Kuhli Loaches?

[ella777]

How many kuhli loaches should I get? I only have one currently, I was thinking 5 more?
I'm pretty sure mine is a male, I dont want any babies. Should I get more males or will that cause fights?
Can I get females and have no babies?

 

[Aqua67]

It is recommended to have 5 Kuhli loaches as they like to be around others even though they are not a schooling fish. You probably won’t need to worry about babies as they are conditioned for breeding on live foods. Generally a breeder lowers the water in the tank and has a lot of floating plants also. The real question is the size of your tank, whether or not it can support a total of 5 Kuhli loaches. I’m sure you have other fish in that tank.

 

[Essjay]

With kuhli loaches, it's the more the merrier. With just 5 or 6 you will hardly see them. A group of 10 or more would be preferable if the tank allows. They also do best over sand as they like to bury themselves.

 

[ella777]

It is recommended to have 5 Kuhli loaches as they like to be around others even though they are not a schooling fish. You probably won’t need to worry about babies as they are conditioned for breeding on live foods. Generally a breeder lowers the water in the tank and has a lot of floating plants also. The real question is the size of your tank, whether or not it can support a total of 5 Kuhli loaches. I’m sure you have other fish in that tank.

I have a 200l tank. I just got 5 new babies, already have an adult.
I also have a fair amount of fish.

The man couldnt sex them but I guess if they need special water conditions there wont be any babies!

 

[ella777]

With kuhli loaches, it's the more the merrier. With just 5 or 6 you will hardly see them. A group of 10 or more would be preferable if the tank allows. They also do best over sand as they like to bury themselves.

I got 5 new babies from the shop, already have one. So I now have 6! They are still settling in but I'm sure I'll see them more often by tomorrow or the next day

 

[Essjay]

Seriously fish comments on kuhli loach breeding

Several vague reports exist but none are supported by solid information or photographs.

There is little chance of them breeding in your tank.

With egg laying fish, even if they do spawn, the eggs are likely to be eaten and if the eggs somehow manage to survive to hatch, the fry will soon be eaten. These are not like livebearers, people who breed egg laying fish have to go to great lengths to actually get fry.

 

[Kyshiara]

Nice! If you have any pictures of the babies, i would love them!

 

[ella777]

Nice! If you have any pictures of the babies, i would love them!

They're really skittish and small! I managed to get these pictures.
These are some of my bravest babies, I love watching them explore!
Theres a picture of my tank too!

Edit: I just realised how big they look on camera! they're about 1.5 - 2 inches at the moment, my adult is around 3 inches

 

[Kyshiara]

They're really skittish and small! I managed to get these pictures.
These are some of my bravest babies, I love watching them explore!
Theres a picture of my tank too!

Edit: I just realised how big they look on camera! they're about 1.5 - 2 inches at the moment, my adult is around 3 inches

OMG I forgot how much I loved this species!

 

[Aqua67]

They are fun to watch, aren’t they? I bought a used tank and it came with 4 of them, two orange/black ones, and two all black ones. I see the two black ones all of the time. The black ones are often swimming up and down the glass. I see them every time I look in my tank, swimming around the plants and driftwood. The black ones are always out and about. The orange ones find hiding places and only come out during the day if they smell food or are looking for food. I rarely see the orange/black ones and for days wondered if they were still alive in there.

I was also concerned about breeding and did not want that to happen. There is a person on here who has had their Kuhli loaches breed. I got in touch with them directly to ask about the black loaches behavior, swimming up and down the glass so often. When my cories did that, eggs came soon after, and I didn’t want my loaches breeding so I was curious about that behavior. They said that was normal behavior and not breeding behavior. They told me how they got theirs to breed and one of the main points was live food was in the tank…..amphipods (tiny shrimp like crustaceans, also called side swimmers by some). I have many amphipod colonies going here and I generally release them in my Acara’s tank. Good thing I never released them in the loaches tank. I don’t want babies anywhere but in my shrimp tank.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I rarely see the orange/black ones and for days wondered if they were still alive in there.

I read someone's post on here once who hadn't seen his last kuhli loaches in about two years, and had assumed they'd all passed away. Densely planted tank, lots of fish. It was only when he tore the tank down and was removing the last couple of plants that he discovered he still had one! They're excellent at hiding when they want to! Two years is a long time though!