Colour of female Dario dario/Scarlet Badis

[afroturf]

Hi, I had managed to pick up what I hoped would be 3 pairs of Dario dario now I know the males are easy to sex but females are less easy especially when young. Of the there possible females I picked up one is definitely male, one is fingers crossed a definite female the third is more difficult, its generally grey, also more shorter/dumpy in body form than the males however there he/she does have hints of red suggesting it could be male. Conversely I have seen one of the males trying to impress she/he, definite flirtation not aggression. My question is do females ever show red colouration?

Possible female? see slight hints of red on the flanks



More promising female

 

[zozo]

Seriously Fishy says

This species is very easy to sex but often only males are traded.

Females are smaller, less colourful (they do not have any red or blue pigmentation on the flanks and only indistinct bars or none at all) and possess a noticeably shorter, stumpier-looking body profile than males. In addition, males develop extended pelvic, dorsal and anal fins as they mature.

And this is about the most serious database out there to find.

Dario dario – Scarlet Badis (Badis dario, Badis badis bengalensis) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

 

[John q]

It's a long thread but this might be of interest to you.

Has anyone ever seen a female Scarlet Badis?

I'm trying to work out why these essentially don't exist in the UK. I have been trying to find one for years without any luck, I've even driven cross country on more than one occasion to buy a 'female' from a shop that's been adamant they have them only ever to find unambiguously sub dominant...

www.ukaps.org

Also @louis_last might be able to offer some advise.

 

[MirandaB]

I have a female with some orange colouration like that,yours looks female to me and the males attentions would indicate that too 🙂

 

[afroturf]

Hi thanks for the replies people, I have seen the seriouslyfish page and was looking for any peoples personal experience to the contrary, so thanks MirandaB good to hear that subtle colouration may be present in certain females. Only had them for a few days now, hopefully further monitoring will confirm them the be female.

 

[lazybones51]

Looks like a female to me! I was lucky and managed to pick up a pair from a local independent store, one of which has similar markings to yours. On one of your photos you can just make out the dark bars the females occasionally display (they seem to be able show/hide them on demand).