Peppered kuhli loach

Pangio piperata

Also known as Pepper kuhli

FreshwaterFish

Peppered kuhli loach (Pangio piperata) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 72–81°F (22–27°C)
pH: 5.5–7.0
Adult size: 2.4 in (6 cm)
Minimum tank: 20 gal (75 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra
Family: Cobitidae

Overview

Keep this kuhli the way the whole group likes: in numbers, over soft sand, and fed once the lights are low. A band of six or more settles far better than one or two, and they will happily share a tank with other Pangio. All are peaceful and pose no threat to anything they cannot swallow, so pick small, quiet companions such as Boraras, small rasboras, and dwarf gouramis. Sinking foods and frozen bloodworm, daphnia, and brine shrimp keep them in condition. About 75 liters with sand and dense cover keeps a group content.

In the wild

The peppered kuhli lives in soft, slow lowland waters of the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra, in forest streams, swamps, and backwaters stained dark with tannins. Give it the standard blackwater setup: fine sand, leaf litter, driftwood, shade, and gentle flow. Keep it warm at 22 to 27 degrees Celsius and acidic, with pH from 5.5 to 7.0. In nature these loaches gather in large numbers, so a generous group looks most natural.

Good to know

Pangio piperata is a slender eel-loach in the family Cobitidae, reaching about 6 centimeters. Its name is built on the Latin for pepper, after the fine dark speckling scattered across a tan body in place of the bold bands of a typical kuhli. That peppered pattern is the easiest way to pick it out from its banded relatives. No dependable aquarium breeding has been reported.

Did you know

The name piperata comes straight from the Latin word for pepper. The fish looks as if someone ground a peppermill over a plain tan kuhli, and that dusting of dark flecks is exactly how you tell it apart in a mixed group.