There's 10 Kuhli's in the tank...

[JMcRae]

...somewhere

Put 10 in on the 5th of July - they promptly went into Stealth.

Have seen one or two since (might be the same little guy both times), but eventually they'll be a bit more social...

[Diana]

Put a bit of favorite food front and center, perhaps frozen bloodworms or brine shrimp. This usually brings even the most shy fish out of the woodwork.

[NancyD]

Maybe your tank is too brightly lit for them? Mine were out & about under plants or other shady cover. They even hung in floating plants at the very top of the tank. Yours are still new, give them some time...& some shade areas. Good luck! I also found my "striped" kuhlis were both calmer & shade happy than my "black" pangios. That may have been more from having the striped quite a few years longer before adding the black ones.

[JMcRae]

I look at night during the "moonlight" phase of the lighting (all blue LED), and try and look after the lights go out. I'll keep looking.

Food just for the kuhli's is a foreign concept for the rest of the tank mates

(I'll try dropping a bloodworm or brine shrimp cube tonight after lights out though, see if they fall for it)

Tank is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvQWEoLt9Wg

Can always add more plants

[JMcRae]

I tried

Cube didn't sink quick enough - between the Danio's and the Barb's, not much hit the bottom

[Bas Pels]

You could use a PVC pipe: Put the pipe into the tank, so that you can put food into it, and after sinking the pipe will release the food near the bottom. After installing give the pipe a little rest, so any curious fish will have the time to see it is not for eating.

Then, it will start distributing food, near the bottom of the tank where most Danios won't come.

Another option could be feeding in the dark...

[JMcRae]

Tried in the dark last night. But with a gauntlet of 11 Zebra Danio and 9 Black Ruby Barb's to get past - don't think anything made it down. I have plenty of PVC, will give that a try

Thanks!

[NancyD]

pellet foods drop fast...especially in the dark...try it

[Loachloach]

Striped Kuhlis are shy generally. I've got 8 of them. They will hide. I've read the black ones are more active.
I have leaf litter all over the sand in their tank and that's how I see them, under the leaf litter in and out. They also tend to "dance" early morning/night time like lunatics at the surface. They seem nocturnal so I feed them when the lights are off. There were times when I thought the shrimp ate all the food and the kuhlis were getting none but I've had mine for quite a while now and they are doing fine. They come out to eat if the lights are off and if you stay quiet you'll see them eventually poking noses around in and out of the leaf litter. But they are easily spooked, at least mine.
Let them settle. Your tank looks a bit bare for them though. More hiding places and covered bottom will help. I see mine every day but if you look at the tank it looks empty

[JMcRae]

I'm spreading the fern out a bit more as bottom cover, any other specific plants you's recommend? (sand substrate)

[Loachloach]

It doesn't matter what plants as long as they do well. Dwarf sag is a very undemanding one and will cover the bottom as a carpet eventually. The loaches may feel more comfortable that way. Crypts of many kinds do well in low tech tanks. I keep cryptocoryne beckettii pink and it does very well. There's an in vitro version of it too which I also have and it stays very small, like a carpet plant and it does well in a low tech.

What the loaches basically do is rush from a hiding place to hiding place. If there is too much open area with no cover, they won't go out there and will stay in their hiding places.
When not in the leaf litter, mine are occupying a couple of coconut caves and a stone formation.

[JMcRae]

The dwarf sag looks very nice! My only concern is cleaning the tank - how do you get the loos stuff from "below" the top of the plants? My first planted tank so I may have a non existent worry ....

[Loachloach]

You get the dirt the same way as always. It will come out with strong siphon. However, in a heavily planted bottom I don't do much siphoning of the substrate as all that helps the plants. I keep shrimp in most of my tank and siphoning means sucking up all shrimp amongst the plants so that's a problem. I've never had issues not siphoning as long as there are shrimp and snails to break down the detritus further. But if you want to siphon, it's as easy as without plants. You just hover the siphon over the plants. Also dwarf sag is not so tick or fragile so it gives plenty of possibility to clean well in between.
In my tank it never grew tall and stayed very compact. It spreads slowly enough as well so you'll have plenty of time to control it and also can thin it out if need it. Plant lots of it if you want a faster spread.
It's a tough little plant and grows in any conditions so it's handy to have.

[JMcRae]

"Dwarf Sag" has now been added to today's list of things to do

I have Amano shrimp in the tank, as well as a full load of Bronze Cories - so there really isn't much left on the bottom anyway.

Thanks

[NancyD]

Like Loachloach said, almost any cryptocoryne will work especially with root fertilizer tabs. Some floating plant might help too. Indian fern was a pangio favorite for mine (ceratopteris cornuta) or watersprite (ceratopteris thalcritoides). Both are rather large but attractive.