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Parosphromenus special behaviour. 1
Do all parosphromenus species stand on their head when flashing ? – someone asked me the other day at a presentation.
No – they don’t.
It’s a peculiar thing, that most of the paro-species we know do stand head down when flashing, yet we know of 3 species that do the opposite. When the males do their little dance in front of the female they stand head up.
These 3 species are ornaticauda, parvulus from Borneo and sumatranus from Sumatra.
Ornaticauda and parvulus are normally thought of as paro-species that differ from the others paro-species, in not only this way, — but also in bodyshape, size and general demands.
Scientific work by Wentian Shi, shown in this paper, also suggests that parvulus is a very old species, and in a distinct evolution branch from other species, which might explain the difference. (see https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5060.1.3/45781 )
But sumatranus is different from that , — it reminds of most other species, — as far as we know — except for this one feature with the head-up flashing.
Why the evolution happened like this we don’t know, we can just accept that this is a curious difference between some of the parosphromenus species.
Below photos of the 3 species + one ‘ordinary’ head down flashing species for comparison, P. sp. bintan
Photos 1. Parvulus (credit Helene Schoubye Johansen) 2. Sumatranus (credit David Jones) 3. Ornaticauda (credit Horst Linke) P. sp. bintan (credit H.S.Johansen)
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P. linkei Kottelat 1991
More details please visit our species page on the website https://www.parosphromenus-project.org/en/p-linkei
Parosphromenus linkei inhabits mainly the southern lowlands of Kalimantan Tengah, north of Sukamara and south of Pudukali. Also occours near Pangalabuun. Although wide distribution the species is highly endangered, as the area where it could be found has no natural vegetation any longer and is drained for agricultural purposes.
P. linkei is one of the most attractive parosphromenus species, with its speckled unpaired fins, long filament of both male and females, and it is also one of the less shy and less demanding species of all, and often referred to as a good ‘beginner’ paro.
The caudal fin of the male is larger and has a significantly long filament (up to nearly 1.5 cm), most significant in the males. Both male and female have spotted unpaired fins and on the side of the body, 0 – 3 (often 2) consecutive thick black spots. Some males have several small red dots around these black spots. The body coloration varies from light beige to bronze or even burgundy.
Breeding with parosphromenus linkei is relatively easy compared to other parosphromenus species, it is known to be robust and less sensitive. Sometimes very large bubble nest is built, a clutch can be large for big animal (up to 100 eggs or more)
Source : Peter Finke
Photocredit 2+3 Original habitat of P. linkei, Sukamara, photo Kishii
1 Male, 4 female, 5. nest, 6 fry, 7 male Photo Rafael Eggli
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Parosphromenus paludicola Tweedie 1952
More details please visit our species page on the website https://www.parosphromenus-project.org/en/paludicola
P. paludicola was the second form after ‘deissneri’ recognised clearly as a distinct species due to its structural peculiarities. It was discovered only around 1950 in Terengganu by the curator of the Raffles Museum, M.W.F. Tweedei and got its first description in 1952.
The distribution is very large extended in the north-east of the Malaysian peninsula (province Terengganu), occuring even in southern Thailand as the only licorice gourami species.
The almost total absence of light colours in this unusual species shows that its centre of distribution is not situated in black water. Like other Parosphromenus some of their local variants inhabit black water habitats as well, but opposite to almost all other Parosphromenus forms, they live in clear water, too (but mainly in transitional areas). They prefer lighter biotopes, compared to other species of the genus: their adaptability to man-made water bodies (roadside channels, reservoirs, pond-like structures) is much higher.
P. paludicola is described as quite an unusual species of parosphromenus, as it has some characteristics which is different from other species. This can particularly be observed in the fin structure and in the lack of fluorescent colors in the unpaired fins (with few exceptions). The body appear more elongated. (see https://www.parosphromenus-project.org/en/paludicola.)
Within the species, though, variations occurs quite often in coloration, with beige-brown, bluish-pink, or brown-red or almost entirely red colour. Furthermore fish of most populations are elongated and thin, while others appear compact with higher backs. The ventral fins of all males have very long filaments. The caudal fins of some males are also oval or triangular elongated with several filaments, while others are more rounded with just one middle filament ray
Usually one of the least demanding licorice gouramis, because it is not necessarily dependent on the simulation of pure black water conditions. The species is therefore (together with P. filamentosus or P. linkei) particularly well suited for beginners in the licorice gourami aquarium hobby. The conductivity of the water should be less than 100 micro Siemens /cm, a value between 30 and 50 is considered ideal. The pH value can range between 4.0 and 6.5, the height of the value is not crucial, but a low value can be useful for its antibiotic effect. The addition of humic substances or humic acid-emerging material is also helpful. That the species is not found in pure black water, does not mean that humic substances can be dispensed entirely.
P. paludicola clutches may be among the largest in the genus (up to 100 eggs). A bubble nest is built, but often it remains rudimentary.
P. paludicola is one of the species which the Parosphromenus Project has good success with, — it is being safely kept in good numbers in our CCP programme.
Source Peter Finke, https://www.parosphromenus-project.org/en/paludicola
Photos 1. Male and female (Wentian Shi) 2 + 3 Paludicola habitat (Mohd Illiam Norhakim Lokman) 4. male (David Jones) 5 Paludicola ‘Paka’ (Christian Hinz)
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Almost a year to the day after receiving a gift of 6 young P. paludicola from Chester Zoo our UK co-ordinator Kevin Marshall is pleased to welcome Chester Zoo’s manager Hannah Thomas to his fish house to hand over fry back to the zoo in order to bolster their breeding program.
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In the Parosphromenus Project we also sometimes have the opportunity to go out and present our work in different places. We greatly appriciate this.
Yesterday I visited Malmø Akvarieförening, in Sweden, to talk about parosphromenus species and the work of the Parosphromenus Project. An altogether pleasant evening with interested listeners, and also a fine day walking around in springtime Malmø center. Heres a few pictures 
— Helene
— Helene