Hi Stefanie
I think the reason we are always talking about one pair in one tank, is because of course it is always recommendable to try to breed the paros that we have. We encourage people to try to breed them, because they are rare and special – and they often thrive really good in that way – one pair together.
And also because, for most people, if they think that it is possible to have licorice gouramies in tanks with other fish they will very often be dissappointed and it will often not be successfull, because it needs to be a speciel kind of set up, and most people will not provide that.
But I think, that of course it is possible, and sometimes really a very good idea. In your case, the 27 liter is ideal for a pair or a smaller group. My experience is that they can feel very comfortable with small tank mates such as boraras.
Because I have quite a lot of fry, and in some cases too many of one sex (at the moment I have 10 p. harveyi males and 2 females + some unidentified young ones) – and I have a big 60 liter in which I have some of the males together with boraras. In this tank I have filter and some current, and a lot of plants. I actually think that I see these fish much more than some of the ones that are in smaller one-pair-tanks. So it is quite possible.
I keep the same waterparameters in this tank though, so ph 5.0 and very soft. The plants here can really mostly be javamos and javafern.
In other tanks I also have sometimes smaller groups of paroes together, – and sometimes they also breed in those tanks. Possibly not if there are boraras though, but if only one species of paroes, they might.
A big tank, though, 180 liter, I think is too big. First of all you would need to fill it up with water which is the right parameters, and that is quite a lot. And if your paroes dont feel ‘safe’, they will hide and in such a big tank you might never see them at all, they might hide.
I think its a question of that if we have the opportunity to breed, we should try. But that doesnt mean that its not possible in other ways, its just not so easy.
You can see a thread with a big tank with paros here https://parosphromenus-project.org/en/forum/26-Pictures/468-Toms-Bucket-Of-Mud—Paro-sp-sentang.html
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