Black Khuli Loaches

[aimeec]

I was in the fish store and saw some "black kuhli loaches".
Now because I cant believe anything I hear from the fish stores anymore (I have had several recent bad experiences), I just want to know whether they actually are what they said.

They looked like all the pictures of both the kuhli loaches and black kuhli loanches (long, skinny, little tail fin, dangly bits on its mouth)
but they were actually black which doesnt fit with any of the pictures of the black kuhli loach.

All the pictures on the net I have seen have been brown and the occasional description says they can be black.

Are they/ could they really be black kuhli loaches?

or -- Really, my question is - are there any sorts of kuhli loach or look alikes that grow bigger than 4 inches?
All the species I looked at on loaches.com said that 4" was their max size.

2nd question: Is a 2ft(19gal) tank too small to get 3 of them? It only has 6 neon tetras in it.

Thanks

 

[KraKen]

If they are actual black khuli loaches then yes three would be fine in a 2ft tank.

IME they're great fish and surprisingly active.

 

[aimeec]

Excellent.

Tomorrow I will have 3 black kuhli loaches.


Edit: It is now tomorrow and I have 3 black kulie loaches. Huzzar!

 

[millym]

hi
black khulis are brilliant little fish much more active than their stripey counterparts, ours are always out & about unlike the stripey khulis who we had in our large tank - i didnt see them for 6 months then nearly fell over one day when out they both popped, i havent seen them again for over 6 months & really dont know if theyre still alive in there.
we have stripey khulis in our little tank & they are always out & about but our teeny black khuli in there is still much less shy than them. we have one black khuli in our big tank & he is often out & about we want the little fella to grow before we put him in with the big boys ( hes only about an inch in size)

 

[aimeec]

My black kuhli loaches are the best. They are always out in the evenings looking for food. They go nuts for blood worms, goldfish/spirulina flakes and cucumber. Not so impressed with brine shrimps (one of them spat them straight out and the others didnt even look twice.)

They suck in sand and spit it back out through their gills.
One of them goes and lies in the leaves half way up one of my plants.
I made some PVC pipes which lie underneath the gravel with 3 entrances. The kuhlies are in and out of them all the time.
And its really cool the way they launch themselves and glide/fall to where they are going.
They are really interesting to watch. Everyone should get some.

I'll post a photo when I find my camera cable (just moved and am still missing a few things)

and on a completely unrelated matter, my paradise fish have started jumping out of the water to grab food out of my fingers.