What The Heck Just Happened?

[onidrase]

So either parasites or nothing at all. Hm... Anything else that might be the issue?

I went ahead and moved my TV to the other side of the room. But none of the loaches have come out since. So I'm not sure if that was the issue or not yet.

Two of the 5 are a bit lighter in color than the rest. Closer to tan than dark brown. I was too busy freaking out to see if the erratic one was black or tan. Is it normal for some of them to be a tannish color rather than a dark brown?

 

[onidrase]

It sounds more like the Khuli was just doing what they do, they go really mental when there are storms about as they have swim bladders that are enclosed in a boney case towards the front and the rear section that is rudimentry at best, making them very aware of atomspheric changes. There intestines work like a secondary respiratory system and they will often come to the surface to breath. It may seem odd but the more cover you give the khulis in the form of plants and structure the braver they will become. They are truly one of the most peaceful unassuming fish available in the same league as Corydoras. Also when you can give them some more friends, khuli's adore being in a group and with more about they will all get that but braver.

That was a lot of useful info You really know your stuff!

It is snowing today. For the first time in a couple weeks, and for their first time being in colorado (they just got this shipment of khulies.)

If they are from out of state (I believe most of the shipments come from california) they also gained a few thousand feet of elevation from coming here, my elevation is ~6000

My tank is has a lot of driftwood cover, but the plants aren't grown in yet (2 anubias nana, 2 java fern, 2 anubias b-something, I can send in a picture if you'd like) and is filtered with a 75 gallon filter when the tank is 37 gallons. How many more khulies can I fit in here with the firemouth and 12 black skirt tetras? I'll get as many as I can fit without being majorly overstocked.

 

[Crossfire]

It sounds more like the Khuli was just doing what they do, they go really mental when there are storms about as they have swim bladders that are enclosed in a boney case towards the front and the rear section that is rudimentry at best, making them very aware of atomspheric changes. There intestines work like a secondary respiratory system and they will often come to the surface to breath. It may seem odd but the more cover you give the khulis in the form of plants and structure the braver they will become. They are truly one of the most peaceful unassuming fish available in the same league as Corydoras. Also when you can give them some more friends, khuli's adore being in a group and with more about they will all get that but braver.

That was a lot of useful info You really know your stuff!

It is snowing today. For the first time in a couple weeks, and for their first time being in colorado (they just got this shipment of khulies.)

If they are from out of state (I believe most of the shipments come from california) they also gained a few thousand feet of elevation from coming here, my elevation is ~6000

My tank is has a lot of driftwood cover, but the plants aren't grown in yet (2 anubias nana, 2 java fern, 2 anubias b-something, I can send in a picture if you'd like) and is filtered with a 75 gallon filter when the tank is 37 gallons. How many more khulies can I fit in here with the firemouth and 12 black skirt tetras? I'll get as many as I can fit without being majorly overstocked.

+1 Baccus, you're absolutely right.

My two kuhlis are alone in my 20 gal, but because I have a shipload of hidey holes and caves they're always out in the open I am planning to get 2 more, so they'll be even more advneturous. My loaches do what you described almost all the time when a storm is approaching or at least a pressure drop. Did you also know that this a form of breeding behavior? You might have some loach babies on your hands

 

[Rummynose]

After re-reading your post I had another thought: You said you had a power outage. Are you sure your tank is still cycled? Checking your ammonia level would tell you!

 

[onidrase]

After re-reading your post I had another thought: You said you had a power outage. Are you sure your tank is still cycled? Checking your ammonia level would tell you!

The power outage was merely an hour and a half, but my room was freezing cold (quite literally, there wasn't snow, but it was extremely cold and windy outside) it got the best of all my catfish and 4 of my old tiger barbs, either through temperature shock or a small ich outbreak that came through afterwords that I quickly got rid of with a tiny salt dosage which is no longer in the tank. My ammonia and nitrite are still 0, nitrate is 15. All the Khulis are normal now, no flicking or erratic behavior, I think as said above, they might have just had a reaction to the snow storm that's been going on today.

 

[ShinySideUp]

It sounds more like the Khuli was just doing what they do, they go really mental when there are storms about as they have swim bladders that are enclosed in a boney case towards the front and the rear section that is rudimentry at best, making them very aware of atomspheric changes. There intestines work like a secondary respiratory system and they will often come to the surface to breath. It may seem odd but the more cover you give the khulis in the form of plants and structure the braver they will become. They are truly one of the most peaceful unassuming fish available in the same league as Corydoras. Also when you can give them some more friends, khuli's adore being in a group and with more about they will all get that but braver.

