Odd one out

[BioNerd]

Good Afternoon gang,

I have 4 Black Kuhli Loaches. 3 are hiding like normal in the old mug I made into their loach only house.
My question is about my one loach who occasionally hangs out on the other end under a silk plant in the corner. This is during the daylight hours so I want to be sure it isn't something serious.
Nitrification cycle is good
Temp is about 78*f
PH is just under 7 (I'm a bad read of variations in the color chart).
It is a 20 Gallon tank with the 4 loaches and some tetras and a betta.

[NancyD]

I wouldn't worry about the "other" 1 too much. I had striped kuhlis & 2 liked to hang out in floating plants, the rest were more bottom fish as you might expect. I only had "black kuhlis" once, they mostly hung out together along the bottom or danced up & down the tank corners in a group.

Are you sure they're all the same species? There are at least 2, oblonga (with rounded noses) & angullaris (sp?) with a more pointed nose.

If you have room & can find the same kind, a couple more would be nice...

[BioNerd]

I have the 4 kuhli, 8 black neon tetra (1in per) and a betta (around 2in).

It is a 20 gallon tank so I may go with one or two more but I do not want to risk over stocking.

[NancyD]

Sounds good! Black neons grow to around 2 inches, so you don't have a lot of tank space...but I'd get 2 more loaches...& keep an eye on the parameters & do water changes as needed to keep nitrate under 20ppm...& nitrite & ammonia at 0. Pangios (kuhlis) grow to 3 or even 4 inches but they're very slender & of low biomass. & then call it stocked.