Kuhli Loach - Traits | Care | Food | Size | Tank | Lifespan

Kuhli Loach is a tremendous and weird fish from the loach family, which attracts aquarists with its particular and incomparable magnificence. These loaches are also called Pangio Kuhli, Leopard Loach, Coolie Loach, and many others. The species was first described in 1846 by Valencia.

Kuhli Loach Quick facts

Scientific Name: Pangio kuhli, Acanthophthalmus kuhlii
Common Name: Kuhli loach, coolie loach
Tank size: 10 gallons (50L) and more
Temperament: Peaceful
Diet: Omnivorous, backside feeder
Temperature: 75 – 86 °F (24 – 30 °C)
pH: 5.5-6.5
Care Level: Intermediate
Color Form: Yellow and brown bands
Lifespan: 10 years
Size: four inches
Family: Cobitidae
Tank Set-Up: Freshwater

Kuhli Loach Habitat and Appearance

The space of discovering Kuhli Loach is massive; it’s distributed all through the entire of Southeast Asia. The fish lives on the backside of lakes and rivers with a gradual move.

Mostly All The Kuhli Loaches Appearance is like:

The body is long, serpentine, laterally compressed, and small fins.

A smallmouth is situated within the decrease part of the pinnacle, eight thick antennae round which serves because of the organ of contact.

Near the eyes, there’s a small fork-shaped spike.

The pores and skin is roofed with small scales, so tightly becoming that the pores and skin appear clean. From 5 to 20 vast transverse stripes are situated on a light background.

Loaches dwell in nature for as much as 10 years, however, the Kuhli Loaches dwell for less than 5-6 years.

The most size of a Kuhli Loach is as much as 13 cm.

A feminine may be simply distinguished from a male – in the course of the mating season, her stomach is rounded off, by way of which caviar may be seen. The male is as much as 10 cm tall, his fins are thicker and more highly effective, the feminine is bigger, she grows as much as 12 cm.

Due to the brilliant, memorable coloration, it’s inconceivable to combine up Kuhli Loaches with different kinds of loaches.

Behavior Features

Kuhli Loaches have their attention-grabbing behavior. They have intestinal respiration. If the fish rises sharply to the floor, then don’t worry, it simply takes air into the intestines and the oxygen can enter the body of fish and thru the pores and skin.

Aquarium Conditions

Caring for Kuhli Loaches is just not tough, the fish is sort of exhausting and good to go itself. The owner wants to think that they, like catfish, lead a near-bottom life-style. For Kuhli Loach to dwell comfortably, their circumstances of aquariums ought to be as natural as possible:

For a Kuhli Loach of Size: 5-7 cm, the really useful aquarium quantity is 100 liters or more.

The optimum soil is coarse sand or small pebbles. Gravel is strongly discouraged; Loaches may be injured and die.

Decor: The inside house of the aquarium and fill it with ornamental grottoes, driftwood, crops, leaving sufficient house for the conventional life of the fish.

Aeration and filtration: The filter is chosen with a sampling gap, at all times coated with a mesh in order that the fish is just not pulled inward. It is best to make use of a particular backside filter or an inside aqua filter.

The lighting is dim, subtle, as shut as possible to the natural circumstances of the fish.

Kuhli Loach prefers to dwell in water with the next parameters:

temperature circumstances from 22 to 28 degrees above zero;

pH 5-5.7;

rigidity from 5 to 9.

If acanthus usually started to rise to the floor of the water, then there’s a drawback within the aquarium. Urgently need to siphon the soil and don’t forget to switch the water.

Feeding Kuhli Loaches

The kuhli loaches are also called aquarium orderlies, Most of the time they feed on the stays of the meals of different fishes from the underside left by the fishes.

But this doesn’t imply that they don’t need to be fed. Any meals that they’ll seize is appropriate for the loaches. With pleasure, they eat tubifex, bloodworms, and dry meals.

It can also be really useful to offer particular tablets for backside fish. Loaches choose to consume within the night so attempt to feed them within the night.

Health

Most usually, Kuhli Loaches are overweight, not often they have the next illnesses:

Ichthyophthyrosis is an infectious illness. Small white tubercles seem on the body of the fish. If the fish may be saved in time to start remedy, in any other case a deadly final result is inevitable. The pet is handled with malachite green, including an answer to the water, till the tubercles disappear fully.

The temperature of the water throughout the remedy is raised by 1-2 degrees. After every week, ½ of the water is modified.

Amoebiasis is the causative agent of parasitic amoeba. Sick fish start to breathe sooner. During remedy, the pet is positioned in a shower with tinidazole and saved there for no more than four hours. In parallel, the aquarium is disinfected with a formalin resolution (3%).

Kuhli Loach Tank Mates

Kuhli Loaches are peaceable fish that pose no risk to different aquarium inhabitants. Tank Mates with massive aggressive predators or territorial fish is just not really useful.

Kuhli Loaches have good compatibility with fish that dwell within the higher or center layers of the water. These may be gourami fish, zebrafish, tetras, guppies, swordtail, Apistogramma, Tiger Barbs.

Complete incompatibility with catfish, cichlids, mollies, angelfish, yellow lab cichlid, clownfish.

Pangio prefers floor vegetation resembling tiger lilies that obscure the expanse of water, in addition to Javanese moss or bushes of Thai fern.

Breeding Kuhli Loach

Breeding kuhli loach is a posh process, this requires not solely theoretical information but in addition intensive experience:

Manufacturers choose as many as 5 sexually mature people, from the age of 1 year.

The spawning space ought to be at the least 1 sq.. meter. Water ought to be barely acidic, temperature + 26-28 degrees. A separate mesh is positioned on the backside.

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