Sexes and territories on the first badis page
A scarlet badis record starts with sex and space, because the brilliant red-striped fish are males, the drabber grey-brown ones are typically females, and rival males divide a nano tank into defended patches. On day one, write how many of each sex arrived, photograph every fish, and note the source. Over the first week, sketch or describe where each male settles — which plant thicket, cave, or corner he guards — and record any chasing, flaring, or a subordinate male losing colour and hiding constantly. That territory map explains later injuries and stress far better than a headcount alone.
A tiny fish with exacting water to log
Log temperature, pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate from setup, noting that scarlet badis favour warm, soft to moderately hard water with very gentle flow and dense planting. Record filter type and how the outflow is softened, the lighting hours, and the water-change rhythm, because small tanks swing fast and this species shows it. Write down every plant and hardscape change with its date: removing one thicket can collapse a territory boundary and restart fighting, and the file should let you connect a behaviour change to the rearrangement that caused it rather than guessing at illness.
The feeding record is the heart of badis keeping
Many scarlet badis ignore flake and dry micro pellets completely, so the feeding section must name exactly which live or frozen foods each fish takes — tiny worms, baby brine shrimp, daphnia, or similar — and which it refuses. Note feeding method too: food delivered by pipette near a shy male's thicket may be the only way he eats while a bolder fish patrols the open water. Log appetite per individual where you can, plus any fish growing thin despite food present. A badis that stops taking foods it previously accepted, especially alongside colour loss or hiding, warrants prompt water tests and aquatic veterinary advice with this feeding history in hand.
Tank mates, snails, and the cleanup picture
Record every tank mate, including shrimp and snails, because scarlet badis hunt baby shrimp and microfauna and can be outcompeted by brisk feeders. Note what the fish graze between meals — a planted tank's tiny organisms are part of their diet, and a move to a sterile setup changes their nutrition overnight. Log snail numbers and any tank mate losses with dates. Also write down algae and detritus routines: who cleans, how often, and whether filter media was rinsed or replaced, since a zealous tidy-up that removes the microfauna and mulm can quietly starve a badis while the tank looks cleaner than ever.
A nano file that makes handovers honest
Scarlet badis are often rehomed because a keeper discovers the live-food commitment too late, so an honest record is a welfare tool. Keep the sexes, territory map, exact accepted foods, and water history together and backed up, and make the sitter note explicit: which food, thawed or live, delivered where, and how to tell a guarding male from a sick one. Update the file whenever a fish is added or lost. Holding the complete badis history in KinsLe as a Pet Passport keeps the records together in one portable packet, so the next keeper starts with facts instead of discovering them the hard way.