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I recently owned 2 kuhlies for 4 days, then they died. I have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and nitrates <25ppm, the temp is 79-80 degrees, and the tank is a 55 gallon.

I am very sad because they are not readily available here, and have wanted some for a while. They were purchased from one of the best fish stores I have ever been to, www.aquaticcritter.com is the web site of the store.

I took them back today, and the they are guaranteed for 14 days if you also take a water sample in for them to test. They found nothing wrong with my water either.

However, the employee, one I am familiar with, and is very helpful, said he wasn't surprised because they are fragile.

In your collective experience, are they fragile? Any tips for a possible next try?

Thanks,
Michael

what size were they? IME kuhlis are quite hardy (i got mine a while back) but recently you are defiantly not the only person to have problems with them, i’m not sure of the reason for that though.

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

it could be that u got a bad batch...what u can do is if ever ure goin to get a new one is to acclimate them longer..say 1.5 hrs wont hurt.

kuhlie's are one of my favorites. it seems like the past year or so has seen both lfs and chain stores having a problem ordering and offering quality stock. the most plausible explanation i have heard is that most are wild caught, and given the fact that their native waters are currently polluted, they tend to stress more when shipped. do not not if this is true, but it seems reasonable.

i CAN tell you that if you purchase healthy specimans, they will be virtually bionic. last summer, my ac died, and the temp in my house shot up to over 110 degrees for a week or so . i lost alot of fish, but most of the kuhlies made it.

call some of your nearby lfs and ask them about the durabilty of their kuhlies before you buy more. you may luck out and get some good ones.

good luck