Scarlet Badis Care: Feeding, Tank Mates, Tank Size and Breeding

Scarlet Badis is one of the phenomenal breeds of such fish to have in your aquarium. If you are a fishkeeping enthusiast, you must be aware that there is a wide range of fish specie

The unique attributes of this fish species make it a choice for many aquarists today. If you are thinking of adding a new species to your tank, you would consider adding this exciting fish to your aquarium.

Their colorful and bright appearance will light up your living room aesthetic. In this Scarlet Badis care article, you will learn about all the information and the care instruction to rear this favorite fish species in your fish tank.

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Quick Facts:
Common Names	: Scarlet Badis, Badis Badis Bengalensis
Scientific Name	: Dario dario
Family	: Badidae
Origin	: Brahmaputra River in India
Care Level	: Medium
Lifespan	: 4 to 6 years
Size (average)	: 0.8 inches
Diet	: Omnivorous
Breeding	: Egglayer
Social	: Community fish
Temperament	: Peaceful
Minimum Tank Size	: 10 gallons
Temperature	: 71 – 79 °F (21 – 26 °C)
Water Hardness	: 10 - 20 dGH
Water pH Level	: 6.5 - 7.5

Table of Contents

Overview of the Scarlet Badis

This fish species is scientifically known as “Dario dario” and are from the Badidae family. They are also omnivorous and are very peaceful. They barely show aggressive behavior because of their tiny nature.

Its brilliant colors and personality make them interesting to have around. They have varying decorative colors for the males and females which act as the means of differentiating their gender. They are quite a shy breed that loves privacy even at the home aquarium.

Scarlet Badis thrive well in an environment with sufficient vegetation and hiding places with clear water. You would do well to keep the scarlet Badis in their species-specific aquarium.

Though, they can be kept along well with small Liquorice Gouramis as long as there is a sufficient food supply. The Scarlet Badis ideal diet would consist of small live and frozen foods.

They are not good at eating which requires a close check to ensure that they feed well and alter their diet accordingly. Many aquarists keep this species for its appealing nature.

Watching them swim around is one of the fascinating experiences you would have. They thrive well in areas that have conditions similar to their natural environment. Having cages, a lot of vegetation and the right base surface will favor their existence.

Scarlet Badis Size

The male Scarlet Badis size is approximately 0.79 inches (2 cm) when fully grown while a female Scarlet Badis size will measure 0.5 inches (1.27 cm).

Scarlet Badis Lifespan

Their lifespan will be influenced by the environment they live in especially in an aquarium. However, you can expect them to live between 4 to 6 years under tank conditions.

However, in their habitat, this may be reduced as they are exposed to many challenges including being rated by other fish species. When feeling a threat from other fishes, they may spend a lot of time bidding which can affect their health.

Scarlet Badis Typical Behavior

Generally speaking, Scarlet Badis are peaceful and often want to mind their own business. They will keep off bugging other fish species in the tank at all costs due to their small size.

They have a cool temperament most of the time which makes them peaceful tank mates for other species. However, this may not apply to their same kind at times especially when the territory is involved.

Providing them with sufficient vegetation and hiding spots is important where they retreat to relax and stay away from other big partners. They like to eat live things that may lose a threat to smaller species in the same tank.

Appearance and Colors

It is important to know about the basic characteristics of the Scales Budis. It will be beneficial for you to learn ahead of time before you take them home. These are small in size with a wide range of beauty elements among the genders.

The beauty of this fish is one of the aspects which calls for no debate. The males have stunning patterns and colors over their whole bodies. The major color for the male is red or orange which is seen on the base of their entire body.

From the dorsal fin, you will notice a series of vertical stripes. These stripes can either be orange or blue based on the fish’s primary color. They have a transparent colored tail to add to their beauty.

The females can be seen to have a silver-grey body with pale orange appearing on their entire body.

Sexual dimorphism makes it easy to spot males from females using their body pigmentation. One of the vital components which makes this fish mesmerizing is their ability to alter body color-based moods.

Scarlet Badis Care and Tank Conditions

Taking care of the aquarium is one of the most crucial parts of the process if you plan to keep a Scarlet Badis in your tank. The condition of the tank will decide the health of the fish species in it.

You need to aim at emulating their natural habitat when setting up your tank. Though may not be easy to get the right conditions for your Scarlet Badis, knowing some key hacks is crucial.

Cleanliness is a must for your tank if you want to maintain this fish. You should ensure the tank is well cleaned often as this would ensure improved health conditions for your fish.

Ensure the tank has the necessary conditions which would fit the health and character nature of this fish. The tank plays a crucial role in ensuring that you provide the perfect experience for your Scarlet Badis.

