# Other Aquarium Forums > Freshwater Fauna >  Badis badis spawn

## aquanatix

Been sometime since my last post...Recently stopped on my pygmaeus spawns and decided to house a pair of Badis Badis. A love at first sight fish ever since i saw the bugger as a picture on gene's avatar. Finally landed myself a trio and have been consistently feeding them frozen BW as they seem to reject all other forms of fish foods be it flakes,granules or sinking bits. The trio are all housed in a M sized Gex tank with a simple sponge filter providing aeration and light "vegetation"  :Grin:  Anyway...awhile ago my male started colouring up nicely a change from his usual drab reddish hue and started turing real dark.Turning aggressive he started harassing both my females. Did some light maintainance and realized that one of my females looked noticeably beaten up and skinnier.It was only when i lifted up some of the DW that i discovered a batch of eggs laid snugly on a driftwood DESPITE my attempts to place a ceramic pot inside as a breeding site. :Evil:  Here are some pictures of my spawn..hope everything goes well.

*Setup:*


*Male:*

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Females:*

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Spawning site:*
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Male guarding eggs:*

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## aquanatix

Update...Most eggs have already hatched with wigglers taking on more defined shapes while father fish is still on constant "fan" duties.Egg yolks clearly seen now and should be able to start baby brine shrimp and microworm in about 2days.

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## aquanatix

Update...as of today,all eggs have hatched and fries are all free swimming.Egg yolks have all been consumed and they are now fed with BBS.Problem is they aren't exactly "free" swimming,preferring to stay hidden in the driftwood crevices and what not.Question is,should male be removed as of now since guard duty is over and possibly prevent him from consuming fries?Or should i continue to leave him inside to fully fulfill his father duties?Hope to get some insight from anyone here whom might have bred these fishes before.

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## aquanatix

Anyone whom might be able to offer some insight to my situation?As of today,fries are swimming all over the base but i have yet to observe any form of cannibalizing of fries.From what i've found online,some are saying remove fries once free swimming while the other half are recommending to leave male alone as he will exhibit full parental duties. Quite confused myself...

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## WiNd08

i believe you should leave them as it is. had bred badis before and i left them alone :Wink:

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## aquanatix

Thanks for the advice wind,they're currently together as it is since I'm lacking of space to separate them out.Hope father doesn't start turning aggressive!

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## doppelbanddwarf

Wow congrats, very clear pictures too.

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## exotic_idiot

wOW, Congrates bro... So has the fries growing up well?
Tried before once on these little cuties but they quite timid and also can't seem to find them in my tanks after sometime all disappear... Only kept before in a 1.5ft tank...

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## barmby

Give me one fry to raise  :Smile:

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## aquanatix

Update...so far i managed to fish out 17 pieces from the main tank,not sure if the females or male cannibalized their young but numbers were definitely dwindling in main tank from the initial 40 odd that i counted.The 17 are all doing well in a bare tank with only some spikey moss tied on a wire mesh as base.They're fed periodically with microworms with about 10-20% water change on alternate days.Hope they do well with me. Meanwhile,breeding tank has now been rearranged in hopes of easier egg harvesting in future. My 2 females are starting to look full again,time to try in a couple of days! Not to worry guys,i will eventually release young if they make it to at least a month old!*cross fingers*

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## aquanatix

Update...so far a total headcount of 19 fry,raised separately in a 20inch cube tank with very light aeration and some spikey moss tied on wire mesh. So far so good with no deaths,microworm diet seems to be doing well as observed by their constantly swelling white bellies?Trio of adults are now undergoing conditioning phase and my females have already began to plump up,should be expecting some more action hopefully soon. On a side note,managed to get some small claypots from daiso today,looks pretty good.Anyone here has experience with them?Planning to use this as a substitute cave for easier retrieval of eggs.Will post pics on my next post.

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## aquanatix

It's been about a month since my last update so here goes.Initial 20 batch of fries left with about 10.I've been doing 20% water changes via siphon every 2days and feeding microworms consistently. As you can see from my pictures attached,growth rate is pretty slow considering it's been roughly 2 months since they've hatched.The few survivors have all taken fish form,with visible pigmentation and internal organs.Eyes have also grown and have started adopting more fish like behavior. Have not experienced such slow growth rate in fries,could it partly be the pure microworm diet that i've been implementing? Could BBS have been a better alternative?

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## surfsgan

Hi Bro,
Congrats. Try getting live Daphnia. Some of the bigger ones can go for the $1 packets of smaller sea-monkeys(BBS) too. Microworms are more for filling up their stomach only.  :Very Happy: 
Is your pair starting to breed again ?

Thanks...
Shawn  :Smile:

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## CrazyPlantLady

I have a pair of Badis badis that have spawned also. I've been told both to leave the male in and to take him out. It looks like you said you left the male in. Did that work out well for you? The fry are still attached to the cave wall they laid in, not freeswimming yet. They spawned on Monday April 13th. The male guards them well, even chases my stick away (that I drop worms to him with). 

I have another tank I can move him to. Also, my female appears to be full of eggs again. Is that possible? Or perhaps she didn't lay them all the first time around?

