Taxonomy & naming
Schreitmüller described the species in 1923. The authority is given in the Catalog of Fishes as a variety name, and the species is treated as valid under Badis ruber. The type locality is a roadside ditch in the Irrawaddy drainage, about 30 mi along the Pyay to Yangon road in Bago Division, Myanmar.
Morphology
A small badid. FishBase gives a maximum of 2 in SL for males or unsexed fish. The epithet means red, and breeding males are the reddish fish of the genus.
Habitat
Myanmar, Thailand and Laos, in the Irrawaddy and Salween basins and the Mekong basin. FishBase calls it a freshwater, benthopelagic fish of small creeks with dense vegetation. It is common in roadside ditches and similar still-water habitats in the lowlands.
Feeding
Diet is not documented for this species. Badis in general take small live invertebrates.
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 quiet tank with dense planting, leaf litter and small caves suits a fish of ditches and vegetated creeks. FishBase gives no temperature, pH or hardness range for the species, and the atlas records none.
Conservation
The IUCN Red List classes Badis ruber as Least Concern, assessed in November 2011. It is common in roadside ditches across a wide range.