Kuhli Vs Cory

[kirsty2236]

I have 2 cory julii and I would love to add some Kuhli loaches. My tank is only 8 gallon so do I have enough room for 3 or 4 Kuhlis and do they live happily with Corys? There is plenty of hidey holes to give the corys and kuhlis somewhere to live. I also have Blind Cave tetra which aren't nasty at all but they do shoot around the tank and swim into other fish I get the impression that Kuhlis are shy little creatures and I wouldn't want to terrify them.

Any thoughts much appriciated

 

[mikev]

it is not a good idea to keep only two cories... they need to be kept in 5+ groups, so whatever space you have has to be allocated to more cories first.

as for keeping cories and kuhlies together -- no problems, as long as you have sufficiently large groups of both in a sufficiently large tank.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

For the sake of your fish, you have some choices to make as a responsible fish keeper...

• Corydoras julii, http/www.planetcat...?species_id=378, often turn out to be Corydoras trilineatus (http/www.planetcat...?species_id=508). Either way, like most cory catfish, they are not really suitable for an 8g tank (they will do much better in a 2-foot plus tank). They are very social fish (see below) and so need a group of their own kind ~6+...

[video]http/www.youtube.c...h?v=cWIVCdLOImw[/video] (There are other clips in the cory section of this forum, great to see what these fish are like in the wild)

• Blind cave Tetra are far too big and active for an 8g, these fish usually reach ~9cm, a 4-foot tank would be far more appropriate. They also have cooler water requirements than your other fish, being much happier at ~20C for their regular temp, although a "summer season" approaching 25C would be fine for a few months. Unlike most tetras, there does not seem to be a clear-cut answer regarding whether they appreciate social groups, although it is possible (despite being blind, they send out electric signals to "read" their suuroundings and so they probably do sense other "friends.") http/www.seriously...exicanus&id=559
• Kuhli Loaches probably could live happy lives in your 8g, as they are not hyper-active fish and tend to be very content with some soft sand to burrow into underneath some bogwood. Again, these are very social fish that are shy in low numbers, so you would see them much more often if you bought 6-8.
• A group of ~6 http/www.seriously...pygmaeus&id=333 or http/www.seriously...hastatus&id=272 cory catfish would work pretty well with the group of Kuhlis, having upgraded the tanks or rehomed your "julii" cores and Blind Cave Tetra.
  

 

[kirsty2236]

Ok this does make me look a bit thick but after actually measuring my tank today it is infact a 12G tank, not entirely sure why I thought it was 8G. Hopefully this means I'm not being quite as cruel to my little fish. Would it be better to get more Corys so I've got 5/6 or rehome the 2 I have? And if I did up the Corys to 6 then I don't think I would have enough room for Kuhlis as well?

I have had the tetra for a couple of years and they are about 2 inches I think, not the easiest to measure. I'm really gutted I love my blind fish and would love to keep them but I don't have the space or finance to buy a bigger tank I assume for the tetra the 12G isnt much better than an 8G?

I should explain that until recently I had always relied on the LFS to advise me on stocking and looking after my tank (which I now know is a mistake). After asking for some good community algae eaters and being sold 3 sucking loaches (I think they are also called chinese algae eaters?) which ended up killing 3 of my fish and attacking the rest I started looking into fish on the net for useful advice and found this forum. So although I've been keeping fish for years I am new to understanding the best way to keep them etc and I am trying to learn. I took the loaches back to the shop and exchanged them for the Corys which look like they are infact trilineatus not julii as they were sold. I have had no end of problems with buying fish from some sort of water poisoning that killed most of my tank to really bad advice on stocking, when I first started I was sold a "simese fighting fish" in a brand new tank with 4 neon tetra also ended badly funnily enough, but at least I have learnt to research anything I intend to put in my tank thoroughly before going near a shop.


I do have soft sand for my Corys so at least I'm doing one thing right.

Thanks for the advice I really appriciate it and I am trying to do the best thing for my fish x

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

It is amazing how often LFS try to blind us with misinformation on suitable size tanks for different fish and what fish are compatable with others. I was very fortunate that I found this forum and others last year before my obsession began and I love finding a new fish at my LFS to read up about its needs when I get home... Hence I have four tanks within nine months of starting the hobby!

What dimensions is your newly discovered 12g tank?

If it is 60cm long, then there is no reason why you could not up your group of C. trilineatus to six, with the temp set at 22C (which would be fine incidentally for your tetra, after reading more this this morning).

Since posting this morning, I have come across some more info on Blind Cave Tetra which does indeed suggest they are social, http/www.tropicalf...shType=tropical. Everything I've read about these fish so far suggests a 3-foot tank is the absolute minimum

Have you scoured Ebay, Aquarist Classified or even Freecycle for cheap or even free tanks local to you? You might be surprised how many tanks are advertised, for example I got my 5-footer for £51 last summer.

 

[kirsty2236]

It is amazing how often LFS try to blind us with misinformation on suitable size tanks for different fish and what fish are compatable with others. I was very fortunate that I found this forum and others last year before my obsession began and I love finding a new fish at my LFS to read up about its needs when I get home... Hence I have four tanks within nine months of starting the hobby!

What dimensions is your newly discovered 12g tank?

If it is 60cm long, then there is no reason why you could not up your group of C. trilineatus to six, with the temp set at 22C (which would be fine incidentally for your tetra, after reading more this this morning).

Since posting this morning, I have come across some more info on Blind Cave Tetra which does indeed suggest they are social, http/www.tropicalf...shType=tropical. Everything I've read about these fish so far suggests a 3-foot tank is the absolute minimum

Have you scoured Ebay, Aquarist Classified or even Freecycle for cheap or even free tanks local to you? You might be surprised how many tanks are advertised, for example I got my 5-footer for £51 last summer.

Yeah little bit of a blonde moment with the tank confusion I think. My tank is bang on 2ft (60cm)(by 30cm x 30cm aprox, just under 12 gallon) so yay at least I can keep my corys because they are sweet little creatures and I have an excellent excuse to buy more

I'm definatly switching LFS, last time I went in there the zebra danios weren't very well, there was a couple dead in the tank and several swimming upside down poor little fish. Not too mention the loach incident.

Unfortunatly I live in a very small house and my tank is squeezed into the only avaliable space in my room. Not entirely sure my parents would be too keen on me getting a 5ft tank instead of the telly! Though if it was up to me than that would definatly be the case. I'm so jelous of everyone on here that has all these big beautiful tanks maybe when I move out...

Thanks for the help, I'm sure I'm gonna be asking lots more questions

 

[Carlovel1]

I'm so jelous of everyone on here that has all these big beautiful tanks maybe when I move out...

Bigger is not always better...I have only discovered this out recently. Nano tanks are great when planted and filled with loads of nano fish

 

[kirsty2236]

I'm so jelous of everyone on here that has all these big beautiful tanks maybe when I move out...

Bigger is not always better...I have only discovered this out recently. Nano tanks are great when planted and filled with loads of nano fish

I bet, would be nice to have the option though I think I need to get the hang of the fish before I have to worry about keeping the plants alive as well

 

[mussels]

how about: mum if i get u a wall mount for the tv, that would free up the space for me to get a bigger tank!!!!! lol
i know the problem its only that after the 6ft tank arrived and would only fit in the lounge that my mum acsepted it going in there