Hiding kuhli's.

[lf11casey]

My kuhli's have been hiding for a little over a week. Before this they were out and about in the tank, playing in the leaf litter and doing loach stuff. I tested the water, ammonia and nitrite were 0, nitrate 10, PH 6.8. There's no spots, flicking on the decor, sores, thinness or any such. They look fine and healthy, females plump with eggs, just in hiding. The ember tetras I have in the tank look fine and are out and about swimming around.
The only time I really see the kuhli's anymore is when I feed them, they come out in one or twos to eat, though before there would be one big mass of them wrestling over the food.
Any suggestion on what it could be, what I should look out for? This started before the outbreak of ich in my fry tank, could that be it.

[loachmom]

Hi Casey,

I hope others will give their opinions, but I don't think your kuhlis' behavior is abnormal. I'm certainly not a expert since I've only kept kuhlis for a year or almost two years. My kuhlis hide a lot, too, but I get to see some of them every day. I have about 18 of them, so I think that's why it seems like I see them often, but really I only see a few of them at a time. In the evening after the tank lights are off, I can see a bigger number of them at one time.
Mine don't come out any more to attack the food, but, like yours, they just come out a few at a time to timidly eat.
I have a few very gravid females somewhere in the tank, but I only see them when I disturb their hiding spots while cleaning. And I started to think that the kuhli my children had named Double-O had died since I had not seen him in months. I was relieved to get a glimpse of him the other day, looking sleek and sassy.
So that's how things are with my kuhlis.
All of mine are the striped kuhlis. I'd love to have some of the oblonga, but I've not found any.

[starsplitter7]

My Pangios do big loach dances after water changes, and when the weather is changing outside. Mine come out for dinner, especially shrimp pellets. Otherwise the lounge together in coconut huts and in the plants.

[Gary Stanton]

Mine are the same. I know what rock they're under if I want to see them. I think it's normal for them to hide.

[lf11casey]

I wonder if it is the weather. We have had rain here most everyday for the past 2 weeks. I'm just concerned becouse they were out almost all the time loachy dancing and what not, then all of a sudden went into hiding. I guess I'll just keep an eye on them and see if they come back out to play or not when the weather improves.
Thanks

[loachmom]

One other idea...
Were the ember tetras in the tank when the kuhlis were out and about all the time? Piggy4 once told me that he thought kuhlis were seen more often when there were no dither fish in the tank.

Here's the thread about it:
http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php ... sc&start=0

Keep us posted.

[soul-hugger]

Hello, Casey..,

It is funny you should post this, because I have the exact same issue with my striped kuhlis. They were frequently out and about when I first got them, and now they are very retiring. I would have thought this would be backwards, because I had read in several places that kuhlis would hide a lot at first, and then as they got more comfortable, let their true nature show. But the reverse seems to be true, that their nature really is to hide. Both my striped kuhlis and my oblonga kuhlis are most active during or after any sort of change; water, weather, decor, etc.

I got thinking about this and realized I had changed the decor, giving them a better hiding place. In their old hiding place, I was able to see and count them at almost any time of day. Although this was reassuring to me, I'm sure it didn't matter a spot to them. I have read about kuhlis that people had thought were long-since dead hiding under an undergravel plate - the person hadn't bought kuhlis in 15 years ! Not only were they surviving, they were thriving, and had multiplied considerably.

If your kuhlis are breeding, that is the ultimate sign they are OK! Wolfram, on this site, wrote something I really liked; he said when he's sitting there at night watching the tank, and can't see a single fish, he feels satisfaction rather than alarm at having been able to provide a special hiding place for each fish.

Just keep doing what you're doing; observation is the best you can do.

Take Care;
soul-hugger

[lf11casey]

loachmom- yes I had the embers in the tank when they were out.

Just wondering, would they start hiding becouse of a new plant? I got thinking about it and remembered this started about the time I added 2 new crypts to the tank. But if there was something wrong with the plants, wouldn't the embers be bothered?

[loachmom]

Hi Casey,

I wouldn't think they would be bothered by the plants, but maybe they are just spooked since their surroundings have changed a little. Hopefully that's all that's bothering them, and in a few days they'll be back to their normal behavior.