The questions to ask a fish shop before getting a licorice gourami are partly a test of the shop, because this small blackwater species is one of the most demanding fish in the hobby and a responsible retailer will treat your questions as a screening conversation. Provenance, water chemistry, and live food decide success with licorice gouramis far more than tank size ever will.
Are these licorice gouramis wild-caught or captive-bred, and which species exactly?
Licorice gourami is a group name covering several similar Parosphromenus species, and many offered for sale are wild-caught from threatened peat-swamp habitats, so ask the shop the exact species name and where its fish originated. Captive-bred stock, when available, usually arrives hardier and removes the conservation worry that hangs over wild collection from shrinking swamps. Ask how long this batch has been in the shop and how it has fared, because wild-caught licorice gouramis often arrive thin and stressed, and a shop that has conditioned its fish for several weeks is selling something very different from one turning over fresh imports. If the shop cannot name the species, that alone answers your most important question.
What pH and conductivity is your sale tank running at?
Licorice gouramis live in water so soft and acidic that ordinary test kits struggle to measure it, so ask the shop for its actual numbers — many keepers hold this fish below pH 6 in nearly mineral-free water stained with leaf litter tannins. Then ask yourself the follow-up out loud: can your home setup produce and hold that water with every change, usually meaning reverse-osmosis water remineralized very lightly? A shop that keeps licorice gouramis in ordinary tap water for convenience is quietly shortening their lives, and its fish will face a second shock moving to a correct blackwater tank. The shop's water tells you both how the fish have been kept and how carefully you must acclimate them.
What are they eating — and can I sustain that menu?
Licorice gouramis are micropredators that frequently refuse dry food entirely, so ask the shop precisely what its fish take: live baby brine shrimp, grindal worms, frozen cyclops, or similar fine foods. Ask to see a feeding if possible, and watch whether the fish eat eagerly or merely mouth food. Then be honest about your own routine — hatching brine shrimp several times a week is a real commitment, and a shop that asks about your feeding plan before selling is protecting its fish. If the shop's stock has been weaned onto any frozen staple, note which one and buy it the same day.
Is this the right fish for my setup and experience?
End with the question good specialists respect most: given your tank, your water, and your experience, should you buy this fish now? Licorice gouramis need a quiet species tank with caves or film-canister-style shelters for the male's bubble nest, no competing tankmates, and a keeper who enjoys chemistry more than spectacle. A shop may suggest sparkling gouramis or another small gourami as a stepping stone, and that redirection — losing a sale to save the fish — is the strongest signal that you have found your long-term shop for delicate species.
Rare fish deserve rare honesty from the people selling them, and KinsLe's Pet Services Directory can connect you with local blackwater specialists whose licorice gourami advice is grounded in tanks they actually maintain.