Black Kuhli Loach

Black Kuhli Loach

Pangio spp.

The Black Kuhli Loach, also known as the Chocolate Kuhli Loach, is an interesting black morph of the standard Kuhli loach, it that makes for an interesting addition to any community tank, their eel-like appearance and curious charm has made them a widely-loved aquarium fish.

Locale: Pangio species’ occur naturally through much of Java, Borneo, Sumatra and Indonesia - occurs most often in shallow wetland swamps, pools, and oxbows, commonly Blackwater bodies of water.

Fun fact: The wild habitat of Kuhli Loaches can often have an extremely high content of peat, wood, leaf litter, and vegetation, these are all contributors to an acidic environment, due to such high concentrations of all these factors, the pH of the Kuhli Loaches’ natural waters can often be as low as 3.0!

Care:

Care difficulty - Beginner, hardy schooling fish.

Temperament - Peaceful, should be kept in a group size of at least 6, but will display more confident and explorative behaviours in groups of 12+

Adult size - 7-10cms dependent on species.

Diet - Omnivorous; however, is primarily a micropredator, so in the Aquaria it is best to feed a staple diet of smaller sinking pellets or wAgee’s, and can have frozen or even live food dietary supplements, such as live or frozen brine shrimp, live black worms, frozen bloodworms, frozen mysis with spirulina, these should only be fed once or twice per fortnight.

Habitat - In the aquaria it is always best to recreate a species’ natural environment, with the Kuhli Loach this is best achieved via a Blackwater set up with wiry / branchy driftwood, leaf litter, smooth rocks of varying sizes, along with substrate-bound and floating plants.

Optimal Water Parameters:

Temperature: 23-28°c

pH: >7.0

GH: 2-8

KH: 1-2

Fish size, sex, exact colour and patterning may vary from photo.