Nicks Scarlet Gem Badis Tank

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Nikachu0315

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Feb 4, 2013
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332
Location
Corona,California
So guys ive had lots of freshwater tanks and was scrolling on live Aquaria when I found a scarlet gem badis! So can they have tankmates?
 
yes you can. they're shy little fellas. people usually keep them in a species only tank. the only problem with them is their diet. they don't take flakes, inly frozen or live food such as bloodworms and blackworms
 
I would reccomend some small tetras or a pipefish

tetras would work, and arguably pipefish would work as well. BUT, why PIPEFISH? they're notorious for being hard to care for since they NEED live food and you need to feed it constantly. I've not heard anyone recommending pipefish for tankmate except when they want a greater sense of achievement. furthermore, most lfs don't carry pipefish even when you special order them. You might as well just start a seahorse saltwater tank since seahorse is more readily available.

ps. if you do go the pipefish route, then you should start a tank of guppies because guppies are ready to breed 24/7 and the small fries are good food for the pipefish.
 
tetras would work, and arguably pipefish would work as well. BUT, why PIPEFISH? they're notorious for being hard to care for since they NEED live food and you need to feed it constantly. I've not heard anyone recommending pipefish for tankmate except when they want a greater sense of achievement. furthermore, most lfs don't carry pipefish even when you special order them. You might as well just start a seahorse saltwater tank since seahorse is more readily available.

ps. if you do go the pipefish route, then you should start a tank of guppies because guppies are ready to breed 24/7 and the small fries are good food for the pipefish.

Hey would this work another forum had kuhli loaches with scarlet gems
 
What kind of tetras ?

Doesn't matter what type of tetras, but you should get a school of them regardless of the type. the badis are not aggressive at all. When you pick out the tetras, however, you might want to try something that swim somewhat slow because the badis usually get outcompeted when it comes to food since they're so shy after all. White skirt or black skirt would be perfect IMO
 
I chose pipefish since they need small food like the badis. My badis needed live food too so I don't see a problem.
 
I chose pipefish since they need small food like the badis. My badis needed live food too so I don't see a problem.

so you have a pipefish? I'm only against the recommendation because of the expertise that's required to keep a pipefish, something i feel it's too troublesome unless you have the live food readily available. other than that, pipefish is very peaceful and cool to keep
 
I have one microphis decota.


cool fish, i have never seen a pipefish before because they're so hard to get. are you feeding it brine shrimp or daphnia or blackworms? how long have you had it? i heard that in a well kept tank, it will live for 2-3 years. i think you should start a thread just documenting this pipefish that you have. I would love to see it too:fish2:
 
10 gallon I plant it densely

i would keep the fish tank the way it is right now because you're pushing the limit. with increase livestock, there's more debris and waste you have to watch out for even with a densely planted fish tank. You need to give the fish more space around. do you have a picture of the tank? 10gal is really not a good size of tank for fish because of the limitation. some people say 55gal is the best starter tank or at least a 30gal just to get something going. furthermore, the corys do get somewhat bigger later on down the road and need more space around. just my humble opinion.
 
So I guess I can't do 3 scarlet badis and some black or white skirts :(


Everything I said so far are recommendations, you should always take with a grain of salt. What i would definitely do is to save up some money for a bigger tank. That way you have more legroom for future improvements. As for the badis, most of the time, and i emphasize on the word "most", people keep them in a species-only tank because they're not a natural competitor when it comes to food. Although exceptions are everywhere and personality within the species vary from time to time, I care about fish too much to risk. Scarlet badis don't come by easily where I live. Maybe you should try some ghost shrimps just to clean up after the messy eaters. You can also try one or two dwarf gouramis, there're members in this forum who have had great success keeping badis with gouramis and rasbora. But aim to expand the aquarium a little bit in terms of size.
 
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