The Parosphromenus Genetic Resource Center is dedicated to the genetic conservation, captive propagation, and public distribution of the Parosphromenus genus within the United States

Updates from the PGRC: Blog

20 May 2025

Five Years In: A New Phase for the PGRC

This December marks the five-year anniversary of the founding of the Parosphromenus Genetic Resource Center (PGRC), and with that milestone comes a moment of reflection—and projection.

When I first began this project in December 2020, the vision was clear, if ambitious: to create a U.S.-based resource that could complement the already vital work being done by the Parosphromenus Project in Europe. While their efforts have secured the genetic security of many Parosphromenus species in Europe, I saw a gap in the availability of location-specific Parosphromenus species for committed conservation hobbyists here in the United States. The PGRC was born to fill that need—to become a bridge between awareness and access, between good intentions and significant conservation participation, in the United States.

Of course, the road has not always been smooth. A power failure during a major snowstorm in 2022 wiped out months of progress, and several precious fish lines. I've yet to figure out how best to secure consistent funding beyond my own personal contributions, and the labor involved in running a one-person operation of this scale is not for the faint of heart. But despite those challenges, the PGRC has managed to ship over 200 carefully tracked animals (from five known collection-locations) to dedicated breeders across the country. And more importantly, I’m starting to see signs of a true network forming—a growing circle of committed individuals stewarding their own lines of species, forming the early framework of what I hope will become a decentralized, resilient insurance population system.

As we approach the next phase of this work, I’m beginning to ask whether the PGRC should now shift its focus from popularization to preservation. For the past five years, my strategy has been deliberately broad: maintain as many species as possible, spread them widely, and encourage interest and participation. That strategy has worked. It was the right start. But it’s not the strategy that will secure the long-term survival of any one species.

So, for the next five years, I plan to narrow the focus.

I envision selecting two or three Parosphromenus species and building a deep, stable, genetically diverse insurance population for each. My target will be to maintain approximately 95% of the genetic diversity of the founder stock over a 25-year horizon. This kind of genetic stewardship will require intensive record-keeping, controlled breeding, and coordination with other serious hobbyists and institutions. It’s the kind of slow, deliberate, data-driven effort that can make the difference between a species enduring or vanishing forever.

I haven’t yet decided which species I’ll commit to for this phase. That decision will require careful thought about availability, wild population status, and what makes the most strategic sense given the global conservation picture. But what I can say is this: the PGRC will remain rooted in its founding mission, even as that mission grows deeper roots.

To those who’ve supported, collaborated, bred, shared, or just watched this effort take shape over the last five years—thank you. The next five are shaping up to be even more focused, more intentional, and, I hope, more impactful.

—

If you’re a conservation breeder, a scientist, or an enthusiast who wants to be part of the PGRC’s next phase, I’d love to hear from you.

Who we are

Parospromenus phoenicurus male

A U.S.-based initiative for the living conservation of a vanishing genus

Since 2020, the PGRC has actively supported the conservation of Parosphromenus species within the United States. Through focused, small-scale breeding efforts, we have distributed over 200 in-house bred fish to conservation-minded aquarists across the country, establishing the early foundations of a national living network dedicated to preserving the genetic diversity of this remarkable genus.

While conservation-hobbyists in Europe and Asia have long led the way, we believe the U.S. is now poised to contribute meaningfully to the global, grassroots effort to ensure that Parosphromenus, whose habitats are disappearing rapidly from Southeast Asia’s lowland rainforests, do not vanish from the earth altogether.

Whether you’re new to blackwater fish or already keep licorice gouramis, we invite you to explore, connect, and consider joining the living preservation movement.

Welcome to the Parosphromenus Genetic Resource Center (PGRC)

At the PGRC, we are passionate about preserving the incredible genetic diversity of Parosphromenus—a genus of stunningly beautiful and critically threatened freshwater fish. Our mission is simple but urgent: to secure the future of these rare species through ethical breeding, collaborative stewardship, and public engagement.

What We Do

We begin at the source: by obtaining collection-location-confirmed Parosphromenus species from reliable, ethical channels. Each fish we bring in has a traceable, verified origin, allowing us to preserve the unique genetics of wild populations—something no generic trade stock can provide.

