Animal-World > Aquarium Tropical Fish > Loaches > Kuhli Loach

Kuhli Loach

Coolie Loach, Giant Coolie Loach, Leopard Loach

Family: CobitidaePangio kuhliiPhoto © Animal-World: Courtesy Ken Childs

The wiggly little Kuhli Loach keeps quite busy snacking on foods left uneaten by the other fish!

The Kuhli Loach Pangio kuhlii is an active, fascinating little fish. Its behaviors are typical of all members of the Pangio genus. It keeps in almost constant motion, actively scurrying around, over, and through the plants and ornamentation. It is scavenging for leftover foods that have settled on the bottom of the aquarium. This is a great little helper in keeping the aquarium clean and in good shape..

This little fish was originally named and is best known as the Kuhli Loach or Prickly Eye, but there are quite a few other common names often associated with this fish. For example, in the United States this loach is sometimes also called the Coolie Loach, Giant Coolie Loach, and Leopard Loach. Coolie Loaches are exported by the millions for the aquarium hobby.

Though peaceful, the Kuhli Loach is nocturnal and is most active at night. They can also be quite shy and will seldom be seen if kept alone. This doesn't mean they are a schooling fish, as they are not, but they are more comfortable and more likely to come out of hiding if they have some companions. A group of a half dozen or so will make them more prone to behave as they would in nature. They are quite hardy and can live for several years.

The term 'kuhli loach' is often used collectively to refer to a group fish in the Pangio genus (previously the Acanthophthalmus genus) that are much like the actual Kuhli Loach. These loaches all have the elongated wormlike body shape, are fairly similar in size and appearance, and are also wiggly little scavengers who make great aquarium cleaners. Each of these fish however, can be distinguished from the Kuhli Loach by their individual color patterns and adult size.

Some of this group are the Indian Thorneye Pangio cuneovirgata, Myer's Loach (also called Myer's slimy Loach or Giant Kuhli Loach) Pangio myersi, Half-Banded Loach Pangio semicincta, Shelford's Thorneye or Borneo Loach Pangio shelfordii, and one that is not often seen, the Dwarf Kuhli Pangio robiginosa.

For Information on keeping freshwater fish, see:
Freshwater Aquarium Guide: Aquarium Setup and Care

Care and feeding: Since they are omnivorous, the Kuhli Loach will generally eat all kinds of small live and frozen foods and meat based foods are relished the most. They also like sinking pelleted and tablet foods, flakes, and a bit of vegetable foods such as algae wafers. To keep a good balance give them a high quality prepared food everyday. Feed tubifex worms, brine shrimp (either live or frozen), mosquito larvae, and daphnia as a treat.

This fish will do well in a smaller aquarium (ideally 20 gallons or so) with lots of plants and places for retreat, such as rocks, caves, and roots. Also use subdued lighting. They do best in soft, slightly acidic water with frequent water changes of about 10% a week. The substrate needs to be a fine gravel or sand that does not have sharp edges and they will also enjoy a bit of peat moss spread over the substrate to simulate the natural mulm found in their native environment.

Distribution: The Kuhli Loach Pangio kuhlii (previously Acanthophthalmus kuhlii) are found in southeast Asia; Sumatra, Singapore, western Malaysia, Java, Borneo, and Thailand. They live in sandy areas of rivers and mountain streams. Other common names they are known by include Prickly Eye, Coolie Loach, Giant Coolie Loach, and Leopard Loach.

Description:

The Kuhli Loach's body has a pinkish yellow background color crossed by 12 to 17 vertical dark bars and has three bars on its head. There are no scales on the head, the eyes are covered by a transparent skin with a short spine in front of them, and they have 3 pairs of whisker-like barbels. The dorsal fin is set very far back, and the anal fin is set at the end of the base of the dorsal fin.

Their is also an albino color form of thisi Loach, known as the Albino Kuhli Loach. This a bred color form, and it is not certain whether the Albino Kuhli Loach occurs naturally in the wild. But these would be highly visible animals, so beacons for predatation.

Size - Weight: These fish can get up to 4 inches (10 cm), though they are usually smaller in the aquarium.

