Alright so I just made a long post about this when my computer frose on me. So, long story short, My kuhlies get scared by my other fish and I am worried because they often burry themselves in the gravel even though they have their cave. They have a hard time gettin out and I have to free them. Often when I come home I see a little loach tail sticking out of the gravel. I'm worried. Help?

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20 gallon semi planted:
Filters: top fin 10 and 20 power filters.
Fish: 2 panda cories, 1 peppered Cory, 5 kuhli loaches, and 4 cherry barbs.

*bump* I'm really scared if I'm gone for awhile because no madder
How much they squirm around 1-2 inches down in the gravel, they cant get themselves free.

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20 gallon semi planted:
Filters: top fin 10 and 20 power filters.
Fish: 2 panda cories, 1 peppered Cory, 5 kuhli loaches, and 4 cherry barbs.

Khulies hide a lot and like the dark. In my local Big Box store the Khulie tank looks empty until rocks or decorations are moved. Then 12 magicly apppear. The best time to see them is at dawn before you turn their light on in the morning. They like to eat frozen blood worms or bits of salad shrimp on the bottom so these foods might bribe them to come out.

The thing is that they have a cave that they hide in all day and I can sort of see them, but when they are out, they can get scared, burry themselves with a head start, and they CAN'T get out. They squiggle frantically until I can finally dig them out. It's not that they don't want to come out, they can't.

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20 gallon semi planted:
Filters: top fin 10 and 20 power filters.
Fish: 2 panda cories, 1 peppered Cory, 5 kuhli loaches, and 4 cherry barbs.

Maybe the problem is your gravel - how big are the individual pieces? And do they have any jagged edges, or are they nice and rounded?

I made sure that the gravel was smooth and well rounded, they are about 2 cm and relatively round. To dig themselves, they get a headstart by swimming up to the top of the tank, and darting full speed down to the gravel. They don't have that headstart when there buried.

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20 gallon semi planted:
Filters: top fin 10 and 20 power filters.
Fish: 2 panda cories, 1 peppered Cory, 5 kuhli loaches, and 4 cherry barbs.

Weird, I wouldn't expect kuhlis to have a problem with gravel like that. I guess the only way to be certain they weren't just playing would be to leave one in the gravel for an extended period of time (like days) and see if it ever got out by itself... not that I'd recommend that.

Mine do this too, but I just leave them alone and they free themselves. Also the cave I have given them is dark and large, but facing forward so even in day when they do hide I can see them. Overall though, my khulies move around alot more than most peoples.

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16g-2 guppies, 1 bolivian ram, 3 neon tetras,2 khulis
55g-1 red tail shark, 1 rubberlip plecos, 2 banjo cats,
2 silver dollars, 6 white clouds,

So should I leave them to see if they can eventually get free?

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20 gallon semi planted:
Filters: top fin 10 and 20 power filters.
Fish: 2 panda cories, 1 peppered Cory, 5 kuhli loaches, and 4 cherry barbs.

I posted about the Kuhli's in one of your other threads, but yes, the can get free themselves.

They are nocturnal and come out at night when all the lights are off. It's not that they can't come out, they don't want to because it's still light. Once the tank lights are off for the night (and the other room lights, because any light in the room will allow the other fish to see the food), drop some sinking food in for the Kuhlis. Blood worms, bottom feeder pellets, things like that.

They really should be in sand. They are in sand in nature and love to dig and burrow in it. But, along with being in sand, they need a tank larger than 10 gallons unless they are the ONLY fish in the tank... and even then, they really do need to be in a bigger tank. I'd think about re-homing them.

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20g Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981
36g Bow Front Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981

*cries*

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20 gallon semi planted:
Filters: top fin 10 and 20 power filters.
Fish: 2 panda cories, 1 peppered Cory, 5 kuhli loaches, and 4 cherry barbs.

holly12 is right. If you BELIEVE your kuhli's are SCARED of your other fish, then you need to rehome them ASAP. Once they're scared of their tank mates, and you BELIEVE they hide under the gravel, what do you think will happen when they're too scared to come out for food? they will starve to death! i thought in your other post you said your fish were fine, so i thought sure, if kuhli's are doing fine with your mates, go ahead and keep them and buy a better filtration system. But if the kuhli's bury themselves due to your other tank mates scaring them, then you need to rehome them or else they won't bother coming out at all and will starve to death

I added more hiding spots and it helped a bit, but they are scared by everything but my hand, which they find as safety. That's why I often hand feed them.

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20 gallon semi planted:
Filters: top fin 10 and 20 power filters.
Fish: 2 panda cories, 1 peppered Cory, 5 kuhli loaches, and 4 cherry barbs.

the problem i keep seeing in most of your posts keeps coming back to your gravel and tank size..

address those first and i bet they will be happier

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10g- 2 hi-fin fm platys, 3 koi & red wag sword fry
40g Breeder- 6 danios, 4 female swords, 1 male swords
"I was born with nothin and I still got most of it left."- Seasick Steve

They have a better home now. I miss them sooo much. This thread can be locked or just die.

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20 gallon semi planted:
Filters: top fin 10 and 20 power filters.
Fish: 2 panda cories, 1 peppered Cory, 5 kuhli loaches, and 4 cherry barbs.