Khuli Loaches?

[Kytkattin]

That rule is more of a guideline. Certain fish, such as goldfish fall more into a 2 gallons per inch rule. They are very dirty fish and create a huge bioload. Whereas shrimp create almost none. I have heard of people having hundreds of cherry red shrimp in a 10 gallon. Loaches seem to not be very dirty fish, just as bettas aren't if they aren't overfed. Hence why stocking guidelines can be pushed a bit with good fish keeping practices and plenty of plants to help keep the water quality.

Please put as much of any plant that grows for you into your tank as you like! I personally love really heavily planted/overgrown tanks. I have a 10 gallon with a giant betta and some ghost shrimp and sometimes I can't find the giant it is so heavily planted! Let alone the shrimp. I couldn't tell you how many I had if I tried! Since loaches bury as well they might uproot your plants. Pretty much anything that is a bottom feeder will. Heck, some bettas like to uproot plants!

As for your dream tank, I know what you mean about wanting this or that! You might be able to squeeze some ghost shrimp in if you have say, 4 khulis and 1 betta, but you are going to have to be really careful with the water. Both shrimp and khulis are very sensitive to poor water. They also both really like to jump out of tanks. But a 30 gallon tank would probably be perfect for everything you want to live peacefully together. You could have 5-7 cory cats, 5 or so loaches, tons of shrimp, and a pretty betta to oversee everything. lol.

If you start to grow the plants before you add stuff they might stand a better chance against uprooting. Maybe. It depends on the fish. :)

[Chevko]

Augh, if only we had the money and space I would have gotten a 29 from the Aqueon sale, lol. Well, money primarily. I would have made space.

What would be good for me to start out cycling my tank with that could stay in the tank afterward? I want to get the bacteria set up and get my plants fairly well-rooted before I get much into the fish. I really, really don't want to do the loaches much as I would adore them because of how sensitive they are and the shrimp wouldn't do hardly much of anything I would imagine. Really, I almost want to leave the betta for last so it doesn't get stressed out by all these things coming into the tank.

[eatmice2010]

Ya the bio load was what I was confused about, I thought they were like bottom feeders and created a big bio load.

[Chevko]

Well, they are bottom feeders, they just are a bit different it seems. Excited to see them nibbling and getting excited over food :3 It will be totally freaking adorable!!

But yeah, what would be good for me to start cycling with that I could keep in the tank? I'm determined about having a betta come in maybe a month after I get the loaches and I do not want them to be the cyclers with how sensitive they are. Would an otocinclus be okay? I don't want anything bright and flashy that would cause competition in a betta's eyes..

[Chevko]

Bump.

Also, does anyone know what colors kuhli loaches come in other than black? What's the coloration called that they are black and yellow? He wants some that are brighter colored like the ones in this video.

And are they carnivores or omnivores? I take pet stores like PetSmart and PetCo with a grain of salt just to be on the safe side. And that video looks like they're munching on an algae wafer.

[carbonxxkidd]

Kuhli loaches are the orange and black "banded" ones. From what I've read the Black Kuhlis they have at Petsmart are actually Java Loaches - similar but a different species. Unfortunately they don't carry the real kuhlis at chain stores, just the black ones. I know at least one aquarium specialty store in my area that gets the banded kuhlis, so I'd call around and see if they have them, I like them better than the black personally. :)

[Olympia]

Generally the banded ones are Pangio kuhli or Pangio semicincta. Black ones are most commonly Pangio oblonga.
Common store names for fish are a pain in the butt.
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[Chevko]

Ooh, that is really good to know. I'm in Arnold/St. Louis so I'm limited when it comes to fish places save online. I'm wary and paranoid when it comes to buying fish online as well since I've never done this before... My boyfriend and I both think that his uncle is part of the Missouri Aquarium Society and buys fish on occasion from their fish auction so we're thinking about maybe going to see if we can get in to see if anyone's selling or giving away the banded loaches. Only downside: It's on the 10th. I still don't have my heater ;__;

[flyingpony22]

My brother has the black and orange banded one in your video. He's had it for over 15 years now and its still going strong. He likes to hide in caves and under rocks and lives with several other fish including a betta. No one really pays him any mind.

[Bombalurina]

Originally Posted by Chevko

Well, they are bottom feeders, they just are a bit different it seems. Excited to see them nibbling and getting excited over food :3 It will be totally freaking adorable!!

But yeah, what would be good for me to start cycling with that I could keep in the tank? I'm determined about having a betta come in maybe a month after I get the loaches and I do not want them to be the cyclers with how sensitive they are. Would an otocinclus be okay? I don't want anything bright and flashy that would cause competition in a betta's eyes..

I would suggest doing a fishless cycle. It's quicker and that way you aren't risking fishy lives. Definitely no otos - they are one of the most sensitive fish out there as they are wild caught using cyanide.

I would definitely support the kuhli loach motion. The betta is unlikely to attack them unless he is ridiculously aggressive, as kuhlis are not super colourful (even the banded ones). You may have a kuhli-stressing-the-betta issue, but you may not. It's betta-dependent. :p That's the trouble with bettas being such individuals - they are hard to make generalisations about. :)