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## aquanatix

My pair has stopped breeding surfsgan,i had to stop them as i'm really running out of tank space!BBS is definitely a better choice,just that i got kinda lazy hatching them!Already hatching them as we speak,so we'll see how that goes.
Congrats on your spawn as well crazyplantlady,leaving the male in was definitely ok for me...even after free swimming the fries are left alone.It's the females i worried about as they definitely cannibalize fries whenever they get a chance!So do pay attention and remove them ASAP.I'm not sure about yours but my females almost always breed when looking gravid.Only introduce your females in when you've already removed all fries into another tank.Do update us on your progress as well.

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## CrazyPlantLady

I re-homed some bumblebee gobies this morning and will move the female and all the microrasbora to the vacated tank tonight. Hope to get some pics of the wigglers (is that what you called them - it fits!) tonight too. I'll keep the male in there with them for now, but just fear he might eat them too. Once they are swimming, I'll move him to be with his 'wife' in the other tank.

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## CrazyPlantLady

Trying to figure out how to get light into his cave to get pictures of the fry, but here is proud pappa  :Smile:

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## aquanatix

No worries,the male is perfectly fine with strong parental instincts to boot.My male was left in main tank till about day 30 with no issues.After 3 consecutive spawns,the females are definitely a bigger threat then anything else even when fed fairly consistently.Not to worry,your batch will do fine!Do update us on your progress again :Smile:

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## CrazyPlantLady

Hello friend Aquanatix!

I still have my male Badis in the heavily planted aquarium with the fry, but I'm not sure how much longer they can be called fry. They are about 1/2 the size of an adult neon tetra now.

Sadly, a few days after the eggs were laid and before the fry were free-swimming, the male chased and attacked the female and during the night she died  :Sad:  It was a very sad day for me, as I was going to be moving her that next morning to a new aquarium.

I acquired 4 more females that have been kept in a hospital tank for over 30 days now. I have conditioned them on live foods and also frozen bloodworms. All look like they are now gravid.

I do not know if I should put the male in with all of them, or just one of them, and move the other three to another tank. I've set up a flowerpot for a cave that the male can use. My plan this time would be to remove the female or females to a new tank as soon as the eggs are laid.

What do you think would be best?

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## aquanatix

Great to hear about your fries,they seem to be doing well!As mentioned,males can get pretty aggressive during their "guard duties" so i guess your female's death was inevitable?Hence i usually remove mine as soon as i notice the males coloration darken. 

My setup includes 3 females to 1 male so i'm guessing 4 would do just fine as well? i suppose the number would help spread out aggression? If any case,since you have four females a good idea would be to try out 2 at a time.

Lastly,for my group flower pots usually get ignored!No matter how bare the tank they seem to refuse to lay their eggs within the pots but instead choose to lay theirs on the side of driftwoods or even on the gravel!My suggestion would be to try it out...if they do spawn in cave,it would be much easier to remove entire batch should you raising them artificially.Keep us updated with pics next time!

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## CrazyPlantLady

It is so difficult to take pictures of the fry the way they bred the first time (in the heavily planted tank). Everytime I get close with the camera to take the picture, daddy fish chases off the fry and sits (swims?) between the fry and the camera! Here is what happens: First is one of the fry by the sponge filter: 

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/S6300041.jpg


Then male comes in to 'protect' fry from my mean camera! : 

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...05-23-2009.jpg

More fry: 

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/S6300096.jpg

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/S6300090.jpg

And now the new females: 

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/S6300109.jpg

Daddy Badis badis cruising his tank: 

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/S6300097.jpg

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## aquanatix

Excellent pictures! Your females are literally bursting! What did you condition them on to get them looking like this? With fries this big,you'll have no worries...They'll do just fine as of this size.

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## CrazyPlantLady

> Excellent pictures! Your females are literally bursting! What did you condition them on to get them looking like this?


I initially had them in a tank with some microrasbora. They came to me skinny and no color at all. I offered them frozen bloodworms first (I must shave off very thin strips of the block to feed the microrasbora). They loved it, so I gave them larger pieces, that way, they could get more food and they ignored the tiny pieces for the other fish. A side note: they learned to eat some flake food I think because the other fish did, and they were hungry so tried it. 

Then I got what we call Black Worms, have seen them called Mud Worms (*Lumbriculus variegatus).* I like them a LOT because they live their entire lives underwater. That way, if I give too many or they get full (that happens, they are FAT now with eggs), they can eat it later when hungry again. They are in a tank with no gravel, but the worms will burrow under the gravel if they can, so you must be careful with that. They will not die and foul the water, but may breed. I do not think this is a bad thing. 

The male Badis LOVES to hunt the worms. The worms will stick out their 'head' and he then grabs it and tugs and pulls it out of the gravel. He gets so animated and excited, showing all of his colors when he is hunting. 




> With fries this big,you'll have no worries...They'll do just fine as of this size.


With the size they are now, I am hoping they are safe from being eaten. As I do water changes, I try to find some and siphon them out of the tank. Then I add them to the microrasbora tank (about the same size!).

