Tropical Fish Forums

[jimtuc]

I am trying to sex my badis. One of them is darker and more colorful and very territorial towards the other which is a lot paler and has a concave belly. Also the lfs had them labeled as 'dwarf red flame badis', but they are about two inches long and look more like badis badis, so I have ruled out scarlet badis. I have read countless articles and never heard them called this. And everyone seems to have a different way of sexing them. Any info is greatly appreciated!

[deborah_claro]

If by "scarlet badis" you mean Dario dario, then you are right - they are tiny, only reaching about 2 cm (maybe three-quarters of an inch) with a fairly slim profile. I have Dario dario in a species set-up.

Although I've heard that Badis badis is easy to sex, the females being smaller and duller, with a rounder body, usually only males are imported for the hobby. So folks rarely get to see a female B. badis in the flesh.

Therefore, my guess is that you may have two males with one being dominant. The concave belly may mean that the dominant fish is starving the weaker one by competing better for food.

I've seen this in a Dario dario tank - one male (or even two) hovers in a corner or near the top, looking very pale, almost gray. The other male is brightly colored, out in the open, with all fins erect. There are slight fin extensions on the mature male Dario dario, so I suspect the male Badis badis develops these, also.
HTH

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[unissuh]

Deborah has pretty much said it all; I just have to add that while there are a lot of comments about how easy Badis/Dario are to sex when mature, a lot of specimens are sold while barely mature. Immature specimens are quite hard to sex as they haven't developed the full coloration, extended fins etc as mature ones.
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Fishing in the Rivers of Light

[jimtuc]

These are such an interesting fish. After buying my first two, I had to go back to get the remaining two at lfs. I couldn't believe how much they colored up after I brought them home. I was worried they wouldn't be compatible with my other fish, but there hasn't been any issues whatsoever! The ones I have must be badis badis, b. ruber, b. khwae, b. siamensis, b. ferrarisi, b. kanabos, b. chittagongis, b. tuivaiei, b. corycaeus, b. pyema, or b. assamensis. They are definitley not dario dario.