Hi Peter, thanks for your input.
I think everyone is picking me up wrong. I don’t want a community tank. I’ve never had a community tank. My interest is as a conservationist. If Paros are as endangered as they are, and I’m very sure they are, then my interest lies in helping conserve any species that are endangered along with them. I know that isn’t the concern here on the project, it’s a personal concern. My only thoughts were that if there was a catfish from the same habitat and it would safely live in the tank with Paros, then that would be a bonus. I see it as no different to others doing so with Boraras. It’s not something I intend to set out and do. If I ever get Paros, they will be housed on their own for breeding, as will other species. Then possibly, I need to find suitable accommodation for the young and that might mean housing them temporarily with another species. I’d rather that species was from the same habitat.
I’m not at all fixated on catfish, I’ve never, ever owned a catfish. It’s just that for some reason catfish came to mind. In conservation (I’m not trying to teach my grandmother how to suck eggs) we need to expand our own minds and consider everything in that habitat that is endangered. As I see things, the biggest threat is burning down forest to replant with oil palm. Ornithologists, I’m sure, have concerns about the many bird species vanishing, as do entomologists and botanists etc. etc. But they don’t only concern themselves with one genus. As an orchidist I never concerned myself with one genus, not even one family, but all species within that habitat. They are all endangered.
My point is not to get the Parosphromenus Project to open it’s door to those other species, I know this isn’t the place for it, but I need to know what’s happening with other species in those habitats. How do they interact etc. It’s a personal project that shouldn’t encroach on the Paro project, except if I was to see some very interesting interaction between Paros and another species.
I’m sure when people catch Paros, they catch other fish, but because they are wanting Paros, they will probably throw the other species back. We never know what has been thrown back. We have information on shrimp that they feed on, especially young, but for some strange reason no one brings any back to find a method of propagation. Why? I’m not speaking of commercial catchers for the trade, but Paro people who spend time going out there to catch their own fish.
Where would one get those species? At the moment, I don’t know. But when I first heard of Paros around 1970 they were not to be found either 🙂
I must read through a lot of information on here again, I was under the impression that Paros were found in large ponds/small lakes as well as streams. That was remiss of me.
Bill