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The international platform “rainforest rescue” gives this information:
One of the most powerful opponents of our ‘Save our Borneo’ activists is Wilmar International, the largest palm oil company worldwide.
They act as if no rules apply to them. This company has the rainforest illegally logged and new plantations set up; they drive peasants off their land and arrest them if they defend themselves. Wilmar keeps founding new subsidiaries, and bribes officials to side-step the law.
Therefore, SOB’s boss Nordin sent ‘Rainforest Rescue’ a strategic plan in order to unite our efforts and take action against Wilmar: We are also supported by regional environmentalists of ‘Walhi’, the Indonesian branch of ‘Friends of the Earth’. “We want to sue the Wilmar Group at their headquarters in Singapore for their crimes committed against humans and nature,“ says Nordin. “However, first we will have to gather enough detailed facts and evidence for an absolutely watertight lawsuit.“Their strategic plan is set to run for 18 months and works on all levels, including:
1. Workshops with affected peasant families to discuss land rights and, possibly, draw up maps. Another goal is to inform the population about Wilmar’s modus operandi and how to defend themselves.
2. Training in Forest Management and Land Rights
3. Research and data gathering regarding activities of Wilmar subsidiaries.
4. Workshops on corruption
5. Public relations activities disclosing Wilmar’s law violations as well as any political involvement (multimedia campaign on TV, radio or the internet such as facebook, brochures etc.)
6. Public dialogues between all the parties involved, having politicians, scientists, journalists, environmentalists and victims of the palm oil industry all sit together at one table.
Nordin calls his major offensive against Wilmar International an “Action Plan for a Better Life“.‘Rainforest Rescue’ intends to support this Action Plan with a sum of 10,000 Euros. This money will be well spent because in the past, SOB has already succeeded several times in thwarting some of Wilmar’s plans.
Greg, please understand that I cannot reply to your many questions in detail here. But I shall try to do so in a more general way.
1. The genetic investigations were initiated by a group of young ichthyologists from the Natural History Museum in London and by myself and some others. I have contacted Dr. Steinke who first worked in Germany before he went to Guelph in Canada in order to work for the Fish-BOL-project. They investigate in sea-fish in the first line, but Steinke was interested privately in our question and he did that without any costs beside his official duties. The same happens now in Bern with Dr. Rüber, one of the London team, who has returned to his home Switzerland. He has taken over now from Steinke. All this is without any costs for us.
2. On description: There is nobody officially deciding what should be described or who should do that. In principle every person could do it when he thinks he is able to. But the thing is not easy. We have some descriptions that therefore have remained rather preliminary (harveyi, nagyi …). But they are valid nevertheless. In the last cases the thing was done mainly by Maurice Kottelat, a good expert on south-east Asian fish. But now there seems to be a delay of further descriptions. One can presume for what reasons … And the describer decides on the name. Once the name is given and the descriptions is published, it is final.
A description is official when the name is given and when it is published. There are many things that should be included in such descriptions, but if they miss, the thing is valid nevertheless. That’s a big problem. There is no official “check” or control. But from time to time a scientist who is interested in that genus and thinks to have found some faults or deficiencies decides personally to try a revision of that genus. But it is entirely a matter of personal decision and faculty.
3. Are the fish in captivity regularly compared to wild representatives of their species to notice any possible genetical or phenotypical changes in either population? No, not at all. But the best experts of a genus (and we have all in our project) try to do that as often they have the possibility for it. But that could not be done systematically. Only if they come across some “strange” deviant fish … In our Parosphromenus-project we have some very good experts on our genus who can tell you of many variants and of many questions and problems of the official descriptions.
4. So there is certainly a great need for a revision sometime in the future. And the inclusion of genetic methods will play a big role in that for the hitherto decriptions are restricted to the phenotypes only. Mostly on dead museum-matarial. Even behaviour is nearly not discussed at all… So, for instance, displaying males with head-down and displaying males with head-up are not taken to indicate an important feature for the description. This will surely be an important point in a future revision of Parosphromenus.A very conveniant gravel is http://www.aquaclay.de/
Sylvia’s licorice are P. nagyi from the terra typica near Kuantan. There are other forms of nagyi which slightly differ from this “classical” form, especially the form from the region around the town Cherating.Martin, you will surely report what is going on. Many Parosphromenus-males become darkish when they are in breeding mood or standing in their cave. But females normally tend to become light in that mood, the longitudinal stripes fade and the body appears light brown or even yellowish. But as you have observed correctly, the female fins – normally without any colours and transparent – become a little coloured, different according to the species. Often there are brownish or blackish tinges or even reddish markings in the fins. Very different to this normal colouration things happen in the female P. paludicola from the location Wakaf Tapei: they become darker during courtship and spawning. A strange thing that may indicate even a species diversity.
