The Dojo Loach is a fairly popular fish in the aquarium trade usually costing anywhere from $8 - $15 US Dollars. It is sometimes called the "Weather Loach" because of its reported behavior when the barometric pressure drops. Some hobbyists have reported witnessing increased activity levels, erratic swimming, etc. when storms are approaching. They are originally from North Eastern Asia and China but have been imported and introduced into other habitats in various places around the world not always with good results. This Loach is considered a food source in some Asian countries.
They can be considered a good fish for the freshwater fish beginner because it generally has undemanding water parameters, except for the temperature. They need lower water temperatures in the 65°F - 75°F range (18°C - 24°C) which may limit the number of possible tank mates. Provide them with a softer substrate because they like to burrow. Sand or aquarium gravel that is rounded should suffice.

They are accomplished escape artists and will find any open holes in the top of the tank. Make sure your tank hood is well secured. It is interesting to note that this fish can breathe in air when the oxygen levels in the water become depleted. So, if yours has jumped from the tank, try putting it back in the tank as soon as possible. You never know... Provide some hiding places for your loaches to help make them feel more secure. A cave of some sort or a bunch of plants (real or artificial) can provide really good hiding places.

Feeding them should not be a problem. They will accept nearly everything you offer them. Give them a variety of aquarium fish foods such as sinking shrimp pellets, frozen or freeze-dried blood worms and vitamin enriched flake foods.

 These are some really neat little fish that are great at eating mostly brown diatoms. They can be very shy and won't really show themselves in the home aquarium too much. The first thing you should know about these amazing little fish is that they need lots of oxygen in the tank to survive. So they would need colder water, which can hold more oxygen then warm water, and would need a strong current to keep the oxygen near the sides and decorations. They are usually best suited for pond tanks or ponds in general since they require cold water, unlike most fish, which prefer it. If the tank gets too hot for the loach, they will die because their body can't seem to cope with the warmer temperatures, plus the warmer the water, the less oxygen in it.

The tank they should be put in should be well established since they eat algae and a new tank doesn't seem to have any algae in it right away. The tank should be pH neutral to slightly alkaline for them to thrive as well as medium hard water with a temperature set at 68-75°F (20-24°C). They should be fed good quality algae wafers, mysis shrimp, or blood worms. If these fish are well cared for, and have the proper tank set up, they can live for 8-10 years and get to 3" at most.

The most similar species are the other Beaufortia species but are similar to the other small algae eaters. They are considered loaches because they are from various areas of China and have the same kind of bone structure as other loaches from the area. There are different color varieties of this little fish, but the most common is one with spots and is also known as the spotted loach at some stores. They can also be pretty expensive depending on the store and the color variant that you get. These fish sometimes like to be in groups of 3 or more and will feel more comfortable in a small group.

 

 The Kuhli loach, also commonly known as 'Coolie loach', comes from the Tropical waters of Indonesia, Malaysia, Java and surrounding areas. The fish is eel shaped. Its body colorings are a kind of salmon-pink/yellow with dark brown to black stripes that half circles the body. The stomach is a sort of a whitish colour. The eyes are set in one of the stripes and therefore not easily seen. The mouth is set at a downward angle and with 3 pairs of bushy barbels adorning it; it looks like it has an obstinate little moustache. Its fins are translucent.

This rather pretty little loach is fairly easy to care for in the home aquarium, needing water that is medium-soft to medium and pH around 6.0 to 7.0. It has been known, however, for them to adapt to most water conditions. Its region in the tank is the bottom where it browses for food. The temperature should be 75 - 85 F (24 - 29 C).

The kuhli loach has an advantage over most of the other loaches kept in aquariums, inasmuch as it never grows too large, growing around 8-11 cm (3-5 in) in length. Also their bioload is very small for a loach. Be sure to keep the tank covered properly at all times as it can squeeze out of quite small places. The minimum tank size required for the kuhli is 10 gallons (37 liters).

They also prefer sand for substrate but if sand is not appropriate, smooth stones should be used so that the loach won't scratch its body on gravel or stones. Sharp edged decorations also woud not be a good idea, with their habit of squeezing into tight places they could get badly scratched.

Kuhli loaches are peaceful fish and prefer to be kept in schools of 3 or more. Because of this fishes beauty, many hobbiest get them straight after the nitrogen cycle has completed. It is, however, not advised to get them for the new aquarium as they are affected by sudden water changes. It is best recommended to wait a month before introducing them to the aquarium.

 Many fish can be kept as tank mates with these fish as long as precaution is taken not to include fish that are able to take them for a bite of food. In other words, don't keep fish that are big enough to eat them. They scavenge for food mainly at dusk or in the dark as they are nocturnal, and spend most of their time hiding in the substrate, plants and decorations during the day. But with time most of them readily learn to eat during the day time. Being scavengers they eat most fish food, however sinking food pellets are preferred as well as live foods, for instance; bloodworms and brineshrimp. It is recommended to feed them either, just before the lights are turned off for the night or after the lights have been off for a while. Dont switch on the lights during the process it may scare the fish back into hiding. This is sometimes done with a flashlight when a curious hobbiest wants to see whats going on when its dark inside the tank, but NEVER shine a flashlight into the tank after the lights have been off for a few hours! It will put the other fish and maybe the kuhli loach into a state of shock!

There are no specific common diseases that can affect the kuhli loach. It may get affected by any disease or if you do every thing correctly, it will not get any disease at all. Like other scale less fish, it is affected a lot from medications that treat diseases like ich, so with a scale less fish, the best thing to do is just increase the temperature. The tank water should be kept clean at all times. That way it lessens any chance of poor health and enables your fish to stay strong and healthy. The life span of kuhli loaches is approximately 10 years, but longer has been recorded.

Kuhli loaches are mostly bred in their native areas as they are very much available most of the time. Breeding in the home aquarium can be difficult. The eggs are stuck to roots, buried beneath the surface of the substrate. Females are plumper when ready to breed. This is the only way to identify the sexes. Most breeding is done accidentally when many kuhli loaches are put in a tank together and they breed by themselves. If you want to try and breed them, the best way is to get a bunch of them in a tank with an undergravel filter. Leave the kuhli loaches by themselves without any other fish for a few weeks, while still doing regular maintenance.