Dario

The scarlet badis, Dario dario, is a tiny badid from tributaries of the Brahmaputra in West Bengal and Assam, India. Among the smallest percoid fishes known, it grows to 20 mm SL and is a popular choice for 'nano' aquaria. Males are the only Dario with seven iridescent blue vertical bars on the flanks, and rival males can be very aggressive towards one another in confined spaces.

Dario dayingensis is a small badid from a tributary of the Daying River in the Irrawaddy drainage of Yunnan Province, China. Known for some years before its description, it was identified as Badis dario but is much closer to D. hysginon. It has been maintained by a handful of private collectors, and given its rarity the emphasis should be on captive reproduction, with the fish kept alone.

Dario hysginon is a tiny badid endemic to Myanmar, known from streams near Myitkyina in Kachin State and from nearby Lake Indawgyi. Traded as 'red melon Dario' or 'flame red Dario', it reaches around 20 mm in males and 15 mm in females. The barred form sold as Dario sp. 'Myanmar' is officially a colour form of this species, but it grows larger and the two will not hybridise in aquaria.

Dario kajal is a tiny badid from the Meghna drainage, described from the Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya, India, and also found in Bangladesh. It was referred to as Dario sp. 'Jaintia Hills' or D. sp. 'Bangladesh' before its description, and its name alludes to its prominent orbital stripes. Males have bars arranged in pairs on the upper half of the body, and given its rarity it is best kept alone with the emphasis on captive reproduction.

The black tiger Dario, Dario tigris, is a small badid from mountain streams south of Mogaung in Kachin State, northern Myanmar. First available to hobbyists in 2005, it was sold as Dario sp. 'Myanmar', D. sp. 'pyjamas' or 'fire red tiger badis' until Britz, Kullander and Rüber described it in 2022. It had been treated as a colour form of D. hysginon, but it grows appreciably larger, its females are distinguishable, and the two will not hybridise in aquaria.

Dario urops is a badid from the Western Ghats of southwestern India, recorded from the Valapattanam and upper Cauvery systems in Karnataka and Kerala. Unlike the rest of the genus it occurs in southwestern India, grows to at least 28 mm SL, and has a conspicuous black eye spot on the caudal peduncle. Though described in 2012, it was first collected in the 19th century, when Day recorded Badis dario from 'Wynaad'.