Getting it right at this point would be crucial for keeping your fish in healthy and favorable conditions. I would recommend that you strictly follow the guidelines that I discussed below:

– Scarlet Badis Tank Size

The small size of these fish species makes it important to get right the tank size. The Scarlet Badis tank size is crucial since it would determine the extent of space available for swimming and hissing.

Besides, the amount of vegetation to put in the tank would depend on the size of your tank.

You want sufficient space to allow for plants in your aquarium to grow and extend their roots. The Scarlet Badis tank size has to be a minimum of 10 gallons which can extend to 20 gallons depending on the number you have in your tank.

The vegetation will cover a large percentage of your tank hence the need to factor that in your size estimation. There are no fast rules here and thus you have the options to match your needs with the kind of tank you have.

– Tank Setup

Lighting: This is a crucial element for your aquarium and thus you need to get it right. This type of fish requires certain temperatures hence the need to ensure that the type of lighting you use will not increase the temperature.

The fluorescent build would do well to ensure that you achieve mono lighting and avoid flashy lights.

Décor: It is crucial to design your tank in a way that would provide them with hiding spaces. Cages are encouraged when designing the internal structure of the aquarium to provide enough areas for taking cover when they feel threatened.

You should consider putting a background cover on your tank to provide sufficient shadow for your fish and the appearance of your aquarium.

Substrate: Scarlet Badis like muddy and sandy surfaces. Having sand or pebbles at the base would be an ideal climate for your fish. You can as well include some stones to create sufficient conditions for this fish to run into.

Mopani wood is one of the appropriate options to use at the base of your tank. Proper choice of surface material is crucial as it may impact the quality of water.

Logs and Wood: The use of aquatic plants is inevitable for your Scarlet Badis. It is important to ensure that you have this vegetation taking a huge part of the aquarium.

These solutions would aid in the replication of the natural habitat where this fish lives. These logs and wood would work as additional hiding places for this shy breed.

Filter: You need to have the right type of filter to ensure the water is kept clean at all times. The type of filter you use should be powerful to absorb u necessary particles without causing strong currents.

– Suitable Plants

It is crucial to ensure that you get the right option for your aquarium to offer the perfect climate for your Scarlet Badis. The ideal type of vegetation to use includes Limnophila, Java Moss, Water Sprite, Water Wisteria, and Ottella.

– Water Condition and Parameters

Scarlet Badis requires clear and clean water. To maintain your scarlet basis healthy, you must dedicate adequate time to ensure the water is fresh and clean.

Measuring the quality of water to ensure that it is right is a common practice you would be involved with if you keep this fish species.

Water Temperature

This is crucial for fish health and should be kept at appropriate levels. Maintaining 71 to 79 °F equivalent to 21.66 to 26.11 °C would be perfect. Changing the water in the tank would be necessary at some point.

When replacing water, it is important to ensure that it has the same conditions since they are sensitive to major changes in water quality.

Water Acidity, Hardness, and Nitrate level

Scarlet Badis will do well in waters ranging between 6.5 to 7.5 pH levels. The hardness level should range from 10 to 20 dGH (Degree of General Hardness). You should not forget about the nitrate level as well which should be kept at zero.

– Water Changing

Since these small fish species are sensitive to significant water changes, you must adhere to frequent water testing to maintain water quality at all times. So we recommend you change the 50% of the water of your aquarium every 10 to 12 days.

Using a high-performance water filter may reduce the water changing frequency, but the initial investment might be costly.

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Scarlet Badis Diet and Feeding

When it comes to the feeding Scarlet Badis it is very important to feed them different living food items because of their predatorial behaviors. Therefore, feeding typical fish food sometimes will not work for them.

They like to hunt their prey and eat. Insect larvae, Crustaceans, and Zooplankton are their favorites. But you must feed them food items that are nutritious to them to thrive well.

Instead of feeding them traditional fish, you can feed them dried or frozen Tubifex worms, Brine Shrimp, and Blood worms.

Scarlet Badis Diseases

There is no known specific disease for this type of fish. They are prone to the most common Illnesses such as itch, bacteria, and Fungal infections.

It is easy to reduce the chances of encountering diseases by ensuring ideal water quality. Hygiene and the right tank environment are what you need to prevent the occurrence of such common diseases.

Scarlet Badis Gender Difference

At a young age, it may not be possible to determine the genders due to their tiny nature. However, as they grow the pigmentation in their find and entire body would make them

Different the male has bright colors than the female. The other way that you may pick the difference in gender for this type of fish is their size. The size of the males fish is close to twice the size of the female fish.

