New Black Kuli Loach owner

[Sorceress]

just checking in and saying hello

[ahmandi2]

Welcome to LoL! There are a TON Of great minds with oodles of experience in fish, tanks, etc...a great site.
Very helpful people as well

[Sorceress]

right now just letting him settle in tho a little worried that the little guy is picking the wrong hiding spot ie the betta's cave lol

[starsplitter7]

Does the Betta look worried? Usually other fish don't pay any attention to Kuhlies (your guy is probably a Pangio oblanga). Other fish don't see Kuhlies as a threat. If you only have one Pangio oblanga, you may want to get two more. They are not only fish. My kuhlies roam through everyone's caves, and they are generally ignored. Watch your betta and make sure he isn't too upset about the invasion.

[Sorceress]

all the betta did was come out of his cave turn around flare then proceeded to chase the five white clouds then settle right back down in his cave i do have a bit of a stocking issue as it is a five gallon due to me being an apt dweller and a friend said with the filtration i got a small kuli would be ok for the snail problem i got as the kulie would hopefully take care of that tho he did upset the white clouds earlier today as they where swarming around him for some reason

[starsplitter7]

Kuhlies are too small to eat most snails. You won't find many loach keepers who recommend getting a single loach for snail control. The Kuhlies sometimes eat the small ones. The best thing to do is to not overfeed your fish, which will control the snail population. Keep in mind a fish's stomach is the size of about their eye. So a flake, maybe 2, for all the white clouds is good and 2-3 pellets for the betta is enough. The kuhlie will like some algae wafers, shrimp pellets and will eat some of the flake. (about 3-4 pellets a week, a wafer broken into many pieces -- fed a piece at a time through the week.) Overfeeding will crash the tank and the snail population will explode.

When you get a second tank, make sure you get another kuhlie or two. He will be very unhappy alone. He needs his own cave too. Kuhlies like to stay out of the limelight. I would even take the Kuhlie back, since they don't work well for snail control (Unless of course you really like the Kuhlie and then a bigger tank would be helpful.)

[Sorceress]

yea well the snails i got are the tiny ones and i have already noticed some snail carcases since i put the kulie in and he does have other options then the betta cave like the moss ball but he seems to like the betta's home better then that or the logs i use for the java plants go figure

i got a kick out the the petsmart guy he told me to get a gold fish and that betta's don't need heated tanks and if i was worried about the betta to put the betta in a cup till the gold fish did its work rotflmao

and i don't feed much my snail problem came courtesy of the other fish store where i got the java and moss ball

when you live in an apt you are limited in what the landlord will tolerate in the size of the tank if i do move which i doubt due to the fact i love this place and it's proximity to a really nice beach if the white clouds age out will probably get another loach as i have had the white clouds now for almost 2yrs and i don't know how long they live

[starsplitter7]

It sounds like your fish are thriving in their small environment. I too start with a 5 gallon, actually a 1.5 then a 5.

It is good you know that that the LFS people often give incorrect advice. Sounds like you know what you are doing. I always ask LFE workers I don't know 3 simple questions to hear their answers. If they give me wrong info and act like they know what they are saying, I ignore everything they say.

Thank goodness you didn't buy the goldfish.

Post pictures of your fish when you get a chance.

[Sorceress]

as soon as he sits still long enough or comes out of the betta cave as well i think my airpod is driving him nuts as it is noisy may need replacing as it don't work when it switches to battery when i unplug it for a filter medium change

[starsplitter7]

Get pictures of the crew. Lots of people like Bettas too.

[sorce]

They will sure eat the snail eggs. Do get more to keep him happy. Just keep the tank clean. Maybe jump to a fifteen or twenty gallon.

[Sorceress]

five gallons is the max for this apt size as well as landlord tolarance as it is a very small one bdrm and will take a pic of the crew today and hope the kuli is in it lol

[Crissyloach]

That does make it hard. Only a 5 gallon does not give you many options. I guess it is good that you can keep something other than a fish bowl.

[Sorceress]

yea i really love the place i am at i have a really good landlord when the apt went to no pets in 2007 i had a small dog that went to the rainbow bridge due to old age last year but the landlord let me stay despite the no pet rule going into effect due to other bad dog owners

got the tank in the winter of 2008 and got the betta in sept of 09 after the no pet rule landlord took one look at it and said you growing your own dinner