Stocking Question

[Nicci Lu]

Can a 10 gallon heavily planted NPT hold a betta, 4 otos and 4 kuhli loaches without making my fishie inhabitants miserable?

I went out and bought 2 otos, and now my husband is mad because he wanted kuhlis. For my part, I would love for him to have fish that he's interested in, in hopes that he'll stop referring to my betta as "That D**ned Fish"- he's jealous (my husband, not my betta! :)).

I have to get at least 2 more otos so Tweek and Superman Fish have more oto friends. The tank is currently heavily planted with gravel, but IF I got kuhlis I would convert to NPT first since I'd have to switch the substrate to sand anyways.

So, can it be done, or am I just going to have to suck it up and face the wrath?

[shellieca]

In my reading about kuhli's they prefer cooler temps (70-75), they prefer groups of 6, hide more than they are seen, they prefer current, and should be housed in nothing smaller than a 20g (which apparently only one answer). From what I'm reading I wouldn't add them to a 10g tank.

[xjenuhfur]

I honestly have no idea, but here is a little something I googled real quick on the loaches for ya. I do know that they are noctural, and hide a lot.
kuhlii loach
Tank size, I really have no idea. ): Sorry!

Edit: a bit more googling gave me this:
Minimum Tank Size: 10 gallon for a group of 5; NOTE: The minimum tank size varies widely from the 10g I listed up to a 30g. Aquarium advice

[Nicci Lu]

Hmm...I got the idea that kuhlis would be okay in a 10 gallon from this thread:
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=126915

I wasn't sure about the addition of the otos as well, though.

[shellieca]

Reading that thread there is a mixture of opinion as to size of tank & size of group. I would advise doing further research outside of this forum. Personally, I wouldn't add both because you're already going to have a bottom feeder in the oto's & I would be concerned about territorial issues at some point even though they are both peaceful species, I would go with one or the other but not both.

[Bombalurina]

I would stick with just the otos for at least six months. If you find that all the readings after that are manageable and your tank is super heavily planted (as in, absolutely jungle-like) you could try it then. However, for the sake of the fish I would just get six of one species rather than four of each. :)

[Nicci Lu]

Thanks for the help and link, everyone.

@shellieca- I don't think I'd consider my otos bottom dwellers. They seem to prefer mid level, on leaves and the glass. But you're right, there is quite a varied opinion on size requirements for kuhlis- I've seen everything from 10 gallons is okay, to 30 gallons minimum. I suppose it's a bit like the debate on tank sizes for bettas, eh?

@Bombalurina- I think you're right and it would be better for the fish if they had larger groups of their own kind. Rather than try and squeeze as many different types in as I can. After all, they're the ones who have to live there.

So, it looks like I'll be sucking it up. :) Or...

Plan B- get my husband liquored up and, then, sweetly ask him if we can get a 20 gallon....

[xjenuhfur]

Plan B- get my husband liquored up and, then, sweetly ask him if we can get a 20 gallon....

sounds like a valid plan. :D

[Bombalurina]

Yeah, I like plan B. ;)