p.oblonga

[mikev]

I still owe Jim some oblonga-related photos, but I cannot resist showing the Halloween celebration yesterday:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LDLmWO64gU

The cause is a weather change (rain + outside temperature drop by about 20 degree Fahrenheit -> they sensed atmospheric pressure drop.)

What I find peculiar is that the fry in the tank did not participate in the mayhem at all, only the adults and 1+ year juveniles. And the other oblonga tank showed no signs of excitement at all.. possibly because all loaches there are younger, most likely under 1 year.

[Jim Powers]

Wow!!

[mikev]

Well, there are probably 50+ oblonga's in the tank now and while usually I do not see any, when they come out.... Like when the food is offered, juveniles are always hungry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9rwDe_j4XE

Here is a video from the last year when the first spawn happened.... I never saw really young ones, they all came out already at 1.25", about 2 months old....probably were living in the undergravel filter before than. The tank, incidentally, is with a proper river tank current... it seems that kuhlis appreciate current even more than hillies *as long as they choose when to play with it*.

[chefkeith]

Very cool. So You got the kuhli's to spawn? Mine just hide in a rock pile all day. I've been thinking about giving them their own set-up, as I currently have them with clown loaches.

[mikev]

They spawned two times, last summer and this one again.

A few things may be of help:
Blacks (p.oblonga) are the easiest to spawn.
Fish needs to be mature .. I think 2 year old or so.
Undergravel filter and current are important. Good food too (frozen at least)
Single-species tank is not... I think clowns is a bit too much (yours are likely huge)... but the tank where they spawned has confuzona, sewellias, and grown up sinibotias... I am really surprised that sinis do not touch the fry, they can gulp a 1" kuhli easily.

[NancyD]

Nice vid, Mike. I kept looking for little pangios until the adult showed up. Your confuzonas look great!

[mikev]

Thanks, Nancy,

I never saw real small ones, at the size they emerge, 1.25" or so, they are just scaled down adults. Not sure how they manage to hide so well, both from me and from the predators, but they sure do... possibly deep under the gravel in the filter.

[mikev]

Somewhat more interesting oblonga now.. I have better shots *somewhere* and will find them eventually (or dig the fish out), but for now, behold one and only albino (not quite) black kuhli....



Below is the contents of the 2nd p.oblonga tank just before being moved in:

[Loachloach]

Nice!
My kuhli loaches dance a lot when the lights are off too.
It works very well with leaf litter covering the bottom because they seem to feel safe and come out during the day foraging for food so they are not such a rare view in my case.