Parosphromenus

Type locality is 'Kota Tinggi, Mawai-Desaru road, Johor, Peninsula Malaysia' and this species is endemic to a small portion of eastern Johor state, Peninsular Malaysia around the towns of Kota Tinggi, Mawai and Desaru. A great deal of its original habitat has been lost via deforestation and other human alterations and it's considered in grave danger of extinction.

Type locality is given only as 'Sarawak state, Borneo, East Malaysia', with the material deriving from Sibu Division in western Sarawak. It's since been recorded at other localities within Sarawak, to which it appears endemic, but it remains unclear whether all represent a single species or not with those from the area around Lundu in northwestern Kuching Division in par...

It's care requirements, disposition, and especially conservation status dictate that it should be maintained alone or alongside a group of small, peaceful cyprinids such as Boraras or Sundadanio spp. Likewise, different Parosphromenus spp. should not be kept together since the females of many are very difficult to tell apart and some are undoubtedly capable of hybridising.

This species is not generally available in the aquarium hobby on a commercial basis but is occasionally collected and distributed by private aquarists. It's name is sometimes misapplied to commercial shipments of other species, and there also exist a number of other fish with rounded caudal-fins that may or may not be conspecific, including P. sp. 'blue line' and P. sp. 'Selatan' from Sumatra.

P. deissneri was the only recognised member of the genus for almost a century following its description in 1859. As a result its name has and continues to be widely misapplied in both aquarium and ichthyological literature although it's probably always been very rare in the hobby, while a number of fishes previously identified under the name from other pa...

Parosphromenus spp. have been grouped arbitrarily based on courtship behaviour in males which adopt a 'head-down', 'head-up', or 'horizontal' position depending on species. P. harveyi belongs to the former, most abundant, assemblage in which the male assumes a near-vertical position with the head lowermost and fins splayed during nuptial displays.

This species is said to be slightly easier to maintain than the majority of congeners and is therefore a recommended choice for those new to maintaining Parosphromenus spp. in the aquarium. It's occasionally available on a commercial basis and we've seen it traded as 'moonspot licorice gourami' in the past. There exist at least three colour forms on...

In males the dorsal, anal and caudal have a black subdistal band bordered on either side by bluish iridescent bands, with the inner one significantly thicker. The pelvic fins are iridescent emerald green with a dark blotch at the base and a subdistal dark spot, while the pectoral fins are hyaline.

Endemic to Central Kalimantan (Kalimantan Tengah) province, Borneo, Indonesia although the full extent of its range remains somewhat unclear. Initial collections were from the southwestern tip of the province, in the Jelai Bila river basin near Sukamara and Lamand basin close to Pangkalan Bun, both of which are tributaries within the Arut drainage, while it's subsequently been recorded in the Benipah river system further east.

This species has occasionally appears in the aquarium trade in substantial quantities but is not an easy species to maintain in captivity and often susceptible to disease post-import. It's sometimes sold as 'ornate licorice gourami'. It's among the smallest members of the gen...

This species has occasionally been traded on a commercial basis and was known as P. sp. 'Manis Mata' prior to description, with the latter apparently referring to a location some 100 km away from the type locality where the fish do not occur. It's said to be slightly easier to maintain than the majority of congeners and is therefore a recommended choice for those ne...

This fish has been widely available in the aquarium trade in recent years and is sometime referred to by the invented name P. 'sintangensis'. It displays a close resemblance to P. bintan and another unidentified fish known to aquarists as P. sp. 'blue line' although the inner bluish bands in the dorsal, anal and caudal fins are perhaps a little narrower in P. sp. 'Sentang' than the other two.

This species has been known in the aquarium hobby since the mid-twentieth century but has almost always been identified as the congener P. deissneri and appears as such in the majority of aquarium literature. It can be told apart from congeners by the colour pattern in adult males (see 'Sexual Dimorphism') plus possession of 11-12 spinous dorsal-fin rays, 13-14 spinous anal-fin rays and 6-8 segmented anal-fin rays.