Licorice Gouramies

[rdebonis]

I would like to purchase 10 Licorice Gouramis (Parosphromenus ornaticauda), They are very small, around 1" and are peaceful with their own kind. Do you think I could keep them and breed them in a 10 Gallon tank or will I need a larger tank?

[bderen]

I'd say 10G tank might be too small for 10 1" fish. Do they get aggresive when going into breeding mode?

[rdebonis]

Originally Posted by bderen

I'd say 10G tank might be too small for 10 1" fish. Do they get aggresive when going into breeding mode?

I purchased these fish, Parosphromenus ornaticauda and they were extremely tiny about 1 to 2 centemeters. They were definitely not aggressive, hanging out together and appeared to have plenty of room in the tank. I use the word were, because they all died within 1 week. I followed all the advise I could find on these fish. Since they come from Peat Swamps in Borneo, the tank was heavily planted, I kept the pH at 5.5 to 6.0, gH low and used Peat Pellets in the tank as well as Kents Black Water Extract. I fed them live BBS and finely crushed Algae Flakes as recommended in all the articles I could find. The fish were very shy and very slow moving unless startled, so I didn't think anything of this. I thought this is how the species is, in hindsite I now think the fish were either drugged or sick. What ever it was that caused them to die it was internal because the fish showed no outward signs of illness. I did notice that just before they expired they would hang upside down perfectly still and completely vertical in the water column, then they would be gone in about 1 hour. I have a lot of experience with Anabantids and I have never had a fish this delicate or this strange. Ananbantids because they are air breathers usually hang at the surface gasping for air when they are in extreme stress and about to expire. I did however have fair warning that these fish besides being rare are very difficult to keep. Being stubborn, I will probably try them again, though this time from a different seller. In the meantime, I will try Parosphromenus deissneri, a close relative that's easier to keep, not as delicate and much less expensive!

[bderen]

^^^ Sorry to hear, it sucks when the whole bunch goes like that.