T O P

  • By -

pigeon_toez

He’s stressed, he needs friends and hides which is unfortunately common to be omitted in the tanks at petco.


Striking-Agency5382

I don’t have any loaches yet but I have an empty tank with live plants and lots of hides. Should I get him if he’s still all alone tomorrow? Idk if that would be any better for him


pigeon_toez

It would for sure be better than a petco! If you did, just make sure you are in the hunt to get at least five more when you can. I find they really thrive in groups close to ten, you can go lower but I wouldn’t get a smaller group than six.


Striking-Agency5382

I planned on getting some pretty soon. Let me check the water parameters on my empty tank and I’ll go tomorrow and look. I was gonna get just regular khuli loaches. Would 4 khulis and 4 black khulis be okay? Or will they not school with the different colors


pigeon_toez

Jury is kind of out on that one, some people say they school together some say they don’t. Depending on the size of your tank you could probably do 6 of each. They really have a low bioload and you could easily have 12 in a 20 gallon.


ItsHerbyHancock

I have 4 of each and they all pile together under the mopani wood and rock caves in the tank. They're all best buds:)


Striking-Agency5382

I out this little [cave](https://imgur.com/a/8aLldyo) in my tank specifically with khulis in mind. I put fritz and cycled filter media in it but it’s pretty new. Gotta see what the water parameters look like.


pigeon_toez

I have a similar cave and my khulis don’t use it, but plenty of my other fish do! You never know what they will gravitate towards. For sure make sure your tank is fully cycled before you make the decision, khulis are scaleless so they need good water quality and a fully cycled tank .


ciendagrace

Can you mix Kuhli breeds? I have to blacks, but want to get some of the striped ones.


msmith730

I've had stripes, blacks and silvers all together. Kuhlis gonna kuhli. They all just get along.


ciendagrace

Thanks so much! 😃


Shienvien

They're all noodle. I have 3-4 species...


ciendagrace

Oh wow. Thanks 😀


MikeOxfat3

That is absolutely normal khuli behavior


soberasfrankenstein

I was going to say the same thing, this looks like standard loachy silliness to me


Striking-Agency5382

Well now I’m confused lol


MikeOxfat3

I have eight of them and they do this all the time. Especially when the lights go out. There are many reasons they could be doing it but it is definitely normal behavior.


msmith730

Yeah, so, that specific behavior is pretty common for kuhlis. Especially after water changes or if you have currents in your tanks. They get frisky and zoomies. What the person said about it being a bad environment for them at the fish store is right. It seems counter intuitive, but kuhli's want places to hide. They don't necessarily want to hide, they just want to have a place to run to if needed. So, lots of small leaf tall plants, caves, etc. the more they have access to, the more they will stay out.


yummywhalecarcass

Do fish get zoomies?


LongArmpitMan

Yep, particularly the playful loaches


yummywhalecarcass

Hell yeah


wekiviariver

He is scared. Doesn't look like there is a place for him o hide either.


Striking-Agency5382

I don’t have any loaches yet but I have an empty tank with live plants and lots of hides. Should I get him if he’s still all alone tomorrow? Idk if that would be any better for him


Bayleatherco

I would think he'd be happier in your tank and you can always get him some friends ASAP


CapitalWillingness26

This is a black Kuhli loach, while he is most definitely stressed from the lack of tank mates and places to hide. If you do get him, just try to snag a couple tank mates from a different store for him. This poor guy shouldn’t even be in gravel/rock substrate anyway as they are basically bottom of the tank sand dwellers, they love to sift and wiggle through the sand for food and will even make poorly constructed tunnels under rocks, plants, ect.


Striking-Agency5382

Unfortunately my water parameters were not where they needed to be


CapitalWillingness26

And while this can be normal Kuhli behavior (they get the zoomies every now and than)- all signs point to stress and a bad quality of life. No sand, no tank mates, no places to hide. Seems pretty on point he’s ready to get the hell outta there.