Scarlet Badis/Dario Dario information?

[Oohitsae]

Considering buying some Badis for one of my 10g planteds once the guppies I'm growing out go to new homes, but would like some information on them. It seems like every website I've looked at has information differing from the other, so I'd like to see what you guys thought about them?

How many would be a good number for a 10? Any specific sex ratio? I assume more females than males, but am I able to have more than 1 male in that size of a tank? What type of food works best for them, tropical flakes/pellets?

Any personal experience with them? Are they pretty calm, or energetic? Do they have a lot of bioload, or is a filter rated for the tank size or double good enough?

I know, lots of questions, I'd just like to get some information straight before I spend money on them.

 

[Oohitsae]

Has anyone kept these?

 

[dragonfisher33]

Considering buying some Badis for one of my 10g planteds once the guppies I'm growing out go to new homes, but would like some information on them. It seems like every website I've looked at has information differing from the other, so I'd like to see what you guys thought about them?

How many would be a good number for a 10? Any specific sex ratio? I assume more females than males, but am I able to have more than 1 male in that size of a tank? What type of food works best for them, tropical flakes/pellets?

Any personal experience with them? Are they pretty calm, or energetic? Do they have a lot of bioload, or is a filter rated for the tank size or double good enough?

I know, lots of questions, I'd just like to get some information straight before I spend money on them.

you would be lucky if they take pellets but IME it's always live or frozen food for them. brine shrimps, daphnia, and chopped up bloodworms/blackworms are good since they have small mouths. they're pretty shy so plenty of hiding space is needed. they don't compete with other fish well, so i hope this is a species-only tank. they don't dart around the tank like bala sharks if that's your definition of energetic. in fact, most of the time you won't even see they since they're always hiding and so tiny. no a huge bio-loader per se but definitely keep a good clean up crew somewhere since they're picky eaters and more often than another will not finish all the food you feed them.

 

[Oohitsae]

you would be lucky if they take pellets but IME it's always live or frozen food for them. brine shrimps, daphnia, and chopped up bloodworms/blackworms are good since they have small mouths. they're pretty shy so plenty of hiding space is needed. they don't compete with other fish well, so i hope this is a species-only tank. they don't dart around the tank like bala sharks if that's your definition of energetic. in fact, most of the time you won't even see they since they're always hiding and so tiny. no a huge bio-loader per se but definitely keep a good clean up crew somewhere since they're picky eaters and more often than another will not finish all the food you feed them.

Thanks!! This was a very helpful post!!
So, frozen should be okay for them? If I were to buy them, I'd likely have to order online, and local access to live food, other than what i already have - micro, Walter, and BBS is practically non-existent. So I wouldn't be able to get them unless frozen food is likely to work.
What I meant by energetic was me wondering if they liked to explore the tank rather than acting frantic or anything like guppies. I would like to see them do that and interact with each other, but at the least, see them on occasion. It would likely be a species only tank, with either snails or shrimp as a CUC.

If I were to go with them, how many in a 10g would be okay? Male-female ratio?

 

[Rivercats]

I have 19 Scarlet Badis total. 13 in a 55g planted and 6 in a 24g planted. I've know a few people who keep 6 in a 10g with shrimp. Most have 2 females to every male that I know. I honestly couldn't tell you how many males I have to females but they are in large and heavily planted enough tanks that I don't have issues with rival males. They are indeed shy and stay close to plant cover but they also do move around and it's not uncommon in my 55g to see them moving close to a group of Chili rasbora's and occasionally the Burmese Rosy loaches. I

As for food mine eat Repashy Superfoods. I make mixes that the nano fish tanks get daily and they love the stuff. Mine also love Hakari freeze dried Tubifex worms because they are so small. Live foods around here are impossible to come by anymore and not the greatest selection of small sized frozen foods either. They also like the New Life Spectrum small fish formula pellets when I give them. I haven't found mine to be picky at all.

I keep them with Chili rasboras, Clown killifish, Burmese rosy loaches and Aspidoras in one tank and with Purple pencilfish and Blue cobalt gobies in the 24g. I'll be adding new fish to these tanks new week.

 

[Autumnsky]

Following, I was just checking on these two types, if they can go together, and I was told that out of the Scarlet and Dario, the Dario might out complete the Scarlet for food.

Keep 1M with at least 2F.

 

[Rivercats]

Following, I was just checking on these two types, if they can go together, and I was told that out of the Scarlet and Dario, the Dario might out complete the Scarlet for food.

Keep 1M with at least 2F.

Scarlet Badis is Dario Dario. Are you thinking of Badis Badis as the other one?

 

[Autumnsky]

Scarlet Badis is Dario Dario. Are you thinking of Badis Badis as the other one?

Yup thank you Badis Badis and Scarlet Badis!

