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I have a heavily planted 10 gallon with 2 Guppies. You can barely see the substrate (Flourite) because there is so many low plants. I've read that Kuhlis like hanging in plants.
Also, I would liek some for a bit of snail control, and to get any food that the gupies miss.
Are they sensitive to copper?
How many could I fit? I was thinking 6, since I do lots of water changes, and since the guppies are alwasy near the surface.

I wouldn't go with six, simply because these fish reach four inches. Three of them should be okay though, just make sure that you're consistent with the water changes.

They will eat up leftover food, but I don't think they are as good as Botia loaches at eating snails. I could be wrong here, but I think that yoyo and clown loaches are much better snail eaters.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

i woodnt put 6 in a 10 they do produce lil waste but they r very active at night n swim at fairly good clip n then smash into the glass they will eat what is missed by ur guppies they wont dent the fry population eitehr they love planted tanks n u will never see them even with 4 in there they r good at hiding cover ur filter intake as tehy will swim into it they wont help ur snail population tho n copper isnt to hard on them they r freshwater but adding copper to any aquarium isnt a good idea
they do top out at jsut over 4" n will breed in floaing plants n on fine leaf plants the eggs r green
there r 2 colour morphs the orangey base w/black saddles or the black both r the same but i prefer the saddled

Brybenn, ever hear off commas or periods?
Although they do reach 4 inches, I figured since they were so thin, that 6 would be ok... I do weekly 25% water changes and my plants do a lot of nitrate absorbing also.
I'm pretty sure that they aren't as good as botia for eating snails, which is a drawback for me. I can't really put some Clowns in a 10 gallon. And I want to keep the Kuhlis to prevent even one snail from showing up, so Clowns couldn't kept in the 10 gallon forever.
Brybenn, you said they dont produce much waste, but there isn't mcuh swimming room. So even if there is less of them, there is still the sam amount of swimming room...
I don't mind if they eat any fry either. I was told that once they get used to the tank and if it is densely planted, they will come out during the day. Also I wanted more than 3 or 4 as to encourage them to come out. I will cover my intake with net or sponge.
Brybenn, your sayign they won't lower my snail population? my nails are tiny ramshorns.
I was asking about the copper, sinc I was thnking of adding pennies, to kill the snails, but I can jsut get the Kuhlis after the copper treatement.
If they breed that would be great. And I plan on getting the orange and black ones.

i would go for 4 in a 10g. They are not aggresive at all, hardly move (except for feeding time and night) and love being crammed up in strange places, and it is heavily planted and you do regular water changes.
I think it is a myth that when kuhlis get used to the tank and they will come out more..because i've had some of mine for over 2 years (in overgrown tanks lol) and they are always hiding or partly hiden and you have to really look hard before you will see a few. 4 is plenty for kuhlis because they don't shoal as tetras do..but more kuhlis are fun (i've lost count of mine lol). As for them eating snails...maybe tiny ones, but i wouldn't count on them as being 'reliable'
But none the less, kuhlis are great

cfd

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Billy was a scientist, Billy is no more. For what he thought was H20, was H2SO4

I have six kuhli loaches in a planted 42-gallon tank. When I first got them I never saw them. Now that they've settled and have gotten used to their surroundings I see them daily. Never all at once, but at least two will make an appearance. My thinking is that they are more likely to make an appearance if they know that there are hiding places nearby that they can dart to in a moments notice.

They also go crazy at night. At first I thought there was something wrong because they were so spastically darting about the tank. It is like they are on speed! They especially love the bubbles!

I totally recommend them, but I do agree that their nightly activities (almost like they are on speed!) makes a 10-gallon a little tight. Four would probably be a comfortable number.

Also, make sure that enough food sinks to the bottom. I usually toss a sinking pellet in each night.

Have you thought about looking for smaller botia types of loaches if you want snail control? Skunk loaches, dwarf loaches - there are several kinds that do eat a lot of snails (although not malaysian trumpet snails - very few fish eat those because of their very hard shells). Check out this link:

http://www.loaches.com/

Eric

i doubt a few pennies wood kill the snails off maybe it will im not sure i never did good in english n i type fast therefore i cant spell n dont use puntuation lol
khulies do come out in the light sometimes
i have them in 3 tanks
i released 5 in my big tank with over 200lbs of rockwork havent seen any yet but theres over 30 fish n at any given time i only see 7-8 fish (too many caves)
my 10 gallon although lotsa plants n lil rock work there out all the time playing in the sand they congragate together under plants but that is really the only time there together
they r hard to breed so i woodnt plan on it
the way in much they move helps them in smaller tanks like 10gallons i understand ur point of the space for them but i think theyd be better off with them then other kinds of loaches
the only tank ive ever had a snail invasion in that wasnt planned i put in 4 dwarf puffers n never saw another snail again u can try them there cute to

I failed english a few times(not good at any language class) and I typed 115wpm in my keyboarding software last week. Not lying. I can still use periods but numbers slow me down to 70wpm.

I haven't found kuhli to be very good for snail control. They might eat a few but your probably going to still have snails. I have heard if you keep 6-8 of them they are more likely to be active during the day.
For snails I use yoyo loaches. They are about 4inches long and thicker than kuhli. Might be too active for a 10g but I don't know. They do clean up snails in no time though. It's funny to watch them play ball with snail shells for hours. My 4 are out swimming loops all day in my 20g. There are also several other species of small loach that might be better suited to solving your snail problem.

I think any other loaches would be too big for a 10 gallon. They would knock over the plants. I didn't just want loaches for snail control. I am in a process to rid them, I just wanted Kuhlis since they are so interesting.
So the conclusion is 4 is the max for my tank?

ya id go with 4
less overstocking of a small tank
with time u may see them maybe prolly not
n the competition for food wood b less for them