Small, wriggly and shy, the tiny loaches of Pangio still have an almost cult-like following. Here are some you will and some you probably won’t see in stores.
WORDS: NATHAN HILL
WHEN IS a kuhli loach not a kuhli loach? When it’s in a British aquarium, usually. Like the worst of hangovers, the name is hard to shake off, but it’s likely that the true kuhli loach — named after the collector Heinrich Kuhl — has not once been exported from its home in Java. You might even see the fish listed as a ‘coolie’ loach, a name we’d be better off doing away with altogether — coolie is an outdated pejorative term for unskilled Chinese or Indian labourers. How about we just run with ‘eel loaches’ instead?
Eel loaches are simultaneously some of the most enjoyable fish to watch, while also being some of the most difficult fish to spot. For the best part — but not exclusively — they inhabit bodies of water with dense overhead canopies, low light levels, and more cover than they know what to do with. That’s quite the opposite of most modern aquaria, with their high output lights, minimalist layouts and pristine water. These are fish that are perfect for those who love their tankwater the colour of autumnal leaves. For those that prefer things bright and barren, eel loaches will simply go into hiding, never to emerge again.
Eel loaches belong to the Pangio genus, and you’d be forgiven for thinking that this genus contained only the one species. Commercially, Pangio semicincta makes up the majority of imports, and that’s the one you’re likely to have already met on your travels (even if it will have been sold as a kuhli/coolie loach).
At this time, FishBase lists 35 known Pangio species. I know of one more described species (the subterranean Pangio pathala) which has yet to be added, while fish collectors report on variants that don’t correspond to any that we know so far. All have worm-like bodies (the technical term is vermiform), and all remain small, with sizes ranging from 2.6cm for P. bhuja (the second of the two known subterranean Pangio) up to the ‘colossal’ P. anguillaris at 12cm.
Pangio aquarium care is pretty straightforward, but at the same time, most aquaria aren’t right for Pangio. Despite being dinky fish, they like space to roam, so don’t get any if your tank is under 45cm long. They also like things acidic (sometimes really acidic) so don’t bother if your pH is north of 7.0 (ideally, it’ll be closer to 6.0), and don’t keep them in anything harder than 12°H.
Choice of substrate is a big factor, because they burrow
