Should I or shouldn't I ? I think this might be a bad idea, but maybe it is ok.

[KittenFishMom]

What do you think? 

I have wanted striped kuhli loaches since before I bought my black kuhli loach. I couldn't find any, so I bought some black ones. I enjoy the back ones.

Now a local big box store has sick striped kuhli loaches "under observation" because they are being treated for a "bacteria infection". They will be available for sale this coming week.

I just rehomed all 38 cory adults and fry from a 15 gallon tank. I could use it as a QT tank, and give them a week or 2 of TCL and bbs to get their strength up, them try dosing the QT trio one week at a time. It would be tricky because it isn't a 10 gallon tank, so I would need to adjust dosing to be 1.5 times a 10 gallon dose, or start setting up a 10 gallon QT plastic tub, which makes it hard to observe the fish.

The fish are starting out weak, and who knows what was diagnosed as a "bacteria infection". If I decide to try to get them, I will try to find out what they were treated with and for how long. As well as when they first arrived in the store.

This is the store where I was told "it is best to start with just one cory", along with a few other mistakes, like the "dwarf chain loaches" growing into huge yoyo loaches.

I don't feel good about the store, but I would like striped kuhli loaches. and I do have a tank that is pretty well cycled with plants and snails and no fish.

Is this a waste of time and money to try to get the striped loaches back into good health?

Is this a good idea because I know that there was a problem instead of just buying them with no history? 

If I do buy them, should I buy extra, assuming some might not make it? I know they like being in a group.

What do you think?

[Levi_Aquatics]

I too have some black kuli loaches and I definitely love their personality, but I do wish they were a bit more visible, so I see where you’re coming from. As for wether you should buy the fish, personally I would say yes, but not from this source. Aquhuna has striped kuli loaches for $3 each + $12 flat rate shipping I believe. I have a feeling you will probably save money because you will probably loose less fish and save money on meds too. As for quarantining the fish, I would probably just fill your 15 gallon up with 10 gallons to make the dosing easier and then you will still be able to observe the fish and it will save you from setting up a at tub. 

[KittenFishMom]

I am on the east coast, and Aqua huna is on the west cost. It seems like a long distance to ship kuhli loaches. I have heard several people saw they don't tend to ship well. I would like to get them locally or close to locally.

My tank have black sand on the bottom and tons of plants and moss, so I don't see the black one much.

[Levi_Aquatics]

Okay, that’s definitely a fair point. I’m East coast too. I have heard they are pretty hardy in general, but I’m not sure how they ship. I made the mistake of getting black gravel with mine, so it sounds like we’re in the same boat lol

[Lennie]

Kuhli loaches are known to be pretty hardy in general. With your good care and support, I think they may just do well.

It is not easy to find fish you like. I would personally give them a chance. Someone else entering the store to get them is less likely to provide a better care especially if there is a potential health issue going on.

People return fish to life from very bad conditions and end up in great results. I highly support you to give them a try

Here are two motivational videos for you which I enjoyed watching very much before 🙂

 

Edited April 2, 2023 by Lennie

[Ninjoma]

If you are interested in getting them I think it's worth it just for the animals' sake. I wouldn't consider this a waste of time or money at all. 

[Guppysnail]

I don’t want to be a downer but often times bacterial infections leave damage and such to organs and tissue you cannot see. Knowing a fish is being treated even if they recover they could be starting a secondary opportunistic infection. 
I personally would find another source or forgo all together. I would not purchase fish that are already known to have been ill. 

[Val]

On 4/2/2023 at 5:17 PM, KittenFishMom said:

I am on the east coast, and Aqua huna is on the west cost. It seems like a long distance to ship kuhli loaches. I have heard several people saw they don't tend to ship well. I would like to get them locally or close to locally.

My tank have black sand on the bottom and tons of plants and moss, so I don't see the black one much.

Not to threadjack, but does Aquahuna ever actually have fish?  Every time I have ever visited the site, it seems they are sold out of 90% of their fish stocks.

[KittenFishMom]

Thanks @Guppysnail That is a good point. I do have a lot going on and having to be careful about not using the wrong net in the wrong tank etc. could lead to a bigger problem with my other healthy tanks.

[jwcarlson]

On 4/2/2023 at 8:45 PM, Val said:

Not to threadjack, but does Aquahuna ever actually have fish?  Every time I have ever visited the site, it seems they are sold out of 90% of their fish stocks.

They recently changed locations, so possibly still stocking back up from that?  I will say that almost always the stuff I would be interested in is OOS.  But the email notification works pretty good for when it's back.  

[lefty o]

i would say, after they come out of the stores qt, id have a very good look at them. just to make sure they arent extremely weak/sickly looking still.

[KittenFishMom]

I don't have a place to QT these fish for 6 weeks, away from the other tanks.  I think I should wait until all the cory have gone to the breeder before I try getting something as possibly tricky as fish coming out of a store's QT. Spring is a busy time of year. I don't want to contaminate my other tanks because I was in a hurry and grabbed the wrong net or forgot to sterilize equipment between water changes. I can get healthy fish when things are more relaxed and I have the time to be careful. If I am going to risk getting sick fish, I really need to have thing much more relaxed. I might be able to manage a QT in the summer on the garage floor. But right now there is ice in the stainless steel buckets I put out to wash for soaking the dragon stone. A sunny days makes me feel optimistic. The saying here is "It always snows on the daffodils". It will be very cold a few more times before the daffodils flower and fade. I should wait before I bite off more than I can chew in a small crowded cottage with helpful cats getting in the way.

Thank you all for your faith in my skills and your clear view of the situation from a distance.

[Sora]

On 4/2/2023 at 5:17 PM, KittenFishMom said:

I am on the east coast, and Aqua huna is on the west cost. It seems like a long distance to ship kuhli loaches. I have heard several people saw they don't tend to ship well. I would like to get them locally or close to locally.

Im also on the east coast and had striped kuhli loaches shipped from aqua huna. I wish I had thought about the shipping for them before I got them because like three died only a couple days after shipping. 

[KittenFishMom]

@Pepere I am guessing fish stores order large heavy boxes which get handled more slowly and carefully that small light boxes. a light box can get tossed around and land hard, a heavy box must be carried. and set down with care. I think the flights are the same for big and small orders, but I think the handling between flights is different because of the size and weight. I also think the other bags of fish act as shock absorbers, but I could be wrong. A box with 6 loaches can get tossed one handed into a bin and fall with a bump. A box with 200 fish has to be carried with 2 hands and set down. It is not out of lack of caring, but rather lack of time. The shipping have to handle the packages quickly. If I placed an order the size of a fish store with 6 loaches, I think the loaches would get suffer few bumps and bangs because of the size of the order in the box.

If you read the feedback at Aqua Huna for banned loaches, you will see a considerable number of small order had problems. It would be interesting to see how far they were from the source. I don't think it is Aqua Hunas fault, I just think it is the way small packages get handled by any shipper.