Kuhli Loach

Known commonly as the Coolie Loach, it can be seen across Thailand, Malaya,Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Indonesia.

Appearance: Pangio kuhlii is a 3-4 inch, eel-shaped fish with a basic orange or yellow color and 15-20 dark brown or black bars circling the body. The belly is white. There is a fairly rare albino variety where the dark bars are replaced with pink and red eyes and a "black variety" which is uniformly dark. The fins are translucent. Although loaches are generally thought of a scaleless fish, they, in fact, do have small scales. The mouth is downward-facing, with three pairs of barbels. There are no teeth in the jaw. Being Cyprinids, loaches have pharyngeal teeth (grinding teeth in their throat). Like most loaches they have subocular spines, which retract, into slots.

There are a couple of other species, which are also called kuhli loaches. Acantophthalmus myersi, is larger - about 4 inches with a much thicker body and a more slimy skin. It has 10 to 14 bars. Acanthophthalmus robiginosus, has about 20 broad dark bars which reach only about halfway to the belly and separated by very narrow orange bands. It is a smaller species, which barely reaches 2".

Aquarium Care: Kuhli loaches are relatively undemanding fish and once acclimatized can thrive in a wide range of water parameters, although softer and more acidic water is generally preferred. They need rounded gravel or sand, and actually seem to prefer a bit of organic mulm on the gravel, unlike most loaches who are very sensitive to it. Kuhlis prefer cooler water, around 75, although they will tolerate up to about 78 well. Temps of 80 or over are not appreciated for long periods of time.

Behaviour: You can have just one kuhli in a tank for many years, but you won't see it much or ever see it really being a kuhli loach, with all their comical actions. If it is kept in groups, the kuhlis are much more active. They will swim in and around, under and over pieces of driftwood or around stems of plants. They will be out searching for tidbits, swimming together and hanging out on the plants. At dusk and dawn you will sometimes see them doing figure eights at the front of the tank, very fast. They are utterly peaceful and are not threatening to any fish, although they will eat eggs and non-mobile fry. They will eat small snails, but cannot be considered the best snailers in the loach group. They are completely defenseless against aggressive fish, so choose tankmates accordingly.

Breeding: The females get enormously fat right before spawning, then the male and female will swim together intertwined. One assumes that spawning takes place during one of these midnight swims.

In common with other scaleless or small-scaled fish, they are susceptible to ich and other skin parasites. When treating, be sure to check the directions on your cure of choice and follow the directions for scaleless fish. Avoid malachite green preparations.