Loaches Online Forum

So now that I've moved and consolidated tanks it's time to start bringing them back to life.....my g/f is going to kill me

I have a 20 gallon long that I'd like to plant and use for just kuhlis (and maybe some small dither), but I've never had live plants before. Can anybody recommend some plants that are pretty easy to maintain that the kuhlis would enjoy? Also, what type of substrate is ideal?

Thanks all!!!

my kuhli's really seem to like plants that have lots of fine leaves....don't know what they are called but you should put in some fairly low light plants.. they also like floating plants, and will pretty much leave them alone.. they just feel safer when the top of the water is covered

Mine loved Hygrophilia polysperma

and Java Fern "wendelov"

Carol

With Pangio's coming from leaf-litter habitats in nature, most plants that give plenty of shaded area's is recommended. The key is giving them plenty of shaded and secure area's with ease of movements to food sources. Low level leaf type plants will be a great addition, as well as higher level plantation.
The substrate applies with all loaches my friend.

Any plants will be okay, Jon. The kuhlis will never damage them.

Thanks guys.

Blue: It's not the plants I was worried about...I just want the fish to be happy

Graeme: I assume you are saying that the ideal substrate for all loaches is sand?

or small, rounded gravel.

we have a lot of different plants in our kuhli tank, but what they enjoy the most is the dwarf hairgrass (spread out like a carpet in the foreground), and the bacopa. They love to drape in the bacopa leaves, and seem to climb up and down the leaf 'rungs' like a ladder - very fun to watch!

we have a fairly high-light tank, but with lots of shading plants. The kuhlis are out and about 24-7.

as for substrate, eco-complete is awesome for plants, but probably not ideal for kuhlis because they can't burrow in it (at least ours don't). To mitigate that, we've got lots of leaf litter, which they love.

Hair grass and just about all the low carpeting sorts of plants are generally high light plants. Even a 20 long, a shallow tank, needs at least 3 watts per gallon to really get these sorts of plants going.

If all you have is stock lighting (less than one watt per gallon) then upgrade the lighting until you get about 2 watts per gallon of light at about 6500K.
Then you can grow most of the low to medium light plants.

The shallow tank will mean that you will have to trim a lot, or choose slow and low growing plants. I have Hornwort, Duckweed and an African floating fern in my 20 long. In both of my tanks with Kuhlies I have a somewhat small Echinodorus (It fills the tank) and Java Fern. The Wendelov variety is a very good choice, stays small.

A good fish to add to a 20 long might be Harlequin Rasboras. They are an Asian native, colorful, and not shy. I have used them for dithers for Rams, and the Rams were out and about quite a lot.

My kuhlis (may they rest in peace) really liked a thicket of Cryptocoryne parva I have. They could always be found hanging out in between the stems of that plant, and were really comfortable coming out in the open any time.