Can someone help me better understand my badis badis and honey gourami?

R

rsnprocess

Small Fish
#1
Jan 21, 2011
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#1
Right now I have 2 badis badis (regular, not the scarlet) and 2 honey gourami (smallest of the gourami, but not dwarf) in an 8 gallon biocube. Don't worry I'm cycling a 29 gallon for them. Both of these are not supposed to get over 2.5 inches. Both are supposed to be peaceful; the badis badis are supposed to be shy.

My badis badis llike to hide in their little separate "cave" spots at night. Mine are both pale pink with little darker stripes and beautiful blue eyes. However, they beat the honeys out of food. They will chase off the honeys and they even will go to the top for food before the honeys.

My honey both look the same to me.

Can't tell which sex either species is.

When I move them (after the 29 gallon is ready), they will be in with a group of 5 x-ray albino pristella tetra (my cycling group) and a group of 7 neons that I will eventually add from another small tank. I hope the honey gourami won't be as shy in the larger tank. Any comments? Would anyone suggest leaving the honeys in the 8 gallon.

Any suggestion of anything else you would do?

Here's my current set up:
Cycling 29 gallon with 5 x-ray pristellas

8 gallon biocube: (keeping this tank)
2 badis badis
2 honey gourami
1 hillstream loach
1 bamboo shrimp

3 gallon: (This tank will become a quarantine tank)
5 neon tetra ( when I move them, I'll add 2 more)

I appreciate any of your comments.
 

O

OrangeCones

Elite Fish
#5
Feb 27, 2009
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#5
These are my female Badis badis:



And this is an adult male and a juvie male Badis badis:





I've not seen one colored quite like yours before. Are you sure they are Badis badis? What are you feeding them? It is quite unusual for Badis badis to be aggressive feeders unless its live food.
 

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R

rsnprocess

Small Fish
#6
Jan 21, 2011
10
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#6
Thanks for the Pictures OrangeCones

I'm feeding my 2 badis badis the following (alternating):
frozen blood worms
aquathrive nourish .5 pellets (this is supposed to be very high quality; better be cause it's expensive)
new life Spectrummax pellets (they have a little garlic for finicky eaters)

They are doing well in the 29 gallon; they been in there 2 days now. They are holding there own with the 3 x ray albino pristella.
 

O

OrangeCones

Elite Fish
#8
Feb 27, 2009
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#8
IThinkTherefore said:
That fish looks exactly like a shellie:

Neolamprologus multifasciatus - Google Search

Could explain the hiding in caves :)
Click to expand...
I think you are correct, IThinkTherfore. The male Badis badis will guard eggs in caves, but I've not seen any hang out in them otherwise. And after 3rd generation captive bred, they don't take pelleted foods yet for me. They are notoriously hard to get off live foods like blackworms.

They used to think the Badis badis WAS a cichlid, but it was reclassifed long ago. More closely related to the anabantoid now they say, whoever 'they' are!
 

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R

rsnprocess

Small Fish
#10
Jan 21, 2011
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#10
Just found out that my badis badis are not that species at all . They are many banded shell dwellers or Neolamprologus multifasciatus. Can't trust some of the LFS people can we?
So I've been reading up on them. Sure would have saved me and them much stress if I'd know they don't belong in just any community tank. I'm turning my 8 gallon biocube into a "multies" tank. I think since they prefer sand and shells I'll be changing things in their environment. I hate to move them now for the third time, but this youtube video shows them in the environment they prefer:
YouTube - Multifasciatus Digging in Sand
 

IThinkTherefore

IThinkTherefore

Large Fish
#12
Oct 29, 2010
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#12
rsnprocess said:
I'm turning my 8 gallon biocube into a "multies" tank. I think since they prefer sand and shells I'll be changing things in their environment. [/url]
Click to expand...
You are so awesome! It's great that you are being such a responsible pet owner and giving them a great home! Also, adorable video *SUPERSMIL

aakaakaak said:
WINNAR!

Someone had that dead on.
Click to expand...
Haha, thanks! ^-^
 

O

OrangeCones

Elite Fish
#15
Feb 27, 2009
4,395
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#15
In 4 generations tank-raised now, all I can get them to eat is freeze-dried, frozen, or live worms. I had 2 adult females that would pick at flake food but none really ate it. All have ignored pellet foods so far, and I've tried 15+ different types. I've tried housing them with more fish that already take prepared foods to see if they'd learn that it WAS food, but no luck. Even 5-7 days of no food, they will not try it. They are really picky it seems!

Sorry to highjack the thread!
 

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