Like most badids this species is poorly documented and has yet to find significant popularity in the aquarium hobby, though given its restricted natural distribution it is unlikely ever to be available in large numbers. Within the genus it is most easily confused with B. ruber and B. siamensis but both these species have rows of dark spot-like markings on the flanks which are lacking in B. khwae. The three also differ in the shape of the dark marking on the caudal peduncle; in B. ruber it is rel…

Like most badids this species is poorly documented and has yet to find significant popularity in the aquarium hobby; to date it has only been exported in very limited numbers. It was for a number of years known as Badis badis siamensis and will be seen labelled as such in older literature. Within the genus it is most easily confused with B. khwae and B. ruber but can be identified by the flank patterning which consists of rows of horizontally-arranged dark markings. In B. ruber these appear mor…

Like most badids this species is poorly documented and has yet to find significant popularity in the aquarium hobby. It is easily confused with B. assamensis at first glance as the body patterning of the two is almost identical but can be distinguished by its slightly smaller adult size, noticeably elongated, more well-developed jaw profile and some other, mostly internal, meristic characters.

Like most badids this species is poorly documented and has yet to find significant popularity in the aquarium hobby. Within the genus it is most closely-related to B. pyema but the two are unlikely to be confused as B. corycaeus is much the deeper, darker-bodied fish.

Prior to 2002 the family Badidae included just five species of which only B. badis and, to a lesser extent, Badis dario (referred to as B. bengalensis by some sources) were popular in the aquarium hobby. However an extensive rev…

Like most badids this species is poorly documented and has yet to find significant popularity in the aquarium hobby. It is easily confused with B. blosyrus at first glance as the body patterning of the two is almost identical but can be distinguished by its slightly larger adult size, noticeably shorter jaw profile and some other, mostly internal, meristic characters.

Prior to 2002 the family Badidae inc…

Like most badids B. kyar is poorly documented in aquarium literature and has yet to find significant popularity in the hobby, though given its restricted natural distribution it is unlikely ever to be available in large numbers. The fish in our image is a specimen included in the only batch of this species known to have been exported to date. This species has a very slender body shape (which may be an adaptation to its habitat) and in this respect is similar to B. pyema. However B. kyar possesse…

B. ruber is among the better known Badis species in the aquarium hobby with trade names including ‘Burmese badis’ and ‘red badis’.

It was referred as Badis badis burmicanus for a number of years and will be seen labelled as such in older literature.

Among congeners it is most easily confused with…

This species is among the more well-known badids in the aquarium hobby, and is a popular choice for ‘nano’ aquaria since it is among the smallest percoid fishes known.

It is easily told apart from congeners since it is the only species in which males possess a series of seven iridescent blue vertical bars on the flanks.

This species is sometimes sold under the trade name of 'chameleon fish' due to its ability to rapidly change colour, especially when breeding or stressed. It was originally described as Labrus badis by Hamilton but Bleeker reclassified it as Badis buchanani in 1854; he had adopted the species name 'badis' as the new name for the genus and wished to avoid using a tautonym. At that time the use of tautonyms was avoided in zoological taxonomy but is now permissible under ICZN ru…