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"I accidentally became a breeder of black kuhli loaches... I started with 3 of them (all that was available). I have a 55g tank that has been running fish since August. I have river rock substrate. In addition to the kuhlis, I have platys, guppies, pristella tetras, a gourami and a young angel, a bn pleco, some snails...yeah that's about it. I have some live plants and some moss balls. My ph is usually around 7 and I don't even know my hardness levels. Basic tank, right? A few weeks ago, my oldest son thought he saw something wiggling around in the rocks along the glass wall. By the time I got over to look, it was gone. A few days later, I saw something too and the face made me think kuhli, but reading online says that is rare and I don't have prime conditions (the rock instead of sand, etc.). This week, I have kuhlis out and about that are about half the size of my original 3. I have some much smaller ones that still go down into the rocks. And I still see faces among the rocks that are very tiny. I have accidentally been breeding kuhli loaches. Reading about others who have had the same experience, it seems the river rock is great for breeding as the eggs fall down and provides protection until they get to size. I also tend to overfeed which means feeding debris for adults and babies. I also tend to move my rocks so I create moving holes for movement. There is also a theory that the livebearers in the tank may be producing pheromones that stimulate breeding. Funny thing is that none of my platy or guppy fry make it more than a day or two because of the tetras and the angel who are always hunting. They have shown zero interest in the young kuhlis. Right now I have at least 5 baby khulis, but each day I'm seeing possibly more. Hard to be sure since they keep disappearing into the rocks!"