Filtration systems for paros

[Ryan P]

Hi everyone,

Currently I have a small power filter that hangs off the back of the tank. I use it for proper water circulation to circulate the heat throughout the tank. Would it be better to use a corner filter with bubbler attached instead? Or two corner filters? I think I am going to redo my filtration system to make it suitable for the paros, and would like to know what to get. So would I get a corner filter, cotton, and peat pellets to put inside? I have a 40 gallon tank.

Thanks,
Ryan

[Peter Finke]

I think a tank of 40 gallons is too big for keeping licorice gouramis properly. They are not fish for swimming and they tend to hide. You will not be able to breed them, to raise the young, to feed them, even to find them (the young).
I keep them in 12 liter tanks, 20 are good, also.
In my tank there are no filters whatsoever. Filters are mainly for people who feed the usual industrial food, and this to bigger fish or many fish that produce much waste. You don’t have this problem with Paros.
The only really useful aspect of a filter for Paro-keeping is that it keeps the water moving. But mostly the water movement is to heavy. A small filter driven by air bubbles ist better than any other.
You cannot replace the regular changing of water by filtering. The waste (although it is very little in a Paro-tank) must be removed out of the water-cycle. A filter does not achieve this. It only replaces the waste from flowing freely in the water to a narrow place in the filter. But the water is always drawn through it until you remove it.

But why do you ask this in the category “species”? We have a category “methods”, for instance. We should try to keep the wohle thing clear in order to be able to find things again.

[Ryan P]

I’m sorry can i delete this post and move it to the methods section?

I have moved it to the methods section

[bartian]

Good this comes up. I just spotted some P. bintan “Sentang” fry of about 1cm in my meter tank with Apistogramma and Dicrossus. I’m sure there are a lot more hiding in the big Ceratopteris since they spawn regularly.
I actually think paro’s do fine in bigger tanks if you allow them and their young to hide, although the adults rarely will do so. They are way more active and beautiful in bigger tanks. Also they seem to do a lot better when other species are around.

In most tanks I have a small filter for making sure oxygen is provided, for both fish and tank floor(which is covered with leaves) to prevent anaerobic reduction of waste. In most tanks with only labyrinths(I also keep wild Betta) there’s no filter at all, since they breathe air. In two of my tanks the filter a lot of filter material compared to pump capacity. In this way there isn’t too much water movement in both filter and tank, but most organic waste will be broken down by bacteria. In these two tanks conductivity stays very low. In fact, it doesn’t rise at all, even without any water changing.

[Ryan P]

I tried with my 5 gallon tank to turn the filter off and the water developed a slime on top becoming very stagnant. Is this ok? I thought maybe a small bubble filter on very low would keep some water movement as well as circulate warm water from the heater.

[bartian]

That layer supposedly consits of dead bacteria, died from lack of oxygen. This is the reason for me to use small filters.

[helene schoubye]

But I think that theres maybe not a ‘general rule’ here. I have normally only small tanks of 12 or 20 liters, and I never use either pumps, nor oxygen bubbels or anything really, and I never have problems with bad water conditions or too much build up of waste.
I wanted to write, that I also never have more than a pair in one tank, and that is actually mostly true, – and of course this then means that theres no way two small fish fed on live food is polluting the tank, – at least I have never experienced it.
But then I remember that actually sometimes I have a breeding tank of 12 liters, where a lot of fry survives, and since they are impossible to get out, I sometimes have 10 paros in 12 liter in different sizes from adults to subadult to small small :)..
I might be more aware of changing water for a while, but I do not have filters, and do not get any problems with too much bacteria or stuff on the surface.
So I dont – at least – see your experience with your 5 gallon as any kind of ‘proof’ that water becomes stagnant if you dont circulate it.
I dont say its a bad idea though, if you can find a small bubble filter which can move slow enough to not whirl the whole tank around 🙂 .. I think paros are used to a slow stream, and thats its probably good, – but in very small tanks, with few fish, it can work well.

[Patrick Guhmann]

I use cartridge-bubble-filters i my 25l and 45l aquariums. Larvae cannot be soaked in and the cartridge is easy to clean. Some companies produces big cartridges for large aquariums up to 200l or even more.

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