TankBud

Bintan licorice gourami

Parosphromenus bintan

Also known as Bintan paro, Paradise licorice gourami

FreshwaterFish

Bintan licorice gourami (Parosphromenus bintan)
The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature
72–81°F
22–27°C
pH
4.5–6.0
Adult size
1.3 in
3.2 cm
Minimum tank
5 gal
20 L
Temperament
Peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Tankmates
With caution
Swim level
Middle
Diet
Carnivore
Difficulty
Difficult
Breeding
Cave spawner · Hard
Rarity
Rare
Family
Osphronemidae
Origin
Bintan Island and nearby Riau islands, Indonesia

Overview

The Bintan licorice gourami is a tiny blackwater specialist for a quiet nano tank. It is a fish for experienced keepers.

Did you know

For years, the bintan name was pinned onto all sorts of look-alike licorice gouramis arriving in the trade. A fish sold as bintan may be one of several species. The genuine Bintan licorice gourami is a tiny thing, barely over two centimeters long in the body.

Caring for the Bintan licorice gourami

Keep Bintan licorice gouramis as a pair rather than a shoal, in a quiet, shaded tank of 5 gal (20 L) or more. Furnish it with botanicals, driftwood and narrow caves. Deep leaf litter helps keep the chemistry stable, and the fish shows best when it feels secure.

Steady, soft, acidic water matters more to this fish than almost anything else you can offer it. Hold the pH at 4.5 to 6.0 and the temperature at 72 to 81°F (22 to 27°C). Use reverse osmosis water if your tap is hard.

Feed small live foods such as baby brine shrimp, microworm, grindal worm and daphnia, since it usually ignores dried food. It is peaceful but easily bullied and outcompeted. Keep tank mates to none or a few tiny peaceful species, and choose even those with caution.

Breeding is hard. The male tends a small clutch inside a cave in very soft, acidic water, and the fry are minute.

Good to know

The Bintan licorice gourami, Parosphromenus bintan, belongs to the family Osphronemidae. Kottelat and Ng described it in 1998. It lends its name to a whole complex of closely similar licorice gouramis that are hard to tell apart.

In the wild

The Bintan licorice gourami comes from soft, acidic blackwater on Bintan and Bangka islands and nearby parts of the Riau Archipelago in Indonesia. The water there is tea-colored and very low in minerals.

Common questions

What size tank does a Bintan licorice gourami need?

A Bintan licorice gourami needs at least 5 gal (20 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What temperature and pH does a Bintan licorice gourami need?

A Bintan licorice gourami is comfortable at 72–81°F (22–27°C) with a pH of 4.5–6.0.

What does a Bintan licorice gourami eat?

A Bintan licorice gourami eats small live foods such as baby brine shrimp, microworm, grindal worm and daphnia. It usually ignores dried food.

How big does a Bintan licorice gourami get?

An adult Bintan licorice gourami reaches about 1.3 in (3.2 cm).

How does a Bintan licorice gourami breed?

A Bintan licorice gourami spawns in a cave, where the male tends a small clutch in very soft, acidic water. The fry are minute, and breeding it is hard.

Related species