By the way, I have never seen a licorice gourami jumping. I know that some people tell this (including our master-breeder Günter Kopic), so one has to take it serious. But I have never observed it. Normally the water surface isn’t existing for them. Only during bubble nest building (what is done by filamentosusrather excessively, but by many other species very carelessly) the males swim repeatedly to the surface to fetch air.P. parvulus as P. ornaticauda may be a bit difficult. Sometimes, it works at the outset, but sometimes it will not. It would be of advantage if you could look into the cave in order to see what happens with the eggs. Could they be fixed at the top of the cave by the male or do they sink to the bottom again and again? This is probably due to wrong (too hard) water. Do they disappear after one or two days? Mostly it is impossible to get the cause clear. But there are observations (e.g. from Horst Linke and myself) that a very low pH could help. Master-breeder Günter Kopic once had success only with a pH of 2.8!! This pH has been proven by control-measurements with several electronic equipment. However, I would not repeat that experiment. But a pH from 3.0 on upwards is surely possible. In my case the eggs did no longer disappear when I lowered the pH from about 5.3 to 4.4.
But there can be quite a number of other causes. In your case everything may be in order. Two days after spawning the young are not hatched.The newest informations from the geneticists say that they have very different results on the genetic codes of different samples of “linkei“. I am not really surprised since there are at least three phenomenologically different linkei: 1. silvery body and fins, 2. brownish body and fins, 3. ten or mor small red dots around the black spots on the body’s side. The spec. “Seruyan” may be included here.
So keep them separated from other linkei. At present we know all these as “linkei”.If the opallios are an old strain, it is most likely that they are from Sukamara. If the alfredi are from Peter Beyer, they are from Sedili. Yes, the difference in parade-types is most striking. It is highly probable that the head-up licorice gouramis do belong to another genus, at least a sub-genus. The great puzzle is sumatranus. It looks a bit like the head-down paraders, but it’s parading head-up like parvulus and ornaticauda. And there seem two types to exist, a sleak one and a stouter one. But the male doesn’t perform that crazy zig-zag-dance around the female as the other two do.
Nico, I just replied to you with a long note, but then a sudden interruption by a friend forced me offline and – since I had not saved anything, all was gone. So I try to write some of it again.
You are a happy man and we are happy people since we have Olivier Perrin. He is a remarkable man, a musician who is one of our best breeders of licorice You are very lucky to have received that four species from him, and now (only days later) even fry of all already!
All those species are of great value to the project: 1. opallios, since we have only fish from the trade (without location) which are somewhat frail; mine have died some weeks ago, others do not better. You have fish with location, that’s good! Then 2. tweediei. The original location Ayer Hitam has been fully destroyed since long. There are some locations left, but they are severely anthropogentically transformed; the fish live at the edge of their possibilities. And they give us puzzles to solve: When Peter Beyer caught them in 2008, they were all red (as they “should” be). When he caught them at the same place in 2009 they were all green … How are yours? Then 3. alfredi: Formerly, we had several variants form several places. Now there are only a few bad places left and often the animals are frail too. And there is an additional puzzle: Some travellers tell us that just at the main alfredi-place swim nagyi! This should be impossible, but it obviously is not. How did the nagyi get there? And will they suppress the alfredi? We don’t know. So be happy and breed them! And the biggest puzzle: 4. parvulus . Formerly we knew only one or two tiny locations. But since Horst Linke’s visits in 2007 and 2008 we know that parvulusseems to be the most widespread licorice gourami of all! Inhabiting a huge area of hundreds of square kilometers.
But: The newest information comes from geneticist Dr. Rüber (Switzerland). Investigation of parvulus from different locations display very different genetic codes! Are several species involved? Nobody knows.
My males (from Babugus) develop very red anals and dorsals, that I have never seen before. Most males develop only a few red dots (see Horst’s picture in the recent “Amazonas”-issue).
Therefore you are a lucky guy. Try to raise that fry of all your four rare species, and the we must distribute it to the best breeders we have!!
So, I think now I have reconstructed most of my message that I lost half an hour before.I am inclined to agree with Richard, but there are other data that make me more cautious in general respect.
In this case, everything from the phenotypic aspect votes for nagyi. Not the dots in the ventrals only (as Richard points out correctly), but the whole ventrals which are very short with much shorter filaments than in alfredi. In fact the ventrals of nagyi are the strikingly shortest in all Licorice Gouramis. And finally it’s the stout appearance of the fish; nagyi are markedly stouter in their bodily shape than alfredi.But although I am fairly sure from these phenotoypic arguments (and in this case related to that locations near Kota Tinggi in Western Malaysia), the newest general informations from the geneticists are really disturbing. Dr. Lukas Rüber (Bern) investigated a series of fish that all was sent as phenotypic linkei, but he found rather different genetic structures. Yes, I can remember that I have seen very different “linkei”: some with sivery body and fins and some with brownish body and fins, some with straight filaments of the ventrals and some with arrowed filaments, and some with many nice red dots around the black side-spots, and other without.
And the same holds for parvulus. We all remember Horst Linkes information of 2009/2010 that this species is the most widely distributed among all licorice gouramis. And there were small phenotypic differences, fish from Babugus looked different form fish from Tangkiling and other places. Now we learn from Lukas that he finds rather big genetic differences between his samples from different places. What does this mean? We don’t know presently.
