History of the Fighter

To understand the history of the fighter you have to understand the human in you who like to watch with intent, the ferocity with which animals in general fight. It reminds us of our battles and helps many draw inspirations. Fighting animals were developed under many civilizations. Our very own used to be cock fights. A lot of money is gambled which in turn fuels the need to make the fighting breeds better and better.

The Siamese fighting fish, or more scientifically Betta. Splendens was a native of Siam (now in china). Rice cultivation surprisingly led to the the discovery of this spectacular fish. Even today wild bettas are found in the shallow rice Fields of Thailand and Cambodia.These are lands where the rivers know no boundaries, the land has no option but to give way. Hence the increase in paddy fields further mooted the development of the fish.

How the fish travelled to Thailand was due to the movement of the ethnic "Tai" tribe from china southwards to the fertile soils of what is now named after them "Thailand". After discovery the local communities soon resorted to raising these fishes as pet and use them in local games for fighting and betting.

Fighting was essential and the only way to ascertain the desired quality of the fishes. The aggressiveness, the colours, the temperament, finnage are the deciding factors. The winning fish used to become the icon of the next generation of fighters, while the losers were released back to the waters.

Selective breeding with females led to fighters with increasing desirable qualities. These betta matches still go on in parts of Thailand and known to be very exciting. It is this same old breeding and raring technique that makes the "thai" fighters some of the best in the world.

It is also not very uncommon to find communities dedicated to breeding these fishes in rural Thailand.

Selective breeding was the second import tool deployed in the development of specific fin types and specific colouration. This is a result of hundreds of generations of fighter breeding for many years in Thailand.

The fish enjoys a special place in the heart of many around the world who have come to admire them

The Fighter.

Siamese Fighting fish aka fighter aka betta is one of the most vibrant and popular of freshwater exotics.So much so that they are termed "the jewel of the orient". I hope the picture depicts the message.
This is one fish that requires minimum maintenance, little space and maximum entertainment. They are a sheer delight to look at come in various forms depending on the form of their fins.

Here are a few established forms:

Veil tails (flowing veil like fins)

Crown tails (extended rays making a crown)

Half moon (fins form a round shape of a half moon when flared.. like Japanese fan)

pla-kat (Short oval finnage)

Delta and super delta (the fins mimic a flowing delta)

And my personal favourite the double tails.

The fighter is a pretty much a loner and spends most of his life guarding his territory. Hence males cannot be kept together. Females although are aggressive too but can be housed together in a community tank with ample cover for them to hide from the aggressive ones. The are pretty brave and curious. They would watch your every move if you were around the tank intently.

The betta male builds a "bubble nest" on the surface of the water. This is nothing but oxygen trapped in thin coat of saliva. The males deposits the eggs in here after spawning. Speaking of which, the way these guys procreate is pretty extraordinary. The female is clasped by the flared male by the belly and squeezes it. The female releases her eggs and the male fertilises them with his milt. the eggs that fall to the bottom are picked up by the male and female and deposited in the bubble. After the act the female is driven away by him as she would in all probability eat all the eggs of starvation. For the next 4 days the male cares for the eggs till the fry are free swimming.

Bettas display a wide range of colours and some iridescent colours like blue/ green/ turquoise. This however is not a colouration of the fish, but a coat of guanine crystals that diffract light. Interesting?

The Flowerhorn (Lou Han)

This is one hell of a fish when it comes to character, looks and size. This is an example of man's quest to attain certain characterestics. A result of selctive breeding which include, the highly unpopular inbreeding( fishes have a weak bloodline and are susceptible to diseases) and cross between to subtypes. The flowerhorn is said to have been bred from red parrot chiclids and the other parentage still unknown.
The protruding head (Nuchal hump) is a special characteristic said to mimic the "god of luck/ laughing buddha".It is mainly a depocite of cartilege and fat which has been aquired through selective breeding.
Another important thing to look at is the colouration and markings on the body.The markings are beleived to bring luck as per Geomancy (an ancient technique of interpretting signs). Hence this fish very rapidly became a prized possession among Taiwaneese and later to the world. The irridiscent markings are also an added attaction on these fishes.
By nature, these fishes do not exist. That explains their extreme territorial agression towards anything and everthing entering the water. They wont be shy even having a go at your hand(non fatal). This coupled with a very curious nature makes them a delight to watch when something approaches the tank. They are solitary fishes and can grow upto less than a foot in length. It has an average life span of a dog (almost 7-8 years)!!!
Now, if your considering about a new pet, this is what you need to keep in mind. A tank of minimum 4x2x2 feet. A good filter as they dirty the water a lot. Some small sized pebbles ( these guys are builders.... they like picking up the stones and building something like a wall in the corner). And the fish offcourse (you get them lets say s,m,l,xl....). Avoid the s,xl. Smaller ones do not have colouratin or characteristics and hence difficult to interpret the quality. The larger ones, well lets say a common cannot tell the age, so they must be old!. The best buys and often expensive are the medium sized ones with just the amount of development need to identify quality. Since they have reached adulthood they are less susceptible to diseases than the smaller and older ones. They cost arround Rs.4000 when I last checked.
These guys like live feed, so arrangements will be needed for ocassional live feed ( shrimp,goldfishes/guppies... available as feeder fishes)
Although they are hard fish, they are susceptible to stomach problems. Overfeeding or infected live feed are the issues. The main symptoms of overfeeding related issues is the formation of gas in the stomach, resulting in the fish swimming upside down. Swim bladder infections. But these are only observed in really old fishes. Breeders have been heard saying the fish should only be fed once a week.Preferable live. Pellet food(for specially flowerhorns. E.g Hi red) is available and could be alternately used to enhance colour.
These guys are solitary fish, it will attack and kill any other fish (smaller) in the tank, partition glass is recommended to seperate these guys.
Overall a fun fish and receives a thumbs up!

The bubbles

Let me introduce you to my Aquarium. I try to keep things simple. So here's the stuff you would find in here. Interesting aquatic life forms and as an when possible a good photograph to prove the point. Also if needed, any questions and enquiries related to these fishes will be covered too.
See if it interests you :)
tc