuhli’s start poking their heads out of the cave entrance during feeding times.

Alone, in pairs or small numbers they are generally shy and rarely seen. If kept in larger groups (possibly 6+) Kuhli’s become much more active, swimming in and around, over and under driftwood rocks and plants. Searching for tidbits and other leftovers especially in places where other fish just can’t get to and they get into awkward places with relative ease.

At dusk and dawn you will sometimes see them doing figure eights at the front of the tank, very fast. When disturbed, their laid-back manner disappears in an instant and they become frantic tearaways, dashing around the aquarium at a surprising speed. And if you think their speed is astonishing, just try catching them as not only do they have speed on their side but they can do u-turn’s & changes of direction in the blink of an eye and are also expert escape artists from nets. One thing is certain, your neatly setup tank will look like a tornado has gone through it by the time you’ve finished catching them.

They are utterly peaceful and are not threatening to any fish. They are also completely defenseless against aggressive fish, so choose tank-mates accordingly.

There are more than two dozen species of Kuhli loaches