Taxonomy & naming
Ahl described the species in 1937 from Assam, and the name refers to that state. It belongs to Badidae, the chameleon fishes, a family of small, territorial, cave-spawning perches of the Indian subcontinent and Myanmar. The type locality is a rivulet falling into the Dibru River in the Brahmaputra drainage.
Morphology
A small badid. FishBase gives a maximum of 2.5 in SL for males or unsexed fish. Like other Badis, males carry the more intense colour and can change shade quickly with mood.
Habitat
India, in the Brahmaputra basin of Assam. FishBase calls it a freshwater, benthopelagic fish. The neotype locality was a swamp-like tributary more than 3 ft deep, with stagnant brownish water, a sandy bottom, trees close to the bank and trees and waterlilies in the water, in plains country under forest.
Feeding
Diet is not documented for this species. Badis in general take small live invertebrates and refuse dry food unless trained.
Mating
Courtship has not been described for this species. In the genus, males hold small territories around a cave or crevice and display to females with spread fins.
Breeding
Breeding has not been documented for this species. Related Badis are cave spawners in which the male guards the eggs.
In the aquarium
Sold by three of the partner stores. A small, still-water biotope with fine sand, leaf litter, bogwood and caves suits a Badis. FishBase gives no temperature, pH or hardness range for the species, and the atlas records none.
Conservation
The IUCN Red List classes Badis assamensis as Data Deficient, assessed in March 2010, meaning there is too little information to judge its risk of extinction.