My Scarlet Badis isn't happy...

I added a Dario Dario to an old planted 5 gal I was overfeeding 2 shrimp in. So it has loads of planaria, daphnia, and blackworms I'd put in. He immediately went to town eating. His belly is full.

So I thought he'd be happy but he spends most of his time swimming against the glass like he's trying to get out... Not exploring, or hanging out in sheltered areas, but like constantly trying to find a way out. Its only been like 2 weeks, but I thought he'd act a little more comfortable by now. I like the fish and I think he's the right addition, but its kind of distressing to watch...

Do I not have enough cover for him? Scarlet badis are fine with high bio material in the water, right?

 

You have plenty of cover. When one of mine died thats what he did too. When I got another male and female they compete for her...They are all happy now. Both males have nice color. The males flare and chase but dont harm each other. I would say in a 5g I would only get one. I have a 9g. Try for a female. (I know they are hard to come by) When I give them live food they get all jiggy....lol

 

Correct, they reside in vegetation, appreciate large floaters and almost stagnant water. Your tank looks decent for a single dario. They are highly territorial though and similar to other territorial fish, they might see some reflection and act accordingly. Honestly, I am not sure how much truth this holds, but I have similar experiences in the past with Dario and flaring in front of the glass. Nowadays, my tanks are large and dimmed, but still keeping only Dario (black tiger) in tanks. Flaring never occurs apart from interaction with conspecifics.

I once had a Dario stressed after putting him in and this resulted in the Dario trying to jump out of the tank for less than a minute. Highly unusual behaviour for Dario species. I keep some of them in open tanks with water levels almost at par with tank height and have never lost a specimen.

Conclusion: dimming tank lights might help or increasing ambient lights, but the former seems easier. Alternatively, you can place large dry leaves on the sides, which has the additional benefit of stimulating the presence of live foods.

 

Correct, they reside in vegetation, appreciate large floaters and almost stagnant water. Your tank looks decent for a single dario. They are highly territorial though and similar to other territorial fish, they might see some reflection and act accordingly. Honestly, I am not sure how much truth this holds, but I have similar experiences in the past with Dario and flaring in front of the glass. Nowadays, my tanks are large and dimmed, but still keeping only Dario (black tiger) in tanks. Flaring never occurs apart from interaction with conspecifics.

I once had a Dario stressed after putting him in and this resulted in the Dario trying to jump out of the tank for less than a minute. Highly unusual behaviour for Dario species. I keep some of them in open tanks with water levels almost at par with tank height and have never lost a specimen.

Conclusion: dimming tank lights might help or increasing ambient lights, but the former seems easier. Alternatively, you can place large dry leaves on the sides, which has the additional benefit of stimulating the presence of live foods.

I must have weird ones then. They all get along fine. Both males are fully colored. The pair I had first were supposed to be a male and female. The one was pale and the other colored. I thought they were a pair. The one was suuuper picky and died. The "female" colored right up. Male......who surfed the glass until we got another pair. THIS time it was a male and female. So 2 males and a female. They get along good. No one ever has nipped fins. I posted a pic of them in the Instagram thread.
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I must have weird ones then. They all get along fine. Both males are fully colored. The pair I had first were supposed to be a male and female. The one was pale and the other colored. I thought they were a pair. The one was suuuper picky and died. The "female" colored right up. Male......who surfed the glass until we got another pair. THIS time it was a male and female. So 2 males and a female. They get along good. No one ever has nipped fins. I posted a pic of them in the Instagram thread.
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Those 2 look great!

Thanks for the info, both of you. Good to know it's a known single-badis thing...

Don't think I'll put another male in my 5 gal, but if I ever come across a female it would be interesting to see what her presence would do.

Think I'll look for some leaf background, put that around the outside and hope he settles down.

 

I'm breeding Dario Myanmar/Black Tigers for years; so I'm a bit biased towards these fish, but they do resemble scarlets to a great extent. In tanks were I keep 2 or maybe 3 males it is possible for them to move, seemingly peacefully, together; especially if one is younger than the other. But if I would add two fully-grown adult males from different tanks to a single tank (I'm talking about 20-40 gallon tanks, just for Dario) they no doubt start flaring, create territories and guard their borders by flaring and brief chases.

I have red about a personal observation of scarlets in their natural habitat aggregating in very loose groups; these could be temporarily or interpretation by the observer.

All in all, it could be flaring, at least I think I have observed this a few times in the past, or it could be glass surfing due to stress, but if this has been going on for 2 weeks, that seems like a lot, especially observing the conditions of your tank.

So give the leaves a try and let us know if it makes a difference; the leaves are also beneficial in other regards and will hardly lower your ph.

So a little vague writing by me; Im in a hurry as I need to finish some work...