Deissner's Licorice Gourami

Geographic Origin and Biotope: Type species of the Parosphromenus genus, endemic to the peat rivers (Baturusa, etc.) on the Island of Bangka (Indonesia). Severely fragmented and endangered habitat. Lives hidden in slow forest pools and canals, where the water is an extreme mixture of dark humic acids derived from piles of branches and decaying leaves layered on the bottom for meters of thickness. Sunlight almost never reaches the substrate.

Taxonomy and Morphology: An endangered micro-labyrinth fish (Parosphromenus). The entire genus contains dozens of micro species very difficult to identify visually. It has a compressed, very small body (rarely touches 4 cm / 1.5 inches), with a typical elongated ovoid shape. It is a frail and very slow fish, suited only to slip between submarine leaf blades.

Social Behavior: The "Peat Ghost". It has pathological shyness and vulnerability. Spends its days holed up in the dark. When it is calm and the male enters heat, it performs fascinating territorial and nuptial parades: it positions itself upside down and opens its fins like sails to impress females, without ever resorting to lethal violence. It is totally defenseless against any moderately active or enterprising fish.

Coloration and Sexual Dimorphism: Ebony and Neon Beauty. In neutral conditions it has a yellowish/straw background color crossed by thick horizontal black stripes (hence "licorice"). But the displaying male is a masterpiece: the stripes on the body darken to ink black, and the wide rounded fins show off a magnificent RED BROWN iridescent marginal band bordered internally and externally by a thin flashing metallic neon BLUE/GREEN line. Females are dull, sandy and show only the phobic camouflaged dark longitudinal bands.

Tank Setup: Demands "The Blackwater Leaf Crypt" (Tank min. 30-40 cm / 12-15 in for a pair/trio). To be bred EXCLUSIVELY in dedicated excellence tanks. No strong lighting, no demanding modern plants. Inert bottom covered by a permanent layer of exotic botanical leaves (Catappa, Oak, Alder, dark twisted roots) and tiny caves made from empty camera film canisters, blind bamboo canes or carved coconut shells. The water must remain amazingly phobic deaf lethal dead calm.

Feeding and Diet: Extreme insectivorous Micro-Predator. Does not eat and will NEVER look at sadistic lethargic useless silly beaten asphyxiated consumptive dry industrial food. Claims exclusive multi-daily feedings of home-bred live micro-food: newly hatched brine shrimp nauplii, microworms, grindal and, occasionally, very small frozen bloodworms or waved daphnia magic tender amazing lethal alive.

Water Quality: Conservationist Purist Chemistry (Absolute Black Peat). Breeding in tap water is a rapid death sentence due to bacterial infections or Oodinium. Demands 100% RO (Reverse Osmosis) water barely remineralized with rare salts: zero hardness (KH 0, GH 1-2). The pH MUST remain acidic and stable (4.0 - 5.5). The tank must be protected from polluting fluctuations with microscopic sadistic fetid asphyxiating partial water changes.

Compatibility and Cohabitation: Aquarium model: "Exclusively Monospecific for Conservation". Never pair it with other species. Its slowness, extreme delicacy and need for darkness would make it an immediate victim of tragic lethal deaf drowned asphyxiated depressed phobic competitive stress. The only recommended breeding is in small silent and isolated mystic amazing dark devout monospecific colonies.

Aquarium Reproduction: Architect of Submerged Inverted Nests (Cave-spawning Bubblenester). Builds very small bubble nests attached to the CEILING of tiny dark caves, under dead leaves on the bottom or in blind amazing magic small tubes. The male twists upside down inviting the female. After the embrace, the large eggs (up to 40) are placed in the vault of the cave. The female must be removed; the father will fanatically guard in the dark until the emergence of the microscopic larvae that need voracious sadistic infusoria.

Risks and Diseases: Extinction fish, mortality close to 100% in wrong lethal amazing ignorant silly sadistic drowned asphyxiated hands. Fatal immune collapse in waters with pH above 6.0 or hard: corrodes with fungi, white cotton wads and lethargic amazing tragic mortal velvet disease. Consumptive starvation wasting if forced to disgusting amazing tragic dry flakes. Sensitive to sudden massive changes or aspiration of cold surface air phobic lethargic deaf terminal pneumonia.