Badis
Badis badis
Badidae
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About
The badis is a 5-7 cm ambush hunter that has been in the hobby for over a century and is still bought as though it were a small community fish. It is not one. It is a shy, slow, bottom-oriented micropredator that hunts tiny crustaceans, worms and insect larvae, and it usually refuses dry food: Seriously Fish says Badis often refuse dried foods altogether, and Maidenhead Aquatics will only go as far as saying some specimens may take crushed flake, 'but this is not guaranteed'. Buy it and you are buying a frozen and live food routine. The second thing to plan for is the male. Badis are cave-spawners, and a male in condition takes a cave, darkens almost to black, intensifies the blue in his fins and defends the ground around it; rival males in a small tank fight in earnest. Give each male his own cave, placed well apart rather than clustered, and the problem mostly disappears. Two smaller points that catch people out: it is a cool-water fish by aquarium standards, comfortable from about 20-24 °C and quoted by Seriously Fish and Maidenhead down to 15 °C, so tankmates have to tolerate that; and dwarf shrimp of the Caridina and Neocaridina kind are food, not company. Do not house it with other Badis species - Seriously Fish warns they hybridise.
Care
A mature, quiet, heavily planted tank from about 80 x 30 cm, with sand, driftwood twigs, leaf litter, water-worn rocks and floating plants to break the light. Caves are not decoration: half coconut shells or upturned clay pots with a doorway cut in them are the spawning sites, and each male needs one, spread around the tank rather than grouped in one corner. Gentle filtration, gentle flow, dim light. 20-24 °C suits it, and it tolerates a good deal cooler, so any companion must accept the lower end. Keep a pair, or one male with two or three females; a bigger group works only where there is room for every male to hold a territory. Tankmates should be small, calm and slow - anything brisk will out-compete it at feeding time - and never another Badis species. Water quality matters more than water chemistry: Maidenhead notes it is somewhat delicate and does not tolerate elevated nitrate or swings in chemistry.
Diet
Micropredator that usually refuses dry food. Feed small live and frozen foods - Artemia nauplii, daphnia, cyclops, glassworm, grindal worms, microworm - and keep bloodworm and Tubifex out of the rotation, because Seriously Fish links a diet heavy in those to obesity and disease across the genus.
Tankmate compatibility
Gets along with (213)
Possible with care (175)
Avoid (30)
Computed by the AquaSage engine for a spacious reference tank — always check the full verdict for your exact setup in the calculator.
Telling males from females
What works for this species, most reliable first.
- Colour and patternA hint only · from about 6 months, and only on a settled fish
In rainbowfish, killifish and several barbs the male carries the colour — deeper and more saturated, intensifying further when he displays.
Also in these lists
Similar species
Same category and the closest water parameters — if this species isn't quite it, start here.
Sold in Lithuania
These Lithuanian shops listed this species in their public catalogue (checked August 8, 2026). Stock moves — ask before you travel.
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Frequently asked questions
- What tank size does a Badis need?
- A Badis needs an aquarium of at least 60 litres (15.9 US gallons) with a footprint at least 80 cm (31.5 in) long — for this species, swimming length matters as much as raw volume.
- What water parameters does a Badis need?
- Badis does best at 15–28 °C (59–82.4 °F), pH 6–8 and a general hardness of 3–18 °dGH.
- Is the Badis suitable for beginners?
- Badis sits in the middle of the difficulty scale — manageable for a careful beginner who has done the reading, but it has specific needs worth researching first.