adding sand to gravel in regards to the kuhli loach

[psariandras]

I already have normal gravel as a substrate in my tank. Would it be possible to add sand on top of the gravel to provide a better burrowing area? I am thinking of getting kuhli loaches(I was thinking of ADF but I think I like the loaches better).
I have three questions about the K. loaches
1)Will the loaches be able to burrow in normal gravel substrate?
2)I have some concrete rocks with caves, do the kuhli loaches have delicate skin where the concrete might cut them if the rock is not really smooth?
3)Will the k. Loaches uproot my young plants? I have some dwarf lilys about 3 weeks old that I would prefer not be uprooted.

I am asking these questions because I want to have some critters that will swim and hide along the bottom and in my rock caves, and i am not sure what will be best, shrimp/ADF or loaches or something else. My tank is 15 gallon. Not stocked at the moment. I was going to go with red cherry shrimp or ghost shrimp but somewhere i read that fast growing plants are not great with shrimp.

thanks.

 

[silentskream]

you can put sand on top, but in a matter of days it will all filter to the bottom. i have a dojo loach, and while it's not the same thing, he can burrow through regular gravel just fine. some people worry about sharp points of most gravel, but we have the round kind (like river rocks but smaller)

 

[davexstumpe]

that coudl get very messy.. and annyoing i would think

 

[psariandras]

I think the dojo will get to big for my tank, I wonder if I can assume the kuhli will be able to burrow in normal gravel b/c the dojo can?

 

[ara35]

isnt a kuhli loach too big for a 15 g? what else is gonna be in the tank? just shrimp?

 

[psariandras]

ara35, are you asserting that the K. loach would be to big for the 15g if ther were no other fish?
maybe they are too big... I think they get to 4" max. I was going to have just the loachs, maybe 3-6 of the smallest tetras I could find(I was planning on 6 zebra danios), I didn't decide on the shrimp yet if I had loaches, maybe some of the glass shrimp if the loaches didn't eat them.
the load may be high, but I am running two power filters and there are going to be a lot of plants.
I don't know though, you have brought up a good point, maybe it is better to look into another fish. I have ask questions about loaches before but I realize now that those questions were assumining the loaches went into my 20 long not 15 gallon.

I need to find anohter fish that will stay on the bottom and hide in my caves and won't eat plants or snails, I wanted to have 6 zebra danios in the tank also. I like oddball type fish too. any suggestions about a bottom dweller for me?

 

[ara35]

i love cory cats and i think there the coolest fish for a small tank. they wont do any harm to anything else (as far as I know) and they are good at cleaning up the scraps. thats what i would go with and thats what i am going with

 

[exu]

kuhli loaches really do like a sand substrate. they are also extremely social and need to be kept in groups. a 15 is probably too small for a proper group. The other thing is they are nocturnal and will spend most of the time hiding. You will probably rarely see them.

edit: re: sand on top of gravel. I agree that in a short amount of time your gravel will just end up on top.

 

[Lupin]

The other thing is they are nocturnal and will spend most of the time hiding. You will probably rarely see them.

They will eventually show up if you take the following into consideration.
1. A group of 5 or more.
2. Feeding time regardless of what time it is scheduled.
3. Plenty of hiding places.

They will show up quite often when they eventually feel secured to their new environment. A lot of fish can adapt to new changes in captivity.

 

[Kuhlifan]

I've seen kuhlis burrow in gravel before, but mine don't seem to. I think that their skin is a little on the sensitive side, but I don't think your caves will be too bad for them, unless they are extremely rough. I have a few banana plants that my kuhlis love. They used to move them around some, but don't anymore. They like to hide under the plants, but the banana plants do well when not planted anyway, so it's no big deal. I can't say for sure if they would bother your plants or not.

Give them lots of places to hide, and they'll come out more often, oddly enough. One or more of my three are almost always in view. One of their favorite places to hang out is a pair of small terra cotta clay pots I put in the tank. They are very small, about the size of a dixie cup, and I have them sitting on their side in the front of the tank. The kuhlis like to curl up in them and swim through the little hole in the bottom of the pots.

You may not see your kuhlis much for a few days or weeks, but they will eventually come out and be more active. They also like hanging out in my wisteria plant, which has taken over the aquarium. One note, watch your filter intake. One of my kuhlis loved to snuggle up against it, since the flow let him hang there without effort. One day he decided to swim up it though, and got a nasty cut on his face for the effort. He's fine now, but keep an eye out for tha behavior. I wrapped my intake with fishing line, squeezing the intake cap enough to make the slots a little smaller so they couldn't fit in. That fixed that problem.