why a minimum of 3?

[echo_cypher]

I just purchased a couple of half banded kuhlis for my tank, my question why a minimum of 3 loaches are needed? the 2 i bought imediately found seperate hiding places in the tank and don't associate with each other. though when they're out they play in the bubbles with my neons and gold barbs, but never together.

[Dutch]

My guess, and it is just a guess because I'm not familiar how these guidelines come about, is that it is linked to their natural behavior.

I had a discussion a while back with a person who kept 30 Tropheus Cichlids in a 40 gallon tank and didn't understand that such a situation was unhealthy for this species. I think that if a fish school together in nature and are active swimmers, they should be kept in a school and a large tank. Hence the Tropheus guidelines of a minimum group of 12 and a minimum size tank of 80 gallon, with ideal guidelines of groups of 30 to 40 in a 260 gallon tank. That's when they are supposed to show their most natural behavior.

As for loaches. We have two B. histrionica loaches in a community tank at our department and they play very little with each other. Only every once in a while I see the little one nudging the bigger one to get the big one to chase him. Not at all what I see here on the site. Loaches kept by people here show much more social interaction/interesting behavior, which I think is because of their natural social hierarchy. The fish will do okay with just the two, but won't display their natural behavior.

I personally think fish should be able to display their natural behavior in a tank. If they can't or won't, I think the tank is unsuitable (for whatever the underlying reason might be).
(But that's also because I'm so nuts about fish that I have dedicated my life to researching them.)

[mickthefish]

echo, i talk to a guy on the web who lives in borneo he's seen where the shelfordi are collected.
when leaf litter is collected in the slower parts of the river you can find hundreds of shelfordi in this litter.
so i think thats why the guide line of three is given, in nature they live together and socialise in this way.

mick

[echo_cypher]

Thanks for the replys. I just want to make sure i'm not stressing the lil guys by not having enough of them. I only have a 30gl tank, and with 4 neon tetras, 4 gold barbs, and 2 kuhlis, i figure i'm at my population limit.

[mickthefish]

echo, i think your tank is under-stocked you could put a few more kuhli's in there mate imo.

mick

[Emma Turner]

Yes, what Mick says is correct - these fish live in huge colonies in the wild, and as aquarists, we should try to replicate this to the best of our abilities. I would actually consider 5 to be a better minimum number for these fish. In our stock tanks at work, we provide all our fish with plenty of shelters, so they are not as stressed as they would be in bare surroundings. They could hide anywhere amongst a whole multitude of objects, but more often than not they revert to their natural behaviour and bundle underneath wood and rocks in a big social colony. Here are a couple of pics:

Pangio sp. 'panda'


Pangio cf anguillaris


Pangio anguillaris


Apologies for the quality, but you get the idea.

Emma

[Barracuda518]

I have 10 Pangio Khuliis and they are like that too. I have a bunch of plants group together under some fake driftwood and thats where they stay. When I feed them, they all come out in a big group, always together. Where there is one, there is at least 2-3 more with it.

[Batch]

I have 8 Pangio oblonga (I think... they may be some similair species) in my
jungle tank, and they all hang out in the same rock "cave" at the front of the
tank. I guess they picked this particular hiding spot over numerous others
because for months I would only drop the shrimp pellets right in front of
the opening to their cave.

Batch

[echo_cypher]

Thanks again. one more question. i saw a couple posts talking about feeding vegetables. but no mention what kind, any help there?

[Dutch]

http://www.loaches.com/care/the-loach-almanac
This has a lot about feeding towards the end of the article. A very nice article! (In my opinion.)

[mickthefish]

echo, the two best foods ive found are cucumber and zucchini but you can try other veg like lettuce, carrot, deshelled peas that have been parboiled.

i'm sure the others have tried other veg as well as some fruits that will tell you more.

mick

[Barracuda518]

echo, the two best foods ive found are cucumber and zucchini but you can try other veg like lettuce, carrot, deshelled peas that have been parboiled.

i'm sure the others have tried other veg as well as some fruits that will tell you more.

mick

Same here, but I have found mine seem to like the cucumber the most, especially the clown loaches.