Furry Diary

Not furry, but we like them anyway.

Badis

Badis badis

Also called Chameleon fish, Blue perch, Blue badis

SpeciesShort profile

From South Asia: the Ganges and nearby river systems of India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan, with records from Pakistan.123

At a glance the quick version

Length6 to 8 cm123
Sizesmall
Can change colour quickly
Attentive fathers that guard eggs and fry
Calm, unhurried fish
1

Looks how to spot one

Small, compact scaled fish

A small perch-shaped fish. Males are larger and more colourful with bluish fins; females are smaller with a shorter, rounder body.13

Coloursbrownish to bluish bodydark vertical bands when excitedblue fins (males)very dark body in breeding males13

Personality what they are like

A quiet, slow-moving fish. Males hold territories and can be feisty with each other, so it suits a species tank better than a busy community.1

Daily activity how busy a day looks

Unhurried; spends time near cover and the bottom, hunting small prey.12

Grooming and care the hands-on bits

Temperature roughly 15-25 C (FishBase gives a wider 14-30 C), pH 6.0-8.0, hardness about 3-19 dGH.12

Home where they are happiest

Minimum 80 x 30 cm footprint (about 72 litres) for a pair or small group. Soft bottom, plants and caves for hiding and spawning.1

Food basics what goes in the bowl

A micropredator that eats worms, small crustaceans and insect larvae. Offer live or frozen foods such as brine shrimp and daphnia.12

Company who they like around

Usually solitary in the wild; keep one male per area of tank, with females or alone.21

The story where it all began

Hamilton described it in 1822 as Labrus badis. It now gives its name to the family Badidae, and several fish once lumped in with it are now known to be separate species.123

Fun facts for the dinner table

  1. 1

    Its nickname 'chameleon fish' comes from how fast it can shift its colours.1

  2. 2

    It spawns in caves, and the male guards the eggs and young.1

  3. 3

    A spawning produces about 30-100 eggs, which hatch in 2-3 days.2

Recognised by the official bits

IUCN Red List (via FishBase)
Least Concern (assessed 2010).2

The care rhythm Furry Diary remembers it for you

A typical home-care rhythm for a Badis. It is our own starting plan, not a vet's advice, and you can change every line in the app.

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Where this comes from

Every breed page shows where each fact comes from. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are pet people, not a science magazine. Tell us at support@furrydiary.app and we will fix it.

  1. Seriously Fish: Badis badis seriouslyfish.comused for size, care, behaviour, breeding, history
  2. FishBase: Badis badis fishbase.seused for size, range, water parameters, IUCN, egg count
  3. Wikipedia: Badis badis en.wikipedia.orgused for other names, size, range, taxonomy

Checked 2026-09-30. Text is written in our own words from these sources.