The first thing I want to say is a big praise for Kevin that he started this thread on the feeding-question. Feeding is, alongside with water, one of the two clues for successfull Parosphromenus-aquaristics.
Then I should like to add three remarks:
1. As has been said before frozen food is possible but not recommendable. The reasons have been named already. Ease and comfort have limits with these fish, and that’s one of the reasons why caring for them and their offspring is and will be a pretentious form of the hobby. But there is a good level of ease to be possible: that’s food cultures. The same refusal (as I am concerned) holds for Tubifex and bloodworms that live in waters loaden with debris; for me, they will be nearly never safe enough to be given to rare and endangered fish that live in floating fresh water habitats. (I know very well that some friends don’t care for that rejection.)
2. Variation in food is always a good maxime, not only with man, but also with fish. Nevertheless I admit, in winter I am largely dependent on Artemia and Moina. But it is always interesting to see in spring when there are again Culex and other small larvae to be caught, that my licorice gouramis begin displaying and breeding again. A good friend of mine does not believe in that “variation-doctrine”. He says: “The necessary nutrients must be guaranteed, that’s all.” But I don’t think so, seeing my winter-nagyi chasing the first Culex-larvae.
3. A symbiotic aquarium of licorice gouramis and shrimps is a fascinating idea, since several sorts of shrimp must be the most eaten food by them in nature. (But we most certainly do not have those species at hand; I do not know why. The optimum of the many shrimps cared for in those “Nano-aquaria” is not the low pH and the very low conductivity of the water environment of Parosphromenus-fish).
In our tanks many things differ from nature. At one time the shrimps control the licorice’s offspring, at the other it is vice versa. I don’t think that one could realize the dream of a balanced tank with both, simplyfying our feeding-duties to a minimum. If there are enough shrimps to feed them to the fish, it’s OK; but I should never let the shrimps interfere with the wish to rise the offspring of them.
Anyhow, I think this issue is not fully understood presently.
The
PAROSPHROMENUS PROJECT