All we can do at the moment is: wait and be cautious. The whole story of Parosphromenus has not been told already. There are surprises still possible. And that riddle around Kota Tinggi has not been solved, too. For if they are indeed nagyi: How is it possible that they occur there? Have they simply been overlooked formerly? And what happened to the alfredi? Are they still there? For all who love problems this is an exciting situation!
Again I should like to ask if any one knows whether the t r u e deissneri from Bangka is on any stock list in Asia? Clearly, that name is to be found on most lists, but the fish sold as “deissneri” are not that species. We have only a few pairs left in Europe; it’s a pity. Even some good breeders have lost their stocks during the last year by accidents or Oodinium. The real deissneri are very impressive fish not to be mistaken for another species. And sonce it is endemic on Bangka island it is highly endangered. We should and would give it full attention.
Patrick, you are lucky. In fact, we have quite a few members who have some flocks of young pahuensis swimming at present. That was completely different in 2008. At that time pahuensis was the only species of our genus that was completely non-existent in Europe. I knew that only some months ago the friends of the “Team Borneo” from Japan had managed to catch some specimen in Kalimantan Timur and brought them to Japan. (One should know: Most travellers to Kalimantan travel to K. Tengah or K. Barat, but only very few to K. Timur. P. pahuensis is the most easterly occuring species of Parosphromenus).
Then in June 2008 I gave a lecture on Parosphromenus in Berlin in front of members of the EAC (European Anabantoid Club), and after I had finished president Horst Linke handed a small package over to me as a reward. I was absolutely sure that fish were inside. Linke had been to Sumatra a short time ago and found that fine spec. Langgam, and so I hoped that he gave me my first ever Langgam. But I was wrong.
He told me to open the wrapping and have a look in front of all people. What I saw produced the greatest astonishment for me since long: I saw a pair of pahuensis! And I said: “But this is impossible! I know that there are no pahuensis in all Europe since quite a number of years! There are only some in Japan since a few weeks time!”
“Well”, Horst said, “now you have some. But it was rather difficult to get them here from Japan, I tell you tonight.” And he did. I don’t repeat that here, it’s too long a story. I was extremely pleased and excited, I never would have thought of such a suprise.
And since then we have pahuensis here in Europe. And should not loose them again!!! So, be lucky and get them breed.Martin, the fish you photographed is definitely not filamentosus. It’s a male and it is not too young. It’s appearance shows markers of a male P. spec. of about 7 – 10 months. Male filamentosus show a very elongated caudal with a clear black filament rather early in their life. When very young, the filament is very small, but the fish you showed at the picture should have that typically coloured elongated caudal with the tyoical black filament. Look at the typical colour of that caudal; it’s a very constant marking. (The picture I add here is a famous shot by Hans-Joachim Richter from the beginnings of the eighties of the last century).
But maybe there are real filamentosus mixed in the group you have bought, and still smaller. You can only wait and see. Then we will perhaps recognize waht the species of that fish is what you showd to us.
And I understand your difficulties: I shall bring no fish with me when I visit Poland in May. Later this year you will come to Germany and take fish home.Wojtek, you are perfectly understood. Be welcome!!
Your fish might really be filamentosus, your description mentions the clear filament at the end of the male’s caudal fin. And there must be a colouration in that fin, reddish at the centre and bluish at the margin. The whole caudal is not rounded, but slighty elongated.
It is very well possible that the trade has mixed up two different species. That would be rather dangerous because we cannot idebtify the females very well. But at first we have to wait and let the animals develop.No Martin, I am sorry, but this is definitely not filamentosus. It might be a form of rubrimontis or opallios, but the colours are not yet clearly to be seen. It may even be the most normal spec. Sentang or a similar variant from Sumatra. It’s definitely a male. Do you have females too?
The male filamentosus have a distinct caudal (see our species account) and are not to be mistaken. This is to be seen with half-grown specimen already.
At any rate: keep the new fish in both sexes together and don’t mix it up with other bintan-like fish. They might easily hybridize, and then nobody can say them apart again.
If you are seriously interested in other species and if you could travel in the next months to the west border for a short visit in Germany (say in Riesa or Weisswasser or Horka) I could arrange that a certain amount of pairs of different species could be shipped to friends of the project over there and you could fetch them.
And perhaps a still better idea: I shall visit Poland for an ornithological excursion in May. I shall go by train to Warsaw, but there is very limited time. I could take some Parosphromenus for you with me if you could fetch them on the spot so that we do not have to wait (it’s a group!). Please write to my personal mail address (I think you have it).Martin, good, you have found one of them and managed to take a photograph. Show us more of this, if you find them …
But be careful with feeding microworms. They are very easy to grow, but they sink fastly to the bottom. If they decay in greater quantity they could pollute the water. Try to feed other food, too: Paramecium, Artemia. A very good food is the vinegar eels that look quite simmilar to microworms but live in vinegar. They are still a bit smaller than the microworms, still more easy to reproduce and keep for months, but must be filtered from their vinegar, of course before fed. The best advantage is that they don’t sink fastly to the bottom and live longer in the tank.
