20 Gallon Scarlet Gem Badis Tank (Planning and Build)

Fishfriend1

Fishfriend1

Fishlover Extraordinaire
Dec 11, 2009
3,958
3
38
Southeastern PA
Real Name
Mr. Palmer
So, backstory: my time at my high school is almost over. For my graduation progect, I built a 20 gallon community aquarium. However, that tank is going to be taken down and the stock except the molly placed into my 75gal. This is happening next week, so I only have a week to prepare for it. Now, on to the new tank idea!

A Scarlet Gem Badis Tank. The scape will remain the same (draining water, but leaving decor inside tank along with sand). The tank is 20 gallons, and it's a long tank, so I could probably get away with 4, maybe 6 gem badis. The tank is lightly planted, though I can add plants with relative ease, and has a mini-canister filter for filtration. Heated, with an airstone, and a T8 light. This little tank is very cool, and I plan to add the Gem Badis sooner then later if possible. However, I have some questions:

1) What other stock can I have with them?

2) Will they get along with the single male molly I can't move into the 75 with the female mollie?

3) How many can I house in a 20 long with plenty of decor and several caves?

4) How hard is it to feed Gem Badis?

5) Will the Gem Badis be okay in a somewhat high-traffic room at my moms house, or should I put the tank in the basement with the rest?

Thanks in advance for all help :)

~Traivs
 
Can anyone help with my questions or will I have to learn by experience?
 
Unfortunately I don't know much about those fish. I'm happy to hear about your upgrade though. Good luck getting your answers. I'm site someone will chime in soon
 
I've had a couple scarlet badis. They are timid and shy, so away from high-traffic areas would be better. They are very tiny, but establish territory, so no more than 4 in the tank, 6 if you can have 4 females and 2 males, but females are almost impossible to get. Any small, docile dither fish should be fine, such as exclamation point rasbora, ember tetras, etc. I would stick with the smallest of the small schooling fish though. Make sure you have your filter intakes covered.

If the scarlet badis you are getting are tank-raised, they will probably accept frozen food, anything tiny should work, but I found that I had to spot-feed mine because they are very timid eaters. I fed mine live black worms after I painstakingly picked out the smallest blackworms for them. Grindal worms are about perfect for them though if you don't mind a live worm culture. You can get a baby medicine syringe from any pharmacy (6ml with no needle or anything) and take a piece of 1/4" semi-rigid tubing about 8-12" long and stick it onto the end of the syringe. That will allow you to suck up the worms and drop them right infront of the scarlet badis' face.

Mollies get big, I would not put one in a tank with scarlet badis, which are only about 3/4" long.
 
Okay, thank you Taari! I'll figure out something to do with Mondo (male molly) but for new I guess I'll just stick in him the 20 while I wait for LiveAquaria to have gem badis in stock again. He's not much larger then 3/4in long himself either yet lol (been that size for a while now... midget molly :D)

I don't mind a live worm culture, but don't have any experience taking care of such a culture. Do i have to feed the worms and what?

Thanks for the reply :)
 
Also, I hear they eat Cyclops (the tiny ones), is it possible to breed Cyclops in a tank (like a 5gal with sponge filter) and then use a turkey baster or similar to suck them out and then release some into the 20long for the Gem Badis to eat at their own leisure? And can the same be done for Dahpnia and the like? I also read that they eat mosquito larvae, is this a true statement?
 
Here's a great article on how to grow grindal worms http://www.livefoodcultures.com/grindalworms.html

I would research different foods for the worms though, since your fish are only as healthy as their food, and the worms are only as healthy as THEIR food. Eating nothing but oats doesn't seem all that healthy. I think i recall some people feeding their worm cultures a vitamin-packed fish food.
 
wow, that's surprisingly simple. Now all I need to do is get my mom to let me breed worms in the basement lol.

Why are all the best looking fish so hard to care for? Seriously though... you never see a super amazing fish and find out it eats anything that hits the water :irked: Again, thanks for the help :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom