To be honest i'm intrigue by the badis if i can figure out what to feed it; but first I think i'll wait a few days and see if these eggs hatch - using the 5 to raise the frys might be the thing to do initially. I'll have to put them in a pail till they get large enough to escape the embra tetra but maybe after 7 or 14 days i can put them in the 5. If i can get these critters to grow it'll save me $80 to buy new ones.
Are there small cichlids suitable for 5 gallon tank?
- Thread starter jake72
- Start date
I use 5 gal pails; they are large enough for my sponge filters and i can stack them. But once i get them large enough to not be eaten by ember tetra i want them somewhere i can actually see them - well see them if they come out of hiding. I find it easier to manage fishes in a glass box than a pail; also when i split my angle frys the ones in the pail were not nearly as comfortable as the ones in the 29; they like seeing what is 'outside'. I'd never raise angels in a pail again.
I think we tried a badis years ago. Fish that will only eat live foods were not a good option for us. True, there are more frozen & cultured foods available now...but still too much of a PITA for me when they can be so picky.
I honestly don't think there is a cichlid I'd keep in a 5 gallon tank.
I've kept badis many times over the years, including the common blue badis (Badis badis), the burmese badis (Badis ruber) and the scarlet badis (Dario dario) . I've never been able to get any of them to eat prepared foods, but they take to frozen quickly. The Badis speciesy breed easily and the fry are easy to raise. They have never attacked another fish, and I've kept them with some of the smaller tetras and rasboras, but I've never kept them with shrimp. The only aggression I've ever seen is when the male chases the female from the spawning cave, and while he's defending the spawn. The fry don't become free-swimming for a bout a week, but arre large enough they can be started on microworms immediately. If the cave is in a secluded spot you may not even know they've spawned. A 10 gallon tank is suitable for a pair of the Badis species, and the Dario species can be kept in a 5 gallon. I think you could do either a single or a pair.
I just lost the last of my badis colony, after some 15 years of maintaining it. I was getting too many deformities in the fry and figured it was time to start off fresh. I would like to get one of the rarer species this time around.
Another cichlid-like option, for future reference, are the pygmy sunfish of the genus Elassoma. I see the everglades pygmy sunfish (Elassoma evergladei) for sale on sites that handle native fish all the time, and Elassoma gilberti and Elassoma zonatum are sold quite often as well. You'll just want to check your state's laws and regulations on importing and keeping native fish.
WYite
Do you think the problem with the colony was inbreeding and if so could it have been resolved by introducing a male now and then from another source ? I ask in part because I'm concern about the long term viability of some of my fishes and if genetic mixing should be a requirement.
Definitely, to both questions. I originally started with 5 males from three different sources and 7 females from four different sources. Their pair bonds aren't strong and if you swap males and females regularly you can keep the gene pool fairly well mixed up. Over time though, it did catch up. Sources on the web generally state a lifespan of 4-6 years, but I found that to be more like 3 to 4. I had them for quite a few generations, maybe 6 or 7 I'm thinking. Other than being a little picky about what they eat, they are pretty durable and adaptable. The last two generations I saw were approximately 20% culls, either deformities or swim bladder issues. A couple of my friends had colonies originally started from the first and second generations of mine, and both of them are seeing the same thing.
If I would have added some fresh genetic material it would have helped. Part of that is my fault and part of that is due to availability. I saw them regularly for a few years when I got mine. But after that I wasn't able to find them locally. And by locally, I mean as far as 100 miles south in the Denver metropolitan area. The only shop that could, or maybe would, order them (a mom and pop place in Denver called "About Fish", these guys are great!) did so but I couldn't guarantee I could be down there within a few days and after a few days they wouldn't hold them, which is fair enough. They got them and by the time I got down there they had one female left. I took her, but that wasn't much help in the overall scheme of things. As for on--line, I never seemed to find them when I remembered to look. When I got on-line I used to typically only look at cichlids and catfish 90% of the time.
Anyways, I'd recommend them to anyone except the newest newbie. Even old-timers should give them a shot. They have the personality of cichlids and are attractive fish, but aren't anywhere as picky about water parameters and aren't nearly as aggressive other than small territorial battles, which are usually resolved with gill-flaring and fin flashing. When kept as a colony, the males tend to keep their black and blue breeding coloration longer.
I'm gonna start trying to run down some Badis ferrarisi and Badis assamensis. Both these guys are a bit different looking than either of the two Badis species I've kept.
WYite
Are dario dario the same fish as what you are describing ? Weird dario dario is the scientific name i wonder why it isn't badis xxx.
Dario dario is the scarlet badis. Badis badis is the common or Indian blue badis. These are the two most common species I've seen in the trade.
Dario and Badis are the only two genera in the Badidae family. They are separated due to several anatomical/physical attributes and one major behavioral attribute. Physically, Dario sp are smaller (~1" vs. ~2.5" for the genus Badis) and have several anatomical differences in the fin spines and the skeleton. The breeding behavior I described above is for Badis species; in Dario species the male stakes out a territory, often over a plant, and then mates with a female in a breeding embrace much like bettas. But instead of collecting the eggs, they both allow the eggs to drop onto the plant, spawning mop, sand, etc. below them. The female is chased from the territory and then the male guards the territory until they hatch. After that he exhibits no more care for the fry. I haven't had them spawn for me. Both times I ended up with five males and one female. For that reason I kept the female in a separate tank and moved a male into her tank for breeding. I'm guessing due to the move to another tank, the male would never return to breeding condition. As that was right at the height of my RV cichlid breeding set-up, I didn't try very hard and let them live out the rest of their natural lives. I was giving away anywhere between 30 and 100 juvie cichlids a week, for about 3 years. If breeding other fish I was dabbling with didn't come easy, I just didn't devote anymore time to it.
WYite
You are loaded with information. Which one would you recommend for a 5 gallon. I realize that the dario are smaller but it also sounds like they are more difficult to breed. While breeding is not necessarily a target it is always interesting side effect to having fishes; esp if the parents will tend to the frys.
