Hello All I'm New =)

Lady.T

New Fish
Jul 23, 2010
7
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#1
Hello all I recently got my 5 gallon hexagon up and running again and i have a nice betta in it. i was wondering if i could put 2 coolie loaches in there aswell?
 

bassbonediva

Superstar Fish
Oct 15, 2009
2,010
0
0
Northern Arizona
#2
Nope! Kuhlis are extremely active fish that grow to be 4" long. I have a Hex5 as well and can tell you from experience (having kept kuhlis in my 55gal) that that tank is entirely unsuited to kuhlis. They need a MINIMUM 20 gallons, and even that is pushing it. The only thing I would consider adding in a Hex5 that already has a betta in it would be an otocinclus catfish (if the tank has been running for six months and has an established source of algae) or a mystery snail or some fun shrimp (like red cherry shrimp or amano shrimp). I currently have a male veiltail betta and two otos in my Hex5 (had a bad algae problem for a little while because I had a lot of light, a lot of plants, but not enough CO2), but it's getting torn down in the next day or so and the betta is getting moved to a divided 20 gallon long betta fraternity tank. I just have too many tanks running, so I'm trying to consolidate some.
 

Lady.T

New Fish
Jul 23, 2010
7
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#6
they have a no return policy one live sells so i can't return them.... but i have seen plenty of people i know with 2 or more of them in thiers and they are perfectly fine they had them for a long time also i would say about a year now they had them
 

Thyra

Superstar Fish
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#7
I have been waiting for a chance to ask this question - do fish grow in relation to size of available space?? Long ago, like 40 years, I was told this and my kids who always had aquariums with various fish that I am now being told will get too big for the size aquarium I have, Yet we had a clown loach, kuli loach, algae eater, and various catfish for years without fatalities in a 50 gallon tank - amongst the other fish they chose. The only thing that didn't work out were the ciclids and the oscars. I am not saying we had several of each, but I remember we had at least one of the first four I mentioned that were there the entire grade school and high school years.
 

bassbonediva

Superstar Fish
Oct 15, 2009
2,010
0
0
Northern Arizona
#8
I have been waiting for a chance to ask this question - do fish grow in relation to size of available space?? Long ago, like 40 years, I was told this and my kids who always had aquariums with various fish that I am now being told will get too big for the size aquarium I have, Yet we had a clown loach, kuli loach, algae eater, and various catfish for years without fatalities in a 50 gallon tank - amongst the other fish they chose. The only thing that didn't work out were the ciclids and the oscars. I am not saying we had several of each, but I remember we had at least one of the first four I mentioned that were there the entire grade school and high school years.
Fish who are kept in too small a space will have stunted growth, but their internal organs will continue to grow, thus shortening their life span and leading them to a painful, unnecessary death. It's not necessarily the size of the kuhlis that is the problem, but rather their activity level. Kuhlis are extremely active fish and putting them into a tank smaller than 20 gallons is just cruel because they don't have the room to play like they would in a larger tank. Kuhlis are fine in 50gal tanks, as are most species of catfish. Common plecos don't do so great in most tanks under 75gals because they are such massive waste producers.
 

Lady.T

New Fish
Jul 23, 2010
7
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#16
see i'm not really an avid fish person if they die they die if they don't they don't that's how i see it... and i also do my research on anything before i buy it.... i did my research and brought them... ok so i don't have a proper tank for them well what's the worse that can happen besides them dieing.... if they do i will just move onto something ele that fascinates me at the moment
 

Aug 16, 2009
1,318
0
0
SW Pennsylvania
#17
see i'm not really an avid fish person if they die they die if they don't they don't that's how i see it... and i also do my research on anything before i buy it.... i did my research and brought them... ok so i don't have a proper tank for them well what's the worse that can happen besides them dieing.... if they do i will just move onto something ele that fascinates me at the moment
That's like buying a dog and saying, "Well, I don't know much about dogs, so if it dies it won't really matter because I'll just buy a new one." Fish are animals that depend on your care to survive. You bought them, and it's YOUR responsibility as a pet owner to provide for them. Even if you're not an avid fish person, it's morally wrong to buy animals, let them die, and replace them. It's obvious that you were impatient and couldn't wait for a response from the professionals before purchasing the fish. If you did research, you would see that your tank is too small.
 

Feb 27, 2009
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36
#18
see i'm not really an avid fish person if they die they die if they don't they don't that's how i see it...
I'm speechless.....

and i also do my research on anything before i buy it.... i did my research and brought them... ok so i don't have a proper tank for them
What was the point of 'researching' if you then say that you 'don't have a proper tank'?

what's the worse that can happen besides them dieing.... if they do i will just move onto something ele that fascinates me at the moment
The worse that could happen is that they suffer before they die I guess. Honestly, this hobby is not for you if this is your attitude toward other living things. Let's hope the next thing that 'fascinates' you is non-living.

Just my 2cents
OC
 

Lady.T

New Fish
Jul 23, 2010
7
0
0
#19
lol i've had fish in the past and lose intrest in them really quickly i just got rid of my 2yr old snake b/c of a move and i couldn't keep him with me where i'm at now... so its just me and my cat who i love so much so i thought hey maybe fish again b/c i still had the tank but they seem to be fine in it they are very active and have not shown signs of stress yet and they survived the night which i didn't think would happen b/c the water was a little on the warm side but its fine now.... my betta isn't bothering them and i guess i'll see what happens with them... but to clear something up i know i should of waited and yea i know my tank is not proper b/c i read it alot of times but hey i have to learn the hard way... I am a animal lover and don't like to see animals harmed or stressed and if worse comes to worse my friend can take them
 

Aug 16, 2009
1,318
0
0
SW Pennsylvania
#20
Do you have a heater in your tank? You need a heater. The small Tetra heaters are very cheap, only $15.
You say you don't like to see animals harmed or stressed and yet you did not listen when you read multiple times NOT to keep kuhli loaches in a tank that size. They will obviously become stressed out in a small tank, even if it isn't apparent at the moment.
You baffle me. You want to learn the hard way, but really, you are hurting your fish and not learning a lesson by ignoring what others have told you.
If your friend has a large enough tank, I would give them to her. Because by the time "worse comes to worse", it could be too late.
 

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