 

[Oohitsae]

I have 19 Scarlet Badis total. 13 in a 55g planted and 6 in a 24g planted. I've know a few people who keep 6 in a 10g with shrimp. Most have 2 females to every male that I know. I honestly couldn't tell you how many males I have to females but they are in large and heavily planted enough tanks that I don't have issues with rival males. They are indeed shy and stay close to plant cover but they also do move around and it's not uncommon in my 55g to see them moving close to a group of Chili rasbora's and occasionally the Burmese Rosy loaches. I

As for food mine eat Repashy Superfoods. I make mixes that the nano fish tanks get daily and they love the stuff. Mine also love Hakari freeze dried Tubifex worms because they are so small. Live foods around here are impossible to come by anymore and not the greatest selection of small sized frozen foods either. They also like the New Life Spectrum small fish formula pellets when I give them. I haven't found mine to be picky at all.

I keep them with Chili rasboras, Clown killifish, Burmese rosy loaches and Aspidoras in one tank and with Purple pencilfish and Blue cobalt gobies in the 24g. I'll be adding new fish to these tanks new week.

Thanks for all of this information! It is perfect!

Would you suggest me doing a 20L or something instead do I can add some small dither fish? Maybe least killies or something, or would they do better on their own?

Also, do they do better in low light vs. moderate to high light? Or fine in pretty much anything?

 

[Rivercats]

The Badis Badis are bigger and will out compete the tiny Scarlets. They aren't as pretty as the Scarlet either IMO.

 

[Rivercats]

Thanks for all of this information! It is perfect!

Would you suggest me doing a 20L or something instead do I can add some small dither fish? Maybe least killies or something, or would they do better on their own?

Also, do they do better in low light vs. moderate to high light? Or fine in pretty much anything?

I'd at least get a 20L or bigger if you can. Just be sure to put a sponge or something over your intake cover on your filters. I run a Fluval canister on the 55 and actually used some plastic pet screen and hand sewed a cover for the intake and rubber banded it on. I tried pantyhose as a cover but it restricted the flow too much. I also run a small HOB on the tank and have a sponge cover on the intake. I have all wild caught Scarlets and some were about 3/8" when they came in so remember to take precautions if you get them or any nano fish.

They prefer dimmer lighting. I have a Build My Led fixture on both tanks that have the Scarlet Badis and they prefer when I have the light on dimmer. These Led's have dimmers you can buy that runs the light from 10-100%. So I run it on the 100% for 6 hours but can run it on 10% for 3 or 4 more in the evening which the Badis prefer. They do however come out and forage in during the higher light time which the plants need.

You could do 6-9 Scarlet Badis in a 20L and do something else like Chili Rasboras, Clown Killifish, Ember Tetra's, or Neon Rasbora's (I prefer the blue variant) and active fish to keep movement in the tank. They also do well with shrimp.

 

[brennae]

I just got some Scarlet Badis. I am feeding what was already mentioned and I actually found frozen daphnia which they seem to like. They are picky eaters and stay towards the bottom of my tank around the larger plants and driftwood. I need shrimp to go with them to clean up what they don't eat. I am not used to nano fish so I am sure I overfeed. I temporarily have some of my smaller mystery snails in with them and I actually noticed the Scarlets biting the snails antennae.

 

[Autumnsky]

Congrats on the new fish!

Male and / or female or still hard to tell?

He had just ate? Or before he ate he was biting the snail?

 

[brennae]

I am only feeding the Scarlet Badis once a day. So maybe he/she was hungry! SHould I be feeding them more often? I have read conflicting info on sexing these fish and after emailing with a rep from the Wetspot fish store I am really confused. How do I sex them? My two following each other around and one is brighter than the other but they both have same colors and stripes. I have never seen fighting but then I only have 2 of them.

 

[Rivercats]

The snail antennae looks like a wiggly worm so I'm not surprised it's trying to nip at it.

What I've noticed on my Scarlet Badis is the males are intensely colored and the girls are much lighter in color and easy to see their stripes.

I feed mine frozen daphnia, Hakari freeze dried tubifex worms stuck to the glass, and Rapashy Superfoods which are powdered that you mix with boiling water to make a gel food. I have different ones as you can mix them to make the gel. You only make enough to last a few days at a time and this is the food I use as their staple.

 

[brennae]

Alrighty, I think I have 2 females then. I tried Repashy on the Scarlet Badis once and they didn't eat it, but I will try again. Do you think pygmy corys would work with them or not because they both hang around the bottom of the tank?

 

[Rivercats]

Pygmy cory's would work fine with them. I have them with Aspidora's (a cousin of cory's and small), Burmese Rosy Loaches, and Pygmy Multi Stripe Loaches with them in one tank, all of which stay closer to the bottom. Then I have them with Dwarf Anchor Cats and Pygmy Multi Stripe Loaches in another tank. They all do fine plus I found the aspidora's and loaches actually break up the Repashy which float around and gets the scarlets interested in it. I also take a little of the Repashy and smash it between my fingers so some little pieces float around the tank and settle so the badis can hunt around for it.

 

[brennae]

Ah ok. I will try the Repashy again tonight. I have Community and Meat Pie, which do you recommend I try with?

 

[Rivercats]

I actually make a mix with equal amounts of each in it but for now I'd go with community or alternate them daily.

 

[brennae]

Ok. I try to feed something different to all my 15 tanks daily. One day its bloodworms, one day its blackworms, one day Repashy, Daphnia etc etc. I will try it tonight as see what happens. Thanks so much!!