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Hi everyone,
I have been interested in paros ever since I read an article about the ‘liquorice gourami’ a year or so ago. However, I’ve never seen them in the flesh, until a month or so ago when our LFS had them for sale. I say ‘them’ – there seemed to be two dark brown fish with a pale fuzzy stripe lying on the bare floor of the tank, avoiding the cockatoo cichlids they were in there with. They bore no resemblance to any pictures I’d seen of paros!
Today, after much pondering, I went to see them again and decided to take a risk and bring them home. The manager told me that they were a pair (difficult to tell as their colouration was very dark), but I took a risk. He let me have them at next to nothing as the female has what looks like an injury to her eye, which I think she will lose. :S
Anyway, I took them home, put them into my specially prepared planted 27l tank (current inhabitants are 2 otos and a temporary farlowella) turned the light off and kept my fingers crossed.
When I returned a couple of hours later to check on them, they had suddenly brightened up. The manager told me that they were p. deissneri, but admitted they could be something else, as their suppliers often get it wrong.
My question is what are they? They appear to be the bintan/gunwani type (based on fin patterning and stocky body shape) but I am a total beginner when it comes to these fish, so am happy to have any guidance, even if it’s just to say that it’s impossible to ID them until they’re in breeding condition? If anyone can help, I’d be grateful. Sorry about the farlowella hogging the picture – the gouramis seem to like him and the otos, so that’s ok. Obviously I’m aiming to breed them so I’ll be reading through all the past posts for information.
Thanks in advance!Hi Parrot1974,
Welcome on the forum. Your request remained unanswered. All experts are probably on holidays B)
I have a small group of P. Bintan since more than a year and confirm that yours pretty much look the same way as mine did when I just got them. Based on your 2 pictures I also believe that it’s couple. They seem to be very well fed. I’d advise a diet plan prior to breeding, and lots of dried oak leaves.
Good luck with them!The reason nobody responded is probably due to the fact it is yet another picture proving nothing except it is indeed a paro. To be honest, I can understand why people give up on telling the same story (“wait for them to show colour/we need better pics/probably a bintan-form”) everytime.
When you have a question, it often saves a lot of time to look through older threads. You’re not the first one with a paro, so you’re probably also not the first one with a question considering determination. Not rarely, your question has been answered before.
In conclusion:
Determination is impossible from these pictures. All I can do is wish you luck in keeping and breeding, and welcome to the project!Thank you Steff and Davy. Bartian, I’m aware that it is tricky to ID young fish, hence the following comment in my original post: “I am a total beginner when it comes to these fish, so am happy to have any guidance, even if it’s just to say that it’s impossible to ID them until they’re in breeding condition?” Thank you for your guidance pointing me towards past posts. I am sure you will be delighted to know that I have read through past posts (as I said I would in my original post) and was merely wondering whether the caudal fin and chunky shape could give any clue at all. No, I’m not offended by a reply saying it’s impossible to tell, but on the other hand it is nice to have some encouragement for people who have just started with liquorice gouramis, as too many people won’t actually care what type they have or bother to try to identify them. I was actually hoping to ID them in order to buy another pair or two, not wishing to create hybrids.
Anyway, thank you for your welcome to the project. I will be keeping an eye out for more liquorice gouramis and am sure I will be back for help with ID once my pair are older/in breeding condition/easily identifiable!
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