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Using acidic water is important for digestion, skin mucus (actually removing the part that is not required), skin itself (as it is uncomfortable for the fish to have the pH set to high) and so on..
Of course there are some bacteria and fungi in this water. There is a stream, somewhere in Europe, where pH drops as low as 2! And there is still presence of some lifeforms.
The differnce between Bornean swamp and British soil is the insanely thick layer of peat over the aquifer. In such a situation there are almost no bacteria or fungi that are able to travel through the peat barrier, as opposite to the soil, where the transfer of mikrobes is easy becouse of almost stable pH throughout the whole volume of the soil. In case of the peat-barrier the pH changes drasticly from neutral to very acidic, so many bacteria and fungi are killed in the process.
At least this is what I read and got from my deduction.
That’s not the kind of acid you want to have in your aquarium. You want acids resulting from the decomposition of peat moss and leafs. I’m not sure about the english name of these, but probably humic acid, and some tanins.
Of course. If I was to succesfully breed Paros, then I will present them on the Uppersilesian Aquaristic Association, so don’t make me the devil of the hobby ;] I’ll most gladly contribute to the cause, but I will do it on my terms and in my way.
Whichever way I will go, I’ll make sure, that the aquarists of Upper Silesia will now about the fish, and surely, some will also try keeping and breeding them.
Btw, I added oak leaves and right now it became a real Black Water tank. Gh i around 6 right now, with the corresponding pH. The tank is peacefull and ready to house Paros. ANd as I said, if I were to face defeat on my terms, then I will try doing it your way, but not the other way around.
As to the fish. Photos made by Marcin are something, that keeps me waiting for young Parosphromenes since I first saw them. I made them a forstress, and if it falls, than it will be my defeat. If it comes to that, than I will try to dedicate up to 3 smaller tanks to breed them enough to atone for my mistakes. So don’t worry. I won’t make a dent in your mission.
About C. Simoni, I found very confusing info. Some people are sure, that they are to be kept in acidic water with gh<1. Others say that they are shrimps that need salty water to procreate, so they are not to be considered as a species well cooping with soft acidic surrounding. I for that matter was told not to get them for my aquarium, as they are supesedly not good for BW tank.
Still I think, that if some Paros are offered as WF individuals, than it shouldn't be that hard to get some of those shrimps. Even if Paros keeping and breeding is a small niche, it should be enough to keep tem for "own purposes". If WF Parosphromenus cost around 50zł - 15 Euros, than how expensive could they be? 20 Euros for a starter colony?
I think that this is the move to be considered.
If this is the case, are there any suggestions as to what kind of shrimps may be beneficial for paros to live with? In the “Why are the Licorice Gouramis the way they are” by Martin Hallman, which is availible on the P-P website we can see such a sentence:
Licorice Gouramis are never found en masse in their native
waters, but they may occur in large numbers together with
shrimps in suitable places, such as beneath overhanging
turf or among the masses of small roots in holes in the
bank beneath trees.So the date of the recording probably isn’t the first time such a behaviour was observed. Nevertheless, I believe that these shrimps should be mentioned in some way by teams reaserching the Licorice gouramis, and one who is able and willing should look it up.
So the question is, are these shrimps mentioned somewhere and is it possible to introduce them into aquaristic trade?
I did, and still do appreciate the comments, and in days to come if first few spawns fail I will get them their own 20 liters cube, or two if my father will be willing to participate in project.
These Paros are not wild ones. They are aquarium bred and I would never risk such a setup with F0 fish. I want to breed them, but I also want to see for myself how this community works. If, and only if, it is succesfull, than I will be overwhelemed with joy. If it fails – not a big problem, becose I will be able to match them and find the best pair suited for breeding. I could probably even try to create a rotation breedery, where I could breed a pair intesively for some time, than allow them to take a ‘longer vacation’ in a community tank.
I believe that this bigger tank is a good place to let them grow, learn their share of survival and then allow fish with proper behaviour to breed and – eventually – sell/give them to people willing, and able. Male who had to endure harsher conditions in a community tank should be better at bringing more fry up.
Wouldn’t a male able to raise offspring in such an aquarium be far more precious to the community as whole than those who aren’t?It will be also usefull for studying them, and their behaviour.
I believe, that whatever happens it is a win-win situation.
The first version of the post was deleted due to accidental “backspace” and thus leaving the site. I’ll try to keep it short this time.
1_As to the plants and negligible mineral content:
Me and my friends in Poland are able to grow these plants in RO water without any real problems. They do not grow in an astonishing rate, but survive and insure, that all the negligible mineral content will be replaced into plant matter, removing them from water. Here’s my friends Betta aquarium on pure RO water. No problems with plants so far:
2_As to the Boraras as unwanted neighoburs:
I strongly believe in the survival of the fittest and becouse of that I choose not to breed intensively as I think, that it might pollute the gene pool with treats that would normally be “deleted” by the nature. I strongly believe, that years of intensive breeding without any natural (or stimulated) selection might only result in preserving the form of the Paros but the behaviour. As observed with cichlids in the first captivity bred generations, the breeding mechanisms aare weakening with each generation in captivity.
In my opinion this might lead to crippling next generations of Paros making them unusable if ever were to be reintroduced to wilderness.3_As to feeding the fry.
If fish are fed with grindal worm, then the fry also shoul be able to eat smaller ones, that were not cought by any other fish becouse of their small size. In the layer of peat they are relatively safe, and when the leafes will be introduced it should become the Paros stronghold. If any of the fry were to wander too far from safety – look up 2_
This post is about four times shorter then the first version, but I think my point is taken. I’d rather have 1-3 Paros fry at a time. that are suited for survival, than lazy captive fish.