Social Behaviors: A peaceful community fish and a great scavenger of uneaten foods that settle to the bottom of the aquarium. They hide during the day, but are quite lively and active in the evening. Though they do not school, they will be more likely to come out of hiding if they are kept with some companions. A singly kept Kuhli Loach will seldom be seen.

Sexual Differences: Unknown, though a female with eggs will be plumper. (See the top photo above.)

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom: These fish are mostly bottom dwellers.

Acceptable Water Conditions: Hardness: to 5° dH
Ph: 5.5 - 6.5
Temp: 73-86° F (24-30° C), they can tolerate low 80°s for a short period.

Breeding/Reproduction: Not much is known about the breeding habits of the Kuhli Loach, though they have been bred successfully in the aquarium. They scatter bright green adhesive eggs underneath floating plants where the eggs then attach to the stems and roots. The eggs have been described by Herbert Axelrod as a type of bubble nest, with each egg enclosed in a bubble. They are not yet bred commercially.

Availability: The Kuhli Loach is readily available.

References

• Animal-World References: Freshwater Fish and Plants
• Dr. Rüdiger Riehl and Hans A. Baensch, Aquarium Atlas Vol. 1, Publisher Hans A. Baensch, 1991
• Dr. R{uuml}diger Riehl and Hans A. Baensch, Aquarium Atlas Vol. 4 , Mergus Verlag (June 30, 2004)
• Mark in Vancouver, Kuhli Loach (Pangio kuhlii), Loaches Online, 2009
• Pangio kuhlii (Valenciennes, 1846) Coolie loach, Fishbase.org
• Bratz Walker, Sharks and Loaches, T.F.H. Publications, Inc., 1974

Author: Clarice Brough CFS

Lastest Comments on Kuhli Loach View all 22 comments on Kuhli Loach Add Your Comment

tappy - 2011-12-09 I have 55acrylic ten year established aquarium. Recently and old plecostamus die, his tankmates, 3 kuhlis for about 2 years. temp alway 69-72. had ten years, in family 7 years or so. I re- established aquarium, first water change, filter change, with 3 more kuhlies. Several plants, aquatic wood, ph 7.0 all else normal. The three new loaches 10days now, fine eating, even 2 Chinese algae eaters two. All getting along. Past few days, the two or three at times swimming on end on aquarium in circles, fast, through planets, only taking little breathers. Yesterday found baby loach who had been under large hiding rock, showed himself, sulfide. other 3 all under there for a long time, I had believed the worst, they came out as well swimming round baby occasionally, then all go back to hiding. The new ones, are swimming during daytime, I am worried they are not acclimating. One looks plump, otherwise all healthy looking, algae eaters good too, and baby o.k. any advice for my dilemma and really long explanation of situation. My humble thanks. Never had loaches until couple years ago, they never did anything like this. Aquariust from Vacaville, Ca. Reply

Joan - 2010-12-14 Hi! I love your site and has many different species! I had two Pangio Kuhil loach's that were doing fabulous, I bought another two yesterday and now three are swimming like they have something after them, they swim quickly up and down the tank, the fourth just lies around. Mine don't seem to be nocturnal as they are swimming all day. What I am wondering now is are they upset that two more were added or perhaps trying to harm each other, including the one that lies around? The other two never did this, as said, the three are swimming up and down really fast and they do this until they tire. I read up on something about catfish and that they get confused but didn't understand it all.....I don't know if my two catfish are called catfish, mine are bottom feeders and maybe an inch long max. Any help would be appreciated, they were added to the tank just yesterday, if they were just getting to know each other or were out of sorts and confused, this should have topped. huss - 2011-04-22 The 2 fish you saw swimming up and down the tank might have a been a act of mating. Expect to find babies loaches soon! Jean - 2011-11-09 I've seen behavior like this called a "rain dance". I'm sure it's attributed their mating being brought on by rainfall like other fish in their native region if this is correct then a waterfall style filter may be simulating rainfall and bring on this behavior. I have had kuhlis for a few months now and I recently added 4 more bringing a total of 9. They are active all day long and exhibit his behavior as well as far as I can tell it's harmless. They won't breed until they reach sexual maturity which can take as long as 2 years but usually is around 18 months. In large numbers they like to lay around each other in the open all day and often play with each other. Don't worry if your kuhlis are acting like everyone else's their behavior has a lot of contributing factors including other fish in the tank, cover and filtration. The more hiding places you give them the more time they will spend out as they feel safer. There isn't a lot of comprehensive info about their behavior and breeding info is scarce. They have some very odd behaviors often being called foolie loaches because they like to stress out their owners by playing dead. Don't be surprised to find them hanging off plants they love to climb. For now I'm trying to document their behaviors and figure out causes. Most people will try and compare their behavior with other fish species but this can't really be done. Fish behavior is diverse for every type. Don't let people scare you by telling you they are under oxygenated I have two air stones running a lot of oxygen and mine still "rain dance". Best I can say is try to figure out what your tank conditions would be replicating in their natural environment and you might be able to figure out their seasonal behavior patterns. I'm rambling a bit. Hope I helped. Reply

