''Badis badis'', also known as the blue perch or blue badis, is a small

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of Asian freshwater fish in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Badidae of the order

Anabantiformes The Anabantiformes , collectively known as Labyrinth fish. are an Order (biology), order of air-breathing freshwater Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish with two suborders, five Family (biology), families (Snakehead (fish), Channidae, Aenigmachanna ...

. It is found in ponds, rivers, ditches and swamps in northern India, eastern Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, including the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

Brahmaputra The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. I ...

Mahanadi The Mahanadi is a major river in East Central India. It drains an area of around and has a total length of . Mahanadi is also known for the Hirakud Dam. The river flows through the states of Chhattisgarh and Odisha and finally merged with Bay ...

and Indus basins. It is sometimes kept as an aquarium fish. It is a small, predatory fish that feeds on tiny invertebrates. Maximum total length is around . It is

sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

, with males growing larger and being more colorful, especially when excited, compared to females. Adult males have blue fins and may display dark vertical bands on the flanks, while the smaller females display little color. Several similar relatives, now recognized as separate '' Badis'' species, have historically been confused with ''Badis badis''. Historically the two genera that now make up the Badidae, ''Badis'' and ''

Dario Dario is a masculine given name, etymologically related to Darius. Given name *Dario Allevi (born 1965), Italian politician *Dario Argento (born 1940), Italian film director * Dario Badinelli (born 1946), Italian triple jumper *Dario Bellezza (1 ...

'', were placed in the family

Nandidae Nandidae, the leaffish, are a family of small freshwater fishes which some authorities classify in the order Anabantiformes, but which the 5th edition of '' Fishes of the World'' classifies the family and the related Badidae and Pristolepididae ...

; this is no longer the case.

References

Fish of Pakistan Badidae Fish described in 1822 {{Rayfinned-fish-stub