Hi guys,
I think the name is actually rather sweet and unpretentious and it was what started my interest in this species.
We have sweets in the UK known as liqourice allsorts and they have a dark and white strips that is a bit like the fish.
Without newcomers to this topic, interest in this species may have a higher barrier and growth of experience and dedicated keepers and breeders may decline. Any help this species can get from the more “commercial” side of the industry can’t be all that bad as without that first spark of interest people may be put off and the extinction of the species will just be sped up since no one would get to understand or care enough.
For example, people in the UK tend to shy away from anything which connotes pompousness or elitism. A fish called the “pompous gourami” would do the personality of this fish little favours here as it already has a reputation for being a difficult breed. Whilst I understand Peter’s perspective that this species is indeed very special, surely that should come out of getting to know what the fish can offer in terms of beauty and personality rather than from what it is called.
I respect anybody’s enthusiasm and dedication to this species but I don’t think the term “licorice gourami” is dull or false. Rather it is something a child might find magical and “delicious”. And if the aim is partly to educate the masses then I say get them when they are young.