+1 for this Kuhli's just seem to go for it on occasion. During the day my Kuhli's (or sockfish, as my wife calls them! ('cos they look like socks)) potter about on the sand or hide amongst the wood (or even bury themselves in the sand) but turn out the main light and they go nuts, up and down, racing across the bottom, then back to up and down, but in the end they go back to moseying around looking for 'stuff'. I think it's just what they do, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Baccus]

It sounds more like the Khuli was just doing what they do, they go really mental when there are storms about as they have swim bladders that are enclosed in a boney case towards the front and the rear section that is rudimentry at best, making them very aware of atomspheric changes. There intestines work like a secondary respiratory system and they will often come to the surface to breath. It may seem odd but the more cover you give the khulis in the form of plants and structure the braver they will become. They are truly one of the most peaceful unassuming fish available in the same league as Corydoras. Also when you can give them some more friends, khuli's adore being in a group and with more about they will all get that but braver.

That was a lot of useful info You really know your stuff!

It is snowing today. For the first time in a couple weeks, and for their first time being in colorado (they just got this shipment of khulies.)

If they are from out of state (I believe most of the shipments come from california) they also gained a few thousand feet of elevation from coming here, my elevation is ~6000

My tank is has a lot of driftwood cover, but the plants aren't grown in yet (2 anubias nana, 2 java fern, 2 anubias b-something, I can send in a picture if you'd like) and is filtered with a 75 gallon filter when the tank is 37 gallons. How many more khulies can I fit in here with the firemouth and 12 black skirt tetras? I'll get as many as I can fit without being majorly overstocked.

Ah to delve into the world of Khuli loaches, with the different colours you have in the black loaches it sounds as if you may have two different types. There is at least two types sold as "black khuli loaches" and these are Pangio oblonga and P. pangia. It is really hard to get all of one type of Khuli loach because often the sellers just lump them all together or the petshop does. I have around 8 striped khuli loaches and so far I have worked out I have at least 3 different types, and every time I manage to get 1 or 2 more they are different again. But even though my khuli's are apparentlt different types they still all happily hang out together, they may breed but I doubt it espceially with all of my guppy's ready to eat anything remotely edible.

37gallons I make out to be roughly 4ft. It is the length of the tank and width that will determine more so how many loaches you can safely have in the tank. If I am right in the approx length of the tank then I would think 8-10 khulis would be fine (possibly more added at later dates). Because khuli loaches are long and usually most active on the bottom of a tank they need a fairly large tank "footprint" to give them optimum room.So much of stocking depends on the activity levels of the fish, the eventual size of the fish, the fishes ability to make a tank filthy (plecos spring to mind here), and how long the tank has been established and at what numbers you introduce more fish and of course how often you are willing and able to do tank maintenance as well as the filteration used. Almost forgot that you also need to take into account any other bottom dwellers, but if you are only going to have Khuli's as the bottom dwellers you can get a way with slightly higher numbers of them.

The Khulis would probably also like it if you had some taller growing plants like elodea, parrots feather or milfoil that will grow towards the surface and provide shade from the overhead light, they will also delight in snuffling around the length of these plants looking for tidbits of food. You will probably also catch them lazing in these plants just hanging there having a doze .
I should also warn you that kuhli loaches have a nift little spine above their eye they can lower and raise at will, that +speed and hiding are their only defences. I have not been jabbed by this spine but by all accounts it hurts, also when netting them this spine can get entangled in the net.
And I would think it could have been the pressure system of the storm that made your Khuli go a little nuts, I get ear aches before a weather change so I know how the Khuli's feel , but usually weather events are the trigger for Khuli's (and many other fish) to breed.

Oh and if you really want to be sneaky with you Khuli loaches you could set up a hideyhole near the front of the tank that they will like hanging out in, but you get to see them as well.

 

[Ruskull]

I'm not a professional or anything so take what I say with a grain of salt (pun intended)

That sounds like normal Kuhli Loach behavior to me. The Kuhlis are very shy & only seldom come out of hiding in the ornanments, usually when I throw a couple of bottom feeder pellets into the tank.

I only have (2) in a 20 gallon and when we first set the tank up they were crazy! They twirled & swam up & down the sides like they were insane. As far as I know that's just what they do..................