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.

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.

Type locality is giev as ‘Rio Parahyba and tributaries at Mendez; Juiz de Fora; River Doce; River São Matheos; Rio Jequitinhonha; Rio Quenda at Santa Cruz’, all of which pertain to localities within the Paraíba do Sul and Doce river systems in Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, rio de Janeiro and São Paulo states, southeastern Brazil.

Décor is relatively unimportant and maintenance simple provided sufficient space is available.

A natural-style arr…

Type locality is ‘Tukeit, Guyana’, and this species is known from various river drainages of Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana including the Orinoco, Essequibo, and upper Courantyne (aka Corantijn) basins.

Additional records exist from the upper Amazon basin in Guyana, these presumably corresponding to the Takutu river basin, itself part of the upper rio Branco.

Type locality is given simply as ‘Amazon River, Brazil’ and according to current thinking this species has a huge natural range encompassing the Amazon River system in Brazil and Peru plus the Paraná-Paraguay drainage in southern Brazil and Paraguay and rio São Francisco basin in southern Brazil.

Specimens in our images were collected fro…

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…

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 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.

This species is very rare in the aquarium hobby and may never have been available on a commercial basis although it has been collected, bred and distributed by some private collectors.

It’s a member of the putative G. surinamensis ‘group’ of closely-related species within the genus and ca…