Can Coolie loach Live With Neon tetra?

These two live on different floors of the same tank. Kuhli loaches are peaceful with one another and with other fishes, with no reports of them harming tankmates, and they spend the day buried in sand or packed into a crevice while the neons hold the middle water. The loach's 10 cm is misleading: it is a slender, worm shaped fish that forages through the substrate with its barbels.

Water needs planning, because the kuhli has the narrower range. It takes pH 5.5 to 6.5 and 21 to 26 °C, so aim at roughly pH 6 to 6.5 and 22 to 25 °C, soft and acidic, which is where neons look their best anyway.

Both want company. Buy at least five or six kuhlis, since in captivity they pack themselves into a single nook together, and 8 to 10 neons. Fine sand is not optional for the loach, and shaded cover, wood and leaf litter suit both. One caveat: a kuhli will eat eggs and fry, so it is not a tankmate for a planned spawning.