Is there such a thing as too much dancing?

[kcartwright856]

I'm new to loaches, but I have fallen hopelessly in love with kuhlis. I have 7 sub-adults in my 29 gallon, heavily planted tank. In addition to the plant cover, they have one large-ish rock cave and three pots on their sides to hide in, though they very rarely use them.

At any given time of day, at least two or three are doing the loach dance on the right side of the tank! Sometimes, almost all of them dance! The rest of the time, they're out looking for food and lounging in the plants.

I was under the impression that the loach dance is a happy thing. I don't think they are sexually mature yet, so I doubt that it is a courting thing. Are they genuinely happy?

29 gallons
80 degrees Fahrenheit
0 ppm ammonia
0 ppm nitrite
10-20 ppm nitrate
50% water changes 2x week

I am hopelessly addicted to taking videos of them. Here is one of them, taken while I was doing a water change:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03A9knJAtQU

Also, a full tank shot:

[021414]

It sounds like you just have happy loaches.

BTW, your tank looks beautiful!

[kcartwright856]

Thank you! It's my first "aquascape". I really love taking care of the plants, and the kuhlis love hanging out in them!

I'm glad to hear a vote for happy loaches. It just seems like... gosh, stop and take a breather! Dance, dance, dancing all day!

I love to watch them, though. Honestly... my favorite fish to date. I can't imagine having a tank without them.

[NancyD]

Some pangios take a while to get used to their tank & IME dance more when new. My oblongas kept it up for almost 6 months before they calmed down a bit. Compared to my older semicinctas the black kuhlis were hyper but no harm in dancing AFAIK.

[021414]

I'm new to loaches, but I have fallen hopelessly in love with kuhlis. I have 7 sub-adults in my 29 gallon, heavily planted tank. In addition to the plant cover, they have one large-ish rock cave and three pots on their sides to hide in, though they very rarely use them.

At any given time of day, at least two or three are doing the loach dance on the right side of the tank! Sometimes, almost all of them dance! The rest of the time, they're out looking for food and lounging in the plants.

I was under the impression that the loach dance is a happy thing. I don't think they are sexually mature yet, so I doubt that it is a courting thing. Are they genuinely happy?

29 gallons
80 degrees Fahrenheit
0 ppm ammonia
0 ppm nitrite
10-20 ppm nitrate
50% water changes 2x week

I am hopelessly addicted to taking videos of them. Here is one of them, taken while I was doing a water change:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03A9knJAtQU

Also, a full tank shot:

What kind/brand of substrate are you using in your tank? I like the soft color, it adds nice contrast with the green and the pots.

[kcartwright856]

Just regular pool filter sand!

It can be bright-ish at first, but mellows out nicely as diatoms and whatnot settle in.

I've heard that different pool filter sand companies have different colors, but I can't speak from experience. Mine came in the color of crushed coral. Kinda chalky white with a hint of grey.