Baby Kuhlies

[emily_monroe]

Hello, I just came across this forum while Google searching Kuhli Loaches and thought it would be a good place to post a question. I returned home from a weeklong vacation yesterday to a warm welcome... We discovered we had at least 4 baby kuhlies zipping around in our 20 gallon tank. We've only the same 2 kuhlies in our tank for the last few years and I guess we were quite lucky to get a boy and girl who seem comfortable in their surroundings. I've had different kuhlies on and off for at least 20 years and never noticed them breeding or having any babies in my tank. Fortunately, we had someone looking in and feeding the fish everyday while we were gone so the babies seem healthy and happy. Since I left town though, the tank has grown quite a lot of algae (probably due to the light being left on and some overfeeding). Should I hold off on cleaning the tank so not to risk hurting the little ones? Any advice would be appreciated as I'd like all the little kuhlies to survive and stay healthy and happy. Thanks!

[starsplitter7]

Congratulations. It is really something to have Kuhlie babies. I would check the filter if you have a HOB filter, and make sure no one else is in there.

I would get a mystery snail or a nerite to take care of the algae. Nerite being my favorite but difficult to find sometimes.

Since babies need extra food, you will need to step up on cleaning. I would do 25% water changes every few days and stay away from the gravel for now to avoid sucking up babies.

[emily_monroe]

Thank you so much for the input! So glad I came on here. I will definitely take you up on your advice.

Here is a small snippet of the baby kuhlies (at :20). Cute little guys. I counted 4 tonight. Apologies for the dirty tank... I'll enlist a snail's help this weekend to clear up the algae situation and start up with the water changes.

http://youtu.be/QMZD6zNOPe0

Much appreciated!

[starsplitter7]

What cuties! They look like they are well on their way. The tank looks very nice, an they love caves like that. Nice design.

Depending on the size of your tank, you could also enlist the help of a bristlenose or two. You can find them at Walmart now, but make sure you quarantine them.

[Cyberkat]

Congratulations on your newest family members!!! I got my Nerite snails from a guy in a local fish forum that sells them. Nerites are fantastic little guys who just LOVE eating algae. Sometimes they can be purchased & shipped if you can't find any in your area locally. When you look for them check local fish stores, places like Petco, etc will have only Mystery snails. Nerite snails are pretty, do not eat your plants and do a fantastic clean up job for your aquarium. They will lay eggs which can be scraped off if you find them bothersome & will only hatch in brackish water, they usually live for 3 yrs or so as well. Make sure you have a cover on your tank, these guys will wonder out of the aquarium and die. Mine have never done this but I did find one inside my HOB one time! I have Horned Nerite (small & perfect for cleaning plants), Zebra & Olive Nerites; Nerites are not as big as Mystery Snails as well. Hope this info helps!!

[starsplitter7]

I have horned, zebra and olive too. Love Nerites!