Japanese Fighting Fish
The Japanese Fighting Fish - A Beautiful And Interesting Fish
The Japanese Fighting fish (Betta Splendens), also known as the Siamese Fighting fish, is a beautiful little fish having some peculiar habits. This little fish seldom reaches more than 3 inches in length, and can be found in a variety of colors.
The Japanese Fighting fish has its origins in Southeast Asia, in Cambodia and Siam (now Thailand). In the wild, the fish is normally found in shallow water, in rice patties and even in mud puddles. It is a Labyrinth fish, meaning it can survive in very shallow, almost stagnant water, and is capable of taking in air from the surface. Because of this capability, the fish can live out of water for a longer time than most other fish species.
The Japanese Fighting fish, referred to as a Betta by fish fanciers, makes a very good pet. It is sociable towards people, even though the male can be quite aggressive. Females on the other hand are generally quite docile. You'll soon discover where the fighting fish name comes from if you put two males in the same tank. It won't be long until they start going after one another. If you buy two males as pets and put them in the same tank, you'll very soon only have one pet. In Southeast Asia the fighting fish were bred for their fighting abilities. While in the wild, the fights might only last for a few seconds before one party retreated. But as the breeding programs progressed, the battles would be longer and more ferocious. The Bettas were introduced into Europe in the late 19th century, and into the United States in the first part of the 20th century.
Two of the more interesting behavioral characteristics of the fighting fish, or Betta, are its habit of flaring, and the building of bubble nests by the male. A male Betta will flare when confronted with another male. In flaring, the gills and fins are extended out, making the fish appear much larger. Quite often this will be enough to cause the other male to retreat. If the other male flares, you'll soon be witness to a fight. Most of the damage done during a fight is the tearing or shredding of fins. The Betta has tiny sharp teeth, and they fight by nipping or by biting and holding. Pet owners can usually get their pet male to flare by holding a mirror up to the fish tank. The male, thinking it sees another male will flare, and otherwise become quite agitated. While entertaining, this is not good for the fish if done in excess.
The other behavioral characteristic of this fish is that the male constructs bubble nests, nests consisting of thousands of tiny air bubbles. In most species of animals the female is the nest builder, or it is a joint venture. With the Betta, the male not only builds the nest, but carries eggs in its mouth to the nest. Often when a Betta spots a female, he commences with building a nest in the hopes that the female is ready to spawn. If she isn't, a fight may ensue, although a male generally gets along with having one or more females as company, and females rarely fight amongst themselves. Just don't put a second male in the tank!
Japanese Fighting fish, or Bettas, come in a wide variety of colors. In the wild they were uniformly a greenish-brown color, but following many generations of breeding, you'll find these fish displaying all colors of the rainbow. Some Bettas are solid colors, or have no color at all, being translucent (called cellophane color), white, or albino. Other common colors are yellow, intense red, purple, shades of iridescent blue, and black. There are several varieties of bi-colored fish and patterned fish, plus a wide range of multicolored Bettas.
Japanese Fighting fish have become very popular in this country. Fortunately, they are not bred or purchased as pets for the purpose of fighting, so much as for their extreme beauty, both in terms of form and color.