Hey all,
I'm going to change my 10 gallon QT tank into a breeder for liquorice gourami. It is likely that these are being sold as deissneri but are actually a different variant as there are very few true parosphromenus deissneri available for purchase. That being said this thread will still focus on parosphromenus deissneri because I'm pretty sure that's what I'll be getting.
These fish are native to Bangka a small island in Indonesia. Their natural habitats are slow moving streams and jungle swamps, both of which are highly stained with humic acid and other chemicals released by decomposing organic matter. Such conditions bring the pH to below 4.0 and reduce the KH and GH to somewhere below 1 and 15 ppm respectively. I will be using RO water and tannins to reach said parameters, along with smaller water changes.
However they are rarely found in their natural habitats now, in fact you rarely find their natural habitats in the first place. Due to mining and harvesting of palm oil, the natural habitats for parosphromenus as a whole has been everything but wiped out. Now they are commonly found in roadside ditches or small canals.
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I am debating whether to get 2 or 4. If I get 4 I will be guaranteed at least one female and one male, however if I get 2 there is no telling. The issue with getting 4 is the possibility of fry being eaten by the other adults in the tank. The goal is to get as many fry as the species is endangered and to try and get the fry too as many potential breeders as possible.
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When it comes to breeding these fish are special among the osphronemidae (gourami) as they spawn in caves. They still make bubble nests, but they are hidden under rocks, wood and leaves. This interesting breeding behavior requires the water to have no calcium in it or the eggs will not stick to the roof of the cave and the spawn will fail. These fish are also known to knock the eggs off the roof of the cave the first few times they give it a go.
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I intend to plant it densely for the fry, although they usually live in less planted areas.
I will be planting
Floating - salvinia
Attached (driftwood and rocks) - taxiphyllum barbieri
Midground - red tiger lotus and rotala wallichiito
Background - Cryptocoryne spp. and hygrophila difformis
Carpet - pogostemon helferi
I won't be using CO2.
I will be using a small layer of soil under sand.
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I'm going to be using this for the equipment.
Filter - I decided to go with a sponge filter for the fry and moderate-low flow - QUANEAT Sponge Filter
Lights - Fluval Nano 3.0
Heater - Fluval E 100 watts
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I'll be posting an idea for the layout of the tank later.
I'm going to change my 10 gallon QT tank into a breeder for liquorice gourami. It is likely that these are being sold as deissneri but are actually a different variant as there are very few true parosphromenus deissneri available for purchase. That being said this thread will still focus on parosphromenus deissneri because I'm pretty sure that's what I'll be getting.
These fish are native to Bangka a small island in Indonesia. Their natural habitats are slow moving streams and jungle swamps, both of which are highly stained with humic acid and other chemicals released by decomposing organic matter. Such conditions bring the pH to below 4.0 and reduce the KH and GH to somewhere below 1 and 15 ppm respectively. I will be using RO water and tannins to reach said parameters, along with smaller water changes.
However they are rarely found in their natural habitats now, in fact you rarely find their natural habitats in the first place. Due to mining and harvesting of palm oil, the natural habitats for parosphromenus as a whole has been everything but wiped out. Now they are commonly found in roadside ditches or small canals.
----------
I am debating whether to get 2 or 4. If I get 4 I will be guaranteed at least one female and one male, however if I get 2 there is no telling. The issue with getting 4 is the possibility of fry being eaten by the other adults in the tank. The goal is to get as many fry as the species is endangered and to try and get the fry too as many potential breeders as possible.
----------
When it comes to breeding these fish are special among the osphronemidae (gourami) as they spawn in caves. They still make bubble nests, but they are hidden under rocks, wood and leaves. This interesting breeding behavior requires the water to have no calcium in it or the eggs will not stick to the roof of the cave and the spawn will fail. These fish are also known to knock the eggs off the roof of the cave the first few times they give it a go.
----------
I intend to plant it densely for the fry, although they usually live in less planted areas.
I will be planting
Floating - salvinia
Attached (driftwood and rocks) - taxiphyllum barbieri
Midground - red tiger lotus and rotala wallichiito
Background - Cryptocoryne spp. and hygrophila difformis
Carpet - pogostemon helferi
I won't be using CO2.
I will be using a small layer of soil under sand.
---------
I'm going to be using this for the equipment.
Filter - I decided to go with a sponge filter for the fry and moderate-low flow - QUANEAT Sponge Filter
Lights - Fluval Nano 3.0
Heater - Fluval E 100 watts
--------
I'll be posting an idea for the layout of the tank later.
)
