TankBud

Shelford's kuhli loach

Pangio shelfordii

Also known as Borneo loach, Shelford's prickly eye, Hair band kuhli loach

FreshwaterFish

Shelford's kuhli loach (Pangio shelfordii)
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
3.1 in
8 cm
Minimum tank
15 gal
55 L
Temperament
Peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Swim level
Bottom
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
No record
Rarity
Rare
Family
Cobitidae
Origin
Malay Peninsula, Singapore and Borneo

Overview

Shelford's kuhli loach is a peaceful bottom fish and a confident one by kuhli standards. It is often out cruising the glass at dusk rather than staying buried. It is best with a little experience.

Did you know

Shelford's kuhli loach is named after Robert Shelford, a naturalist who curated the Sarawak Museum in Borneo in the early 1900s.

Caring for the Shelford's kuhli loach

A group of Shelford's kuhli loaches needs a little more room than the smaller kuhlis. Give them 15 gal (55 L) or more over soft sand. Set the tank up as blackwater, with deep leaf litter, driftwood, low light and slow flow. They like to pack into a single nook to rest, so add caves and root tangles to share.

Keep the water warm, soft and acidic, at 72 to 81°F (22 to 27°C) and a pH of 5.5 to 7.0. Feed small sinking foods, frozen bloodworm and live blackworm. Let a mature litter bed grow the tiny life these loaches hunt.

Keep six or more with calm, small tank mates, and they show far more daytime activity than most of their cousins. They are peaceful and ignore other fish, so quiet company such as small rasboras and pygmy corydoras works well. There is no dependable record of this kuhli spawning in captivity.

Good to know

Shelford's kuhli loach, Pangio shelfordii, belongs to the eel-loach family Cobitidae and is one of the larger kuhlis. Instead of clean bands, it wears broken, marbled blotches. That makes it one of the easier kuhlis to identify, though its patterning varies a lot between populations.

In the wild

Shelford's kuhli loach ranges from the Malay Peninsula through Singapore to Borneo. It lives in peat swamps and soft, tannin-stained forest streams over sand.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The Shelford's kuhli loach is a peaceful, social species that keeps to the bottom. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

What size tank does a Shelford's kuhli loach need?

A Shelford's kuhli loach needs at least 15 gal (55 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.

What temperature and pH does a Shelford's kuhli loach need?

A Shelford's kuhli loach is comfortable at 72–81°F (22–27°C) with a pH of 5.5–7.0.

What does a Shelford's kuhli loach eat?

A Shelford's kuhli loach eats small sinking foods, frozen bloodworm and live blackworm. A mature litter bed also grows the tiny life it hunts.

How big does a Shelford's kuhli loach get?

An adult Shelford's kuhli loach reaches about 3.1 in (8 cm).

Related species