looking for someone who will take my paros

This is really exemplary!
Hugues van Besien is a well-known expert of anabantoid fish and a good friend of the Parosphromenus-Project; in fact, he is the translator of our website into the French language.
What he does here should be a model for all who are forced somehow to give their collection of valuable fish away because they foresee a difficult time to come. I know of at least five similar cases in which no such attention was payed to that moment, and a valuable collection of licorice gouramis was distributed in all directions, mostly by giving the fish to an ordinary pet shop. I know of merely no such shop which is able or willing to provide the special tanks with special water and special food, much hiding and low lighting, and so these rare fish must stand adverse life conditions until some average aquarians buy them as a supplement for their community tank. That’s the reality. In other cases these fish were distributed at a meeting or fish-fair to interested aquarians personally, but nearly none of them was equipped mentally or by equipment to house or even propagate those fish adquately.
Therefore congratulation, Hugues, to your idea of writing this, well in advance, so that there is enough time to plan that transaction for a good end.
Hugues’ stock contains two species that are rare and difficult to get hold of even in the middle of Europe: P. parvulus and P. ornaticauda. Not many Paro-aquarists who are able to breed other species succeed with these two either.
So, let’s hope that things end well by finding one or two persons who are willing and equipped to keep and further breed this stock. I gladly will help by including the case into a newsletter (and I gladly will do the same in similar cases). It’s very good indeed that Hugues announces this months before the critical moment will come. We all should conceive of this as a model how to behave if a similar situation is foreseen in one’s own life.

Andy (Vale) I am also a new starter to Paro’s, although I have kept and bred fish for 35+ years. I currently have 2 pairs of P filamentosa.

I have 10 P bintan coming on Tuesday, really looking forward to it.

I would be prepared to assist in keeping/distributing these fish too, but I doubt it will be possible to get them to the UK.

You should get in touch with Colin Dunlop of the Fish Hut (Scotland) he has Paro’s and will post them. You can find him on Facebook, or I can let you have his email address.

It is just as Paul says: The main problem is getting such fish via parcel shipped to the UK. Temperature is the main problem. Paros can survive four or five days without problems in tiny plastic bottles hiding below a leaf because they don’t swim very much. But the temperature should not fall below 15 degrees Celsius. And we really don’t know how long the parcel will take to reach it’s final destiny. More than a week and things get critical. But maybe there is a solution, even for Hugues’ fish? Tell it here!
Generally speaking: There was no problem in Britain as Paro’s are concerned as long as Allan Brown was active as one of the best breeders of these fish ever. Every year he bred many species and variants with great success and brought all of them to the continent. But about three years ago he quit all his fishkeeping, and now Britain is a “distressed area” in this respect. It’s a pity!
In Germany, the many pupils of Dr. Walther Foersch have established a wide net of breeding Paro’s; nearly all species and quite a few variants are available. Our distribution network works quite well, but now winter is approaching; this will hamper the exchange of these fish over long distances.
But let me remind you of an important date: next autumn, 2013 (!), 28./29th September, we will organize in Hamburg the first international meeting of the Parosphromenus-Project (with lectures by M. Hallmann, H. Linke and others, simultaneously translated). Maybe, some American or Asian visitors will come, too; I shall ask Olivier Perrin from Paris to talk to us and so on. And there will be at least ten species available in greater numbers (among them two forms of nagyi, of linkei, filamentosus, quindecim, spec. Langgam, harvey, possibly parvulus, ornaticauda, and others). We would be very glad if some visitors from Britain would come and take many of these fish back home for their friends. We could and should organize this well in advance, beginning now.
So, I hope, Hugues will find a way for his fine collection, maybe in Britain, but that is up to him and the opportunities that we need for such a travel. The other thing is the long-term schedule: please note that date and place that I mentioned. There will be more information on it in newsletters to come.
### I just see the last posting of Andy’s now, it obviously was written simultaneously with me writing my message. Andy: a very good idea! We have some breeders with many species. If you come around I can organize the contacts and you could catch (nearly) as many fish as you want. If this i sthe right way, then write to me personally using: peter.finke@t-online.de

Generally speaking: There was no problem in Britain as Paro’s are concerned as long as Allan Brown was active as one of the best breeders of these fish ever. Every year he bred many species and variants with great success and brought all of them to the continent. But about three years ago he quit all his fishkeeping, and now Britain is a “distressed area” in this respect. It’s a pity!

Its such a shame that myself and Andy (and no doubt others) have missed Allan and his Paro’s, it sounds like he really was someone I would love to meet and hear about his experiences with Paro’s and learn some of the “tricks of the trade” that obviously made him so successful, there is no doubt that an awful lot of hard work went into his endeavours.

But let me remind you of an important date: next autumn, 2013 (!), 28./29th September, we will organize in Hamburg the first international meeting of the Parosphromenus-Project (with lectures by M. Hallmann, H. Linke and others, simultaneously translated). Maybe, some American or Asian visitors will come, too; I shall ask Olivier Perrin from Paris to talk to us and so on. And there will be at least ten species available in greater numbers (among them two forms of nagyi, of linkei, filamentosus, quindecim, spec. Langgam, harvey, possibly parvulus, ornaticauda, and others). We would be very glad if some visitors from Britain would come and take many of these fish back home for their friends.

That is quite some time away but is something I would really like to attend if funds and work commitments permit, particularly if some other UK people would accompany me.

Regards

Paul