Kelly Crandall - 2011-09-19 Almost exactly a year ago my friend sold me her tank with a kuhli loach in it. I brought it home and set it up near a window, and added a few guppies to the tank just to keep it interesting. The tank was affected by the cold window in the winter so I bought a heater. Well the guppies all died in time, and I didn't see the loach for weeks. I kept the filter going and kept throwing food in the tank, but after not seeing the loach for at least a month, even when digging around the gravel and taking all the decor out, I figured he'd died. So I eventually turned off the filter and heater and of course quit throwing food in the tank. I didn't disassemble the tank because it was in an out of the way spot and it was a big job, so I always figured I'd do when I got around to it and when I figured out where to store the empty tank. In the meantime, a snail in the tank got bigger, so I figured I'd keep the tank up and just let the snail live in it, just for fun. Anyway. It's been at least eight months since I last saw the loach alive, and probably six months since I've put food in the tank. Well, today I went in that room and was sitting by the piano, when all of a sudden I saw the loach swimming around!! Now I don't know what to do. Do I start feeding him again, and put the filter back on? Or do I just leave him be? He's obviously in an environment that's sustaining him? Toby Jungle - 2011-09-20 Info on the loach is attached and you can look up feeding etc. Quite a shock I would imagine. Kelly Crandall - 2011-09-20 attached where? Reply

Ria - 2011-05-24 After cleaning the gravel in my tank my kuhli loach started going crazy swimming really fast all around the tank for hours. Then after a few days we hadn't seen him and just thought maybe he was hiding out somewhere. A week later I noticed my puppy playing with something on ground, and there it was my poor kuhli loach all dry and shrivelled up! I searched on google and found this has happened to others so keep a lid on your tank if you have these loaches. Charlie Roche - 2011-05-25 I am sorry. Just not fair. I came home from work and my dog ( a doberman) was sitting at the top of the stairs and she had all this fur in her mouth. I was ready to maim and she just opened her mouth and let out my little kitten. My kitten was perfectly fine and I guess the dobie just decided to give her a ride. Unfortunately, your guy needed water. Reply

Pat - 2011-05-05 Make sure you put something heavy on the lid. Mine jumped out and died. Charlie Roche - 2011-05-06 That is not good. Wouldn't have thought of it, thank you. Reply

ray taylot - 2010-12-03 I understand that the clown loach will help keep down a snail population, will the kuhli loach also eat small snails? peter - 2011-01-21 No, mouth isn't built for it. I had an infestation of snails of all types, esp the livebearing one. I purchased an awesome yoyo loach. 2 weeks later, not one single snail left. Still see empty snail shells tho! Jared - 2011-04-20 I had 7 kuhlis and 6 guppies with some small snails because I'd heard they liked to eat them as well. From my experience they will not eat enough snails to keep the population at bay as the snails tend to breed faster than guppies hah! But unless guppies like snails then Yes the kuhlis will eat some of them. I had a few shells in that tank from the baby snails. Reply

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