Taxonomy & naming
Dario kajal was described by Britz and Kullander in 2013 from a stream at Umolong in the Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya, India, at an elevation of 4,331 ft. It is a member of Dario, the genus of miniature badids that includes the scarlet badis group. The epithet is a Hindi word for kohl.
Morphology
FishBase gives a maximum of 1 in SL, which places it among the smallest perch-like fishes sold in the hobby. Like other Dario, males are the more strongly coloured sex; a full description of its pattern is in the original paper.
Habitat
FishBase classes the species as freshwater and subtropical. The cited collection record is from a small, shallow pool with stagnant to slow-flowing water, which was turbid and had no aquatic vegetation on the day of collection. It is recorded only from India.
Feeding
Diet has not been recorded for the species in the wild. Dario are micropredators that take copepods and other tiny live animals, and most refuse dry food.
Mating
Courtship and spawning behaviour have not been described for this species.
Breeding
FishBase has no reproduction entry. Other Dario spawn in plant thickets or crevices, scattering small batches of eggs without parental care, but that has not been confirmed for D. kajal.
In the aquarium
At 1 in it needs a small tank with a very peaceful community or a species tank, fine live foods such as baby brine shrimp and microworms, and cool to moderate room temperatures reflecting its upland origin. No temperature range is recorded for the species; the keeping advice here follows the genus.
Conservation
No IUCN assessment is known for Dario kajal. Its known range is a small area of the Jaintia Hills.