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## CrazyPlantLady

Hello again friend Aquanatix!

I have some questions about how you bred your Badis fish. You say that you have 3 females and one male. 

Did all of the females lay their eggs with the male and he guarded a nest with all 3 sets of eggs? Or did you remove the females once you observed that he had a set of eggs to guard? 

I don't wish any harm to come to my females this time and will do two at a time as you suggested, to keep two on reserve just in case of any violence on his behalf.

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## aquanatix

Mine are placed together mostly due to convenience sake.i have little space to house these fishes hence I'm a little tight up at the "property" front. :Razz:  

Anyway,I've witnessed their mating ritual and it seems like the males are very prolific fish with multi partners.All females when gravid usually appear skinny upon confirmed egg sightings after several days of mating.In this case i would assume that all 3 females took their turns with the egg laying?

In your case,my initial advice makes more sense as you would not want to risk female deaths like i have initially.Do try it out and observe their behavior,update us whenever you can.Good luck! :Smile:

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## CrazyPlantLady

I think that I will put him in with two of the females and observe closely. They are clearly gravid, can see the eggs through the skin when they are in the bright light. If I see one get skinny, I will remove her but leave the other until I see her skinny as well, or until I see that he is too aggressive to her. 

Once the fry are free-swimming, I will put him back in his original tank and raise the new fry alone. 

I have two worm cultures (Walter worms and Banana worms, both smaller than Micro worms) and infusoria growing also. Once I see them trying to eat the BBS, I will offer that. 

Sorry to add so much to your posting. Is best to start my own? I do not wish to be rude. 

Thank you so much for posting your initial information. Was very very helpful to me to get the first fry.

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## CrazyPlantLady

First batch of Badis badis fry: 






I am trying to breed my male again, having acquired 4 more females. I've been conditioning them on live foods and they are fat with eggs now.



I placed a clay flower pot in the males tank to see if he would like it. Within hours, he had claimed it as his and chased off the Otocinclus that he shares his tank with.



He started courting the females immediately after they were added to his tank. There is lots of chasing and he is showing off his beautiful colors.













The females checking out the cave:







Hope for eggs soon!

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## barmby

Check out the male. It is very pretty. This is what happen to male fish when 'heat'. Nice specimen, nice..

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## CrazyPlantLady

I have had to take many many photos to get those. He is in a heavily planted tank to afford the females cover, and it is hard to catch his image as he swims by because he is so quick! 

When I received him originally, he had shredded fins. All healed except part of his tail. As its been 6 months now, I do not think it will heal. The tear went all the way back to the flesh of the body  :Sad:  

He is still trying to convince the females to lay their eggs. The females are still fat, so no one has been convinced yet.  :Grin:

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## CrazyPlantLady

Ok, all the girls are now skinny and the male is hiding out UNDER the pot I provided for him to use as his cave. I had hoped to move the pot with the eggs to a seperate tank to try to hatch the fry, but the male had other plans! 

The male still comes out when I feed the females their worms to get his share, but darts back to the nest between worms. 

I think I may try to siphon out the fry before they become free swimming. The last time, they took almost two weeks before they all were swimming. I have microworms and Walter worms (even smaller than microworms!) in cultures ready to feed them. I think I could get more of them to adult size if I raised them outside the planted tank, since it's so hard to feed them in the big tank.

Not sure how to do this, but I think I will try. Wish I could have convinced the male to use the pot for his nest!  :Exasperated:

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## CrazyPlantLady

Friend Aquanatix!  :Jump for joy: 

I chanced putting all four females in with the male (also due to space available in tanks!) and they are all now skinny. It did spread out the aggression by having more than the one I had before. I removed them to house them back in the 'girls only' tank for now.

I did a good gravel vacuum and found at least 50 free-swimming fry! I stopped counting at 30, so could be more. I have kept the water I've syphoned out of the male's tank and still am finding fry among some of the gravel. I am taking the airline tubing and taking only small amounts of water at a time to search for the fry. They are so tiny, but so very very quick! They do not seem to like light, which makes it harder for me at first to find them, but now that I know that, I can 'herd' them to an area I want to retrieve them.

 :Grin:

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## aquanatix

As always..i'm very amazed with the way you fatten up your females.They look literally swollen!I could never get my females to grow this big! Looks like another spawning session is in order :Grin:  I've given up mine as i'm housing another batch of ram fries in my grow out tank...gd luck!

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## CrazyPlantLady

I think the females get fatter being away from the males. I know it is so with the microrasbora.

Here are the fry I have now. There are over 100! I find more every day. No idea how many will make it, but I will surely try my best. I just added a lot of floating plants from the male's tank so there should be a lot of infusoria, plus a piece of driftwood. I do not see them trying to eat the Banana worms yet, but I will try to offer them daily after doing a water change.



I am keeping a photo journal of the fry growth. They hid so well the first time in the male's tank due to the plants, I only saw them if they happened to be near the glass in the front or side of the tank. I think I will do daily pictures at first, then maybe 1 or 2 times a week.

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