Breeding the Scarlet Badis

It is not a hard task to breed Scarlet Badis in your tank. The most important thing is to ensure that you create the ideal conditions for breeding in the tank. Vegetation with huge leaves needs to be available as this is where this type of fish likes to lay its eggs.

Replicating such conditions will make it easy for the breeding process. You do not need to adjust the pH level as they can lay eggs in both acidic and alkaline water.

The males will intensify their colors during spawning to attract the female. The male and female embrace during the time of laying eggs for fertilization purposes. The eggs hatch after 2 to 3 days and keep in hiding inside the plants.

It should also be noted that during this phase of life, they do not require any feeding.

Scarlet Badis Tank Mates

The perfect Scarlet Badis tank mates are their own breed because of their tiny nature. However, this may not be practical in a community tank hence you need to find compatible options.

The idea is to ensure that you pair them with fish species that are not large as that would scare them away and not keep them away from eating their food.

Whenever it comes to finding the compatible fish species to pair with your Scarlet Badis, you pay attention to their reaction in the presence of other fish. They require friendly tank mates who will not harass them in any way.

Some fish may consider them as food as well due to their small size which makes it hard to determine the right Scarlet Badis tank mates. Many aquarists have used Guoramis species and Rasboras in the same tank without any problems.

A few of the best Scarlet Badis tank mates are;

Origin, Distribution, and Availability

The Scarlet Badis have their origin in the Brahmaputra River in India. Also, these fish species have been found in clear and shallow water bodies and topical revers in Asian countries such as Bhutan, Bangladesh, and China.

The clear and shallow water bodies covered with vegetation and gravel substrate offer the perfect environment for their survival. In recent years, their distribution has reached far and wide across the globe.

With studies to understand their behaviors having been conducted it has become easy to distribute them in other parts of the world.

Scarlet Badis are available in selected breeding centers, checking with the local directory will be crucial to enable you to identify where you can get this amazing aquarium fish. You might be able to buy them online from reputed aquarium fish sellers.

Frequently Asked Questions

When you are interested in keeping these fish species, you may have some questions that may come to your mind. When I first started, I wanted to find answers to the below questions:

Are Scarlet Badis Cichlids?

You should not make the mistake of confusing these two types of breeds. Scarlet Badis resemble Cichlids in many aspects including size, color, and the environment they live in but they are not the same as each has their characters specific to the breed.

How Many Scarlet Badis Are There in a Tank?

This is a question that you need to get answers to before getting a tank in the first place. You cannot keep many males in the same tank due to the fight for territory. It would be ideal to have two to three males and a female in the same tank.

However, the number would depend on the size of your tank as well as type that is, community or private.

Can Scarlet Badis Live with Bettas?

Keeping your Scarlet Badis with Battas cannot work. The size of Battas will frighten these small creatures never to leave their hiding spots. Besides, they would starve since they cannot compete for good with the Battas.

Scarlet Badis needs protection from large fish because of their small size and shy nature.

Are Scarlet Badis Fin Nippers?

These fish species are known to be predators but are quite peaceful and shy. They are not considered in the class of fin nippers at all. They are vivid to other breeds but keep calm in most cases. This is something you will not find them doing in most cases.

Are Scarlet Badis Aggressive?

The fact that they are peaceful doesn’t rule out the fact that makes they fight for territory with each other. Their aggressive nature is directed towards each other and in most cases, they fight for territory.

The predator nature of these fish for small fish species would as well make them quite aggressive. Their cheeky behavior makes one doubt their aggression which they may exhibit for smaller breeds and other males.

Do Scarlet Badis Eat Shrimps?

Scarlet Badis are small predators, especially for others within their family. It may seem a good idea to have shrimp for the sake of eating algae and keeping the water clean, but not to keep with Scarlet Badis they may be subject to becoming prey.

This fish will eat mostly the small shrimp thus unless you are sure to keep them fed it may not be ideal to keep them together in anyways.

Do Scarlet Badis Eat Snails?

Dario Dario fish has preferences for live food though frozen bloodworms would be perfect. Snails form a major part of their diet.

Final Thoughts of Keeping a Scarlet Badis

This is an amazing type of fish species to keep in your freshwater aquarium. There are many things you can learn by having this breed. Keeping it the Scarlet Badis is a serious task due to their requirement.

Getting it right is not a simple task for many people used to common type fish. It is possible to have fun keeping this Scarlet Badis in your aquarium.

You would only need to understand their requirement and maintain a good level of hygiene. The environment of rearing this type of fish is the most sensitive one and thus the need to get things right with these elements.

Knowing how to handle them will ensure that you keep them healthy and prolong their lifespan. They are quite predictable which provides signals to treat them accordingly.

Scarlet Badis have easy to determine temperament which helps to ensure that you treat them to their needs.

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