Tropical Fish: Loach
Breeding Kuhli Loach
I know very little about the breeding of this fish. I have only had five spawns of these loaches that produced babies, and have learned very little from these spawnings. On three occasions, pairs have scattered adhesive eggs over and in the aquatic plants (generally water sprite).
On one of these occasions, I siphoned out all the eggs I could find to a separate container for careful handling of the eggs and fry. I fed the fry on "green water," sifted Cyclops nauplii, newly hatched Artemia (brine shrimp) nauplii and microworms, and in this manner was able to raise seven fry to the age of one month in this container.
Then I noticed that there were some babies in the original kuhli aquarium. I added all the fry (the newly found fish and my "carefully" reared fish) back to the community tank. At age six months, there were still 22 of the young fish in the aquarium.
On one other occasion I did not know a spawning had occurred because I didn't see any babies in the aquarium until I did my periodic cleaning under the subgravel plates. I inserted a siphon down the uplift tube, started to drain the water and accumulated mulm from under the plates and found 14 fry, about 1 inch long. This final spawning apparently took place in a large cave, although I'm only basing this on the fact that the adults always lived in the cave and that's where the fry were found. It has been reported elsewhere that the kuhli loach builds a bubble-nest, but I've never actually seen this.
The most disturbing aspect of my breeding adventures is that I have absolutely no idea what triggers the spawning activity. I know that it is possible to stimulate spawning with pituitary hormones, but I don't use them.
By Al Castro. Source: aquarium fish magazine
Compatibility: Larger Livebearers, Barbs, Danios, Gouramis, Rainbowfish, Loaches, some Cichlids of similar size, Plecos, and Scavenger Catfish.
Loach Care:
Loaches and hillstream loaches generally require a clean well-oxygenated tank, although they are not overly demanding of pH or hardness levels.
Preferred conditions for most species are acidic to neutral or slightly alkaline pH and fairly soft water, although moderate hardness is tolerated after acclimatization. Regular partial water changes are required to keep nitrates low and good filtration is recommended.
It is recommended to use a fine grade or rounded gravel, as loaches in particular like to sift through the substrate for food.
Loaches appreciate caves, holes, and other places to hide. Because they come from streams, They require water currents in the aquarium.
Loach Related Articles:
Kuhli Loach. The real kuhli loach, Acanthophthalmus kuhlii, is a 3½-inch fish from Indonesia, Sumatra, Java, Malaya and Thailand. It has 15 to 20 dark bars on its flanks that almost circle the body, but stop at the belly.
The Orange Finned Loach. Like many of the botias, the orange finned or also call red-tail botia has switchblade-like eye spines that can cause problems when trying to net them. It is better to capture them in some type of container instead.
The Clown Loach is an active schooling fish that is best kept in small groups (three to six fish). It will tolerate tankmates of other species, although docile species may become agitated by the constant activity of this fish.