With paros – a dissappearing male is more often meaning that he is hiding somewhere in a cave, – either with or without eggs.
Of course as Dorothee says, its never 100 procent, – but I have often worried for males that I had not seen for many days, and found out that he was indeed occupied with something else. They tend to simply ‘dissappear’ and I dont see them eat either for long periods.
One thing I would like to ask you about your tank is the amount of ketapang leaves ?
Normally, – depending on the quality I would not put much more than one in a small tank, they can be quite strong in the way they influence ph.
I dont think its a problem, – and perhaps some of the leaves are other kind of leaves, I cannot really tell. Just thought I would mention it.