In our care, these fish are bred to the highest standards of genetic integrity. We focus on maintaining healthy, robust populations that reflect their wild counterparts as closely as possible—no hybridization, no guesswork, just faithful stewardship.

Sharing the Stewardship

Once established, we freely distribute genetically sound pairs to hobbyists across the United States. You pay only for shipping—because we believe that true conservation happens through community, not commerce. Our goal is to see thriving, well-documented Parosphromenus lines kept by a wide network of dedicated individuals, ensuring that no single keeper or facility is a point of failure for a species’ future.

A Hub for Everyone

Whether you're a seasoned Paro keeper or curious about trying your first pair, the PGRC is here to support you. We help hobbyists find fish, place excess fry, and share best practices. We want every keeper to feel connected, informed, and empowered.

Serious Conservation Through Hobby Keeping

We don’t just breed fish—we build living insurance populations. Our fish are more than ornamental; they are a safeguard against extinction. As wild habitats disappear at an alarming rate, we aim to offer a meaningful conservation solution, one tank at a time.

Looking Ahead

We’re building trusted partnerships with ethical collectors in Indonesia and Malaysia, working to set new standards in sustainable harvesting and humane handling. Our goal is to ensure that every fish collected for conservation-based export arrives healthy, hearty, and ready to thrive in the hands of dedicated stewards across the globe.

What you can do to help:

Getting Started

Educate:

To help Parosphromenus, start by learning about their care,

Understanding the daunting threats they face

and by seeing how the international network of conservation hobbyists, provide a vital safety net for these fish

Donate:

Every dollar counts, with all donations going fully and directly to the fish. Contribute now to help the Parosphromenus Genetic Resource Center reach our goal, and widen our reach.

PayPal

Share our campaign with your friends, family, and on social media. Your advocacy can amplify our impact, and help connect us to others wanting to get involved.

Facebook

Instagram

Get involved:

Use your fishkeeping skills for the conservation of critically endangered species! Accepting fish from our facility gives these species one more chance of escaping extinction!

Parosphromenus finder

Parosphromenus Project: [email protected]

Parosphromenus Project (the international conservation hobbyist organization

Our approach

Traditionally, the definition of species has stated that “A biological species is a group of organisms that can reproduce with one another in nature and produce fertile offspring.”

This definition, when applied to the Parosphromenus genus, is somewhat problematic, in that many of the phenotypically (and/or geographically) distinct populations of these fish can interbreed.

Since the genus' first scientific description in 1859, the efforts of dedicated taxonomy professionals have described 21 distinct forms within the wider Parosphromenus genus, and there are several other phenotypically distinct forms that remain undescribed in the scientific literature.

The habitats of many of the distinct forms are separated by obstacles which prevent genetic intermingling between local populations, and so speciation (the population-level adaptation to a specific local environment) is happening across, and within, the distinct forms continually.

This species-fluidity adds to the complexity of preserving the genetic uniqueness of this genus.

In terms of the conservation effort, this is further complicated by the fact that many commercially imported Parosphromenus do not have a collection-location specified, and are often only identified as “Parosphromenus dessenari” (the species name of the first scientifically described Parosphromenus population).

The mission:

With this information as background, and for the purposes of the genetic conservation of this genus, the most conservative approach is, therefore, to attempt to maintain separate captive populations by their collection-location. This method does have the potential to unnecessarily separate genetically grouped populations, but it has the advantage of not (accidently) unnaturally interbreeding local populations that would not have interacted in the wild habitats.

The model:

Until and unless an economical method for positive genetic identification of the different forms becomes available, the PGRC will continue to maintain lines of broodstock based on known collection-location (and where collection location information was not available, these lines are maintained separately from other fish, even if they are presumed to be of the same species), and will not interbreed lines of fish from different collection-locations (even if they are phenotypically identical).

Since we strive to preserve the genetic uniqueness of each local strain, our fish are identified via a polynomial nomenclature system, in the following form: Genus, species (presumed, if available), collection-location (when known), collection year (eg. P. linkei, Palangkaraya, '20, or P. “sentang”, '20).