Kuhli Loach (Acanthophthalmus kuhli)

yoink

i had a kuhli loach and it was fragile. i don't know if that is pretty standard, but you might want to start out with a yo-yo or zipper loach. i've found they're a little more hardy.

the_noobinator

I love these little creatures at feeding time they stick thier little heads out and scavenge around for food I have several in two different tanks and found them to be quite hardy.

SALOLA

Iv'e had four in my tank for ages, i keep thinking i have lost some but then they all appear again... very hard to find as they like to hide but they are great.. very peaceful.

reggie

I have three of these little guys in my tank. Quite the characters they are. They are good for keeping food off the substrate and plants. I find them going through my moss picking little bits out here and there.

Burks

They are such great characters and bother no one. I have 6 now but plan on having 12+ in the 125G. They are my absolute favorite fish.

Shadow

These guys are such great, interesting additions to a tank. However, they do require consideration. Just because they're cute and different doesn't make them ideal tank mates for all set-ups. In regard to Kuhli loaches, I would encourage several things: 1. Buy several. I've found 5 or 6 to be an ideal grouping. They won't school, per se, but they do enjoy one another's company. 2. Hiding places and a non-agressive tank atmosphere. They've got to feel and be safe, therefore only place them relatively peaceful species and those too small to make a meal of them. Word of caution here. For whatever reason, they are predisposed to exploring various types of aquarium filters and you may find them dead as a result. The love burrowing, so safeguard them against any equipment misadventures before introduction into the tank. 3. Nocturnal habits. Be prepared to see very little of them during the daylight hours of your tank. They prefer the cover of darkness or a red aquarium light in order to come explore. Feed a few shrimp pellets after "lights out" to make sure they're getting fed too! Enjoy these guys. They're great if given a chance in the right set-up.

Kevin

I would take the temperature minimum seriously. I have had some black kuhliis do okay in the low 70s but it only took a couple or three days at 68-69F to kill off several black kuhliis. I had grown to about three inches over a year or so. The black ones seem to be much more hardy than the standard striped ones. That applies all the way from commercial shipping to survival in a tank. I have had good luck with black ones but have never kept a banded kuhlii alive for more than a few weeks while blacks thrived in the same tank.

Temperature

I love these guys they are so much fun to watch but I find they stir up the substrate.

Donald Yeager

Gezza

I bought one a few months ago, but thought it must have died as I hadn't seen it for weeks, then as I was rearranging my stones it popped out! Poor thing, I didn't realise they would burrow. Great fish to keep, and got along great with my other fish.

HarperE

I have three of thse little guys. One is like this picture, with the stripes, and the other two are all black.

In my experience they are very hardy little critters. The stripped one we have had for at least two years and has been through a lot; even when other fish have gotten sick and died, he hasn't.

They love places to hide and generally eat whatevers food or debri is on the bottom of the tank. You won't see them the majority of the time and they are very flexible and "burrowing". If you look in there and don't see him anywhere, even under your ornaments/plants don't worry - he may just be under the gravel.

HarpersE

AmandaS

Please, please, PLEASE make sure you take the proper precautions with the filter if you're thinking about getting kuhli loaches! I, sadly, did not. Imagine my shock and dismay when I found all five of mine wriggling at the bottom of my canister filter after going missing for a few days. They were very pale and sick when I got them out and managed to survive but it was a very near thing.

Alastair

The fish in the main picture (coming out the hole in the rock) is not, a far as I can make out, a Pangio kuhlii but looks like it's a P. myersi (aka Slimey Myersi).. the common name Kuhli (aka Coolie) Loach seems to be used in LFS for any small, snake-like loach. I've had about a dozen "kuhli loaches" over the years, and only two were P. kuhlii.. worth hunting to see what's been mis-labelled in the store.

Keep an eye out for Pangio anguillaris, it's particularly elegant in my opinion and I've seen them in mixed shipments of other Pangio.