Red Badis

About

Found in the slow, vegetated waters of the Mekong, Salween, and Irrawaddy drainages, Badis ruber, sometimes sold as the 'red badis' or 'Burmese badis', is a small but characterful fish that rewards patient keepers. It can be distinguished from close relatives like B. khwae and B. siamensis by the rows of vertically-arranged dark markings along its flanks, a relatively large blotch on the caudal peduncle that extends over the dorsal surface, and three smaller spots at the caudal-fin base. In the wild it turns up in roadside ditches and densely planted streams, so a well-furnished aquarium with plenty of hiding spots and broken sightlines suits it perfectly. Males can be quite combative with one another, so if you keep a group, every male needs his own cave to claim as territory. This fish's retiring, deliberate nature means it will often lose out to faster or pushier tankmates at feeding time, making careful community selection important. Small peaceful cyprinids tend to work well, while other Badis species should be avoided entirely due to hybridization risk. Freshwater shrimp are also likely to end up on the menu. Breeding follows a cave-spawning pattern where the male takes over parental duties after spawning, defending the brood alone until the fry become free-swimming. Live and frozen foods help condition adults and are essentially required for fry-rearing.