Dwarf Chain vs. Kuhli Loaches

[KaitieG]

Hello!

Trying to decide what I want to do in my 90 gallon tank and am wondering--what have your experiences/preferences been with Kuhlis vs Dwarf Chain Loaches?  I've always found Kuhlis appealing and have wanted to keep them because of their snake-yness, but after seeing @Irene's videos, those Dwarf Chain Loaches are awfully cute and might eat some of my little tiny pest snails--which IMO would be GREAT!  I know lots of people like the little snails, and I like some snails, but the little pond snails drive me nuts!

I know that the Dwarf Chain Loaches are much pricier, but it would be doable to get a group of 8-12.  I'd likely get around 10 Kuhlis if I went that route.  I hear Kuhlis hide most of the time, but I also hear that the Dwarf Chain Loaches occasionally have issues with long-finned tankmates.  Kuhlis and an alternate option for the snails would also be a good option--but I want to keep the nerites and some of the ramshorns, so I haven't gone the assassin snail route.

Thoughts?

Other tankmates will include:

Guppies

Platys

Corys

An Angelfish

Hillstream loaches

Temp 78, PH 8.0-8.2, GH around 300, KH 200

 

[Irene]

Glad you enjoyed my video! I kept a halfmoon betta with my dwarf chain loaches and they never bothered him or his long fins. If my betta started swimming toward them, they would just scatter and regroup on the other side of the tank. As much as I love the look of kuhli loaches, my vote is for the dwarf chain because a) they don't hide, b) they play around a lot in my tank, and c) I don't like pest snails. 😉

[Brandy]

I love the khulis because of their neat shape and I find of you have lots of cover they come out more...in a peeking out sort of way. I like that. 

But I agree with Irene, for the same reasons, to which I would also add: d) khuli loaches and corys do sort of the same thing, niche wise. They stir the substrate, and clean up food bits. So I would just get the dwarf chain and then do either corys or khulis.

[KaitieG]

Good info and much appreciated!  I do have a bit of room in my 20 gallon now that the guppies have gone to live in the 90...maybe a smaller group of Kuhlis could go in there.  I really like the idea of something eating the pest snails and being more active, so I was leaning towards the Dwarf Chains but I've just wanted Kuhlies for so long... 🙂 

[Shmaty]

I've not much experience with my Khulis but I'll cast my thoughts. I LOVE them. They are derpy "danger noodles". They do spend a lot of time just sitting around or trying to compete with one another to see who is the better contortionist. They will be very shy for a long time, they will ease up though. They swim away quickly when you get near, but if you stop and watch you'll be treated to their squirmy adventures. I'm not an eel fan and I'm not afraid of snakes but I also dont like them either. Khulis are somehow different. 

Now...A word of advice, be warned with Khulis. Whatever tank you want them in, be prepared that they'll live there for the life of that aquarium. They are so quick and squirmy. They dig too. Give them sand and they'll love you. They are, hands down, the hardest fish I own to corner and net. Had to tear down a tank's entire hardscape, over the course of the day, just to catch them. Choose the tank carefully!

I have not witnessed it, but i'm fairly certain my khulis have eaten snails. Not near as many as my zebras(in a seperate tank from them) but enough that I've started to notice the shells left scattered around.