Great to hear that the soft tap water here (with addition of IAL, alder cones etc) just may be right for paros. I have already started experimenting with this.
As for where I acquired mine…. to be honest, they were an impulse buy (of which I am NOT prone to, I usually research species I am about to get quite thoroughly). I was in my LFS about a week ago, and spotted a lone pale licorice gourami languishing in a bright tank with many other large fish. I felt sorry for it, I remembered reading about them – that they are very very shy and like soft water and live food (of which I have both)….so, I asked to buy it…as the employee fished it out, another one shot out into the net, so I ended up taking home two. Apparently they had been sitting in the shop for weeks.
I put them in a 20 long heavily planted tank along with boraras species (6.2 pH, 1KH,2GH).
By the next morning, they had coloured up dramatically, and it seems I have lucked out and acquired a male/female pair. I placed a few PVC tubes in the tank, and the male immediately claimed it, the female went pale, almost white – got those black bars over her eyes…and eggs appeared stuck to the ceiling of the tube. Unfortunately they were only there for one day before disappearing. (KH too high, I;m guessing?)
I realize they need to be in a species tank, with softer water, and I am in the process of setting one up for them. In the meantime, reading and learning as much as I can 🙂
I believe they are p.sp.sentag (which I believe are one of the most commonly traded ones?)