I've been a LONG time lurker, and figured it was time to join this wonderful forum, since I've gotten so much good information here. Thanks to all of you who have helped me out - even if you don't know it - and to the fantastic team that created and maintains this site, it's a real treat to have a forum dedicated to these amazing critters!
I'm a Kuhli girl, no doubt about that. I've had 5 Pangio Kuhli for *almost* a year now. They're currently living in my 55 gallon tank. I love them, and have never had a problem with them. They're always out and visible, eat well, are active, and seem happy. . .
Here's their home:
Here are a few shots of the babies <3
I've been looking for more Pangio Kuhli to bump up their shoal size, but all of my GOOD local shops have closed down over the last year, and nobody else has been able to get them in stock. FINALLY, 3 days ago, a shop that I never go to (but had given my number to in case they came in) called me to let me know they had some. I went right over, and I won't be going back - it was a nightmare!
Usually, I see Kuhli kept in a bare-bottomed tank with a hide or two thrown in, because Kuhli loaches are notoriously difficult to catch, and can burrow under the substrate. THIS tank had gravel, and they were playing hard to get. I watched as the woman was stabbing the net into the gravel repeatedly, trying to scare them OUT to net them - and failing miserably. I mumbled something about how I hoped none of them were getting hurt under there. . . she stopped stabbing the gravel, and started taking nets full of gravel OUT and into her little catch-box, and then dumped the water with the loaches into the bag. . . eventually I asked if she wanted me to give it a try - but of course, that isn't allowed. It was a terrible experience. She counted the fish - I wanted FOUR - and said "I'm going to go get you an extra one, because I think I squashed one. . ."
Nice.
When she went off to get the 'extra,' she left the catch-box with the bag inside of it on the counter, and that's when I realized that my new babies were REALLY babies. Tiny, teeny little loachlings. These loaches are SO small. I don't know how big they're supposed to be before being sold, but I've always seen them for sale pretty close to the 2.5 inch mark - these loaches are 1 inch ONE of them is *slightly* bigger, maybe 1.5 inches. I probably should have refused them, but I had to bring them home and at least give them a fighting chance!
In the end I came home with 6 for the price of 4, but the squished one didn't make it. He was alive when I got him home, but died within a few hours. . .
Of the five surviving loaches, ONE of them isn't stripey - the 'extra' she got me is a Pangio oblonga. Guess she didn't feel like bothering to capture the right TYPE of loach, since I wasn't paying for him (because she squished the other one!), so I still have the four that I wanted, plus one black and one dead. But there's no way that I'm going to return him for a stripey one - I am NEVER setting foot into that shop again. . . unless it's to ask for a full refund when all of these die - which won't surprise me, considering how roughly she pulled them from the tank, and how young they are.
I was going to put them into a bigger tank to QT, a 29gallon - but I was so afraid that I'd lose them! I ended up putting them into a fully cycled and planted 3g tank - they have enough room to swim 8-10 body lengths before reaching the other side. No way I could keep an eye on them in a larger tank. It isn't ideal, but hopefully it'll be okay for a month or so - and hopefully they make it through and into the 55, where they will lead full and happy lives. Poor little things!
This last shot is pretty close to actual size. . .
They hid for the first day, of course. The second day I was starting to see them a bit, and then yesterday they lost their minds:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... mhP-W78nAM
My bigger loaches do this in a new tank, or after a large water change, or any time I re-arrange anything, but I just wanted to double-check to make sure they're okay! They did settle down a bit after this video was taken, and they are all eating well - as far as I can see. The one that is slightly larger is still in stealth mode, hiding in the cave.
Other questions. . .
I've read that Pangio oblonga shoal with Pangio Kuhli, but since I only have ONE of the black loaches, should I get more of his kind to keep him company? Will he be lonely as the ONLY oblonga in the tank?
I'm wishing I had a 10g QT tank available, but I don't. Do you think they'll be okay in the 3g for a month? Or should I go ahead and stick them in the 29 gallon? They're SO tiny!
Is there anything I should do differently in caring for these at such a small size? I got my original 5 at 2.5ish inches, so I have no idea how to care for baby loaches!
One of them has a reddened area on his 'chest' I'll try to get a picture later - it looks like it's beneath the skin. Is this normal? I've never seen it before... hoping he didn't get squished, too...
Sorry for the book! Thanks in advance for any advice/information you might have for me!!!
I appreciate your view on how the different loaches behaved in your tank. . . there are actually four of the P.cuneovirgata, and then the one lonely oblonga, and in the main tank I already have 5 P. semicinctus. It's kind of funny, as I was only trying to bump up the population of the P. semicinctus (wanted an eventual shoal of 12), but now have ended up with three different speceis that need proper numbers! Luckily the oblongas are easy to find locally - any of the stripey forms are not. You say that they got along, but "did not ever think they were the same" Do you think the lonely oblonga will be stressed without others of his kind, specifically, or that he would be comfortable in a shoal with the two stripey varieties? I'm thinking I may end up with far more loaches than I originally intended!!!