Introduction

Females can be put together with each other and one male in a reasonable sized aquarium.  Usually there is no serious trouble between them although a tank some hiding places is a good idea.

The males are usually much more spectacular than the females, having longer fins and more intense colour.

Temperature

Fighting fish are a tropical fish; 24̊ C is a suitable temperature. They can take at least 10 degrees higher than this, but will not be comfortable any lower than about 18̊ C. In a climate like that of South Australia they need heating in the winter. The usual way of heating the tank is with an aquarium heater.  A 50w heater is suitable for a small Aquarium.  If you have a room that never gets cold then the Fighting Fish can be kept there without an aquarium heater. A room that is only heated by the sun will get cold when the sun is not shining. This is not suitable.

Some very small tanks are sold for fighting fish. Some of them are simply too small under any circumstances.  some of the slightly larger ones are suitable without a heater in a place like Queensland with a warmer climate. In South Australia they are not suitable for fighting fish in winter unless they can be kept in a place which does not get cold.  Many of these tanks are too small to put a normal aquarium heater in; if they are that small, they are too small for a fighting fish.

Breathing

Fighting fish are anabantids.  They and their relatives can breathe air as well as water.  This means that they can live in much smaller aquariums than most fish.  In the wild they sometimes live and even breed in very small bodies of water including the water filled hoof prints of a water buffalo.  They are often also found in rice fields.  They need to be able to get to the surface or they can drown.  Although they can be kept in very small containers this is not an ideal way.  Like other fish they are affected by water quality.  A small tank is harder to keep clean than a larger one, and usually you cannot put a filter in.

Water

Rainwater

Rainwater is often used.  Some people use it successfully, but not all rainwater is safe for fish.  Rain, as it falls from the sky in South Australia, is generally good water.  When it comes into contact with the roof and gutters and then stays in the rainwater tank with any leaves etc which have washed in, it picks up contaminants.  Some of these are harmless, but others can kill fish.  If rainwater is the only type of water available then you will need to use it.  Apart from the obvious things like keeping your gutters clear and avoiding spraying near the house or if the wind is towards the house you can add a rainwater conditioner. This will add the salts that rainwater does not have.  It will also neutralise some (but not all) of the possible contaminants.

Not everyone in South Australia has mains water, but it is the most common type of water used.  In the metropolitan area Chlorine is added to the water.  This is poisonous to fish.  It can be got rid of by adding the recommended rate of a water conditioner such as Wardley's "Tristart" or Aquarium Pharmaceuticals "Super Strength Tapwater Conditioner". Another way is to leave it in a bucket or other open container for 24 hours.

Outside the Metropolitan area in areas such as the Adelaide Hills and the Barossa, Chloramine is frequently added to the water.  Chloramine is a combination of Chlorine and Ammonia.  It is more poisonous to fish than either Chlorine or Ammonia separately and is much more persistent than Chlorine.  In some places it is present in high concentrations.

Either of the two conditioners mentioned above will get rid of the Chlorine part of the Chloramine.  But they will need to be used at five times the recommended rate.  Other brands of conditioner will also work and also need to be used at a very high rate, but some of them may have other things added which can cause trouble if the rate is increased.  Leaving the water in an open bucket is not a practical way of getting rid of Chloramine.  It would take too long.  The quite low level of Fluoride added to S.A. tap water is not harmful to fish.

If the Ph of the water is adjusted to be less than 7.2 the ammonia from the Chloramine should not be dangerous.

There are also some water conditioners which remove ammonia as well as Chlorine.  One type is the CPV Complete Water Conditioner.  This also needs to be used at 5 times the recommended rate in the Adelaide Hills.  This is an ideal conditioner for fighting fish but it is more expensive than the other two mentioned.

Filtered Tapwater

Some domestic water filters including Pura Tap will remove most of the Chlorine and Chloramine. The filter cartridge needs to be in good condition. If you have a filter it is a good idea to use this water for yourfish.  However, because the filter may not remove all the Chlorine or Chloramine from the water, it is still a good idea to use a conditioner to be on the safe side.

Spring Water

Many types of spring water are suitable for fighting fish without any conditioner or modification.  Piccadilly spring water is good.  If you decide to use spring water it is a good idea to test the Ph of the water.  If it is too far from neutral you will need to adjust it.

Ph

Ph is a measure of acidity or alkalinity.  A ph of 7 is neutral.  Below 7 is acid and above 7 is alkaline.  The ideal Ph for fighters is about 7.1, but they can take moderate variations from this.  The Ph of water can change, so it is a good idea to check it regularly.

Foods and feeding

Aquariums and Companions

One fighting fish without any other fish can be kept in a quite small tank, provided that it can be kept warm.  Fighting fish are usually not an aggressive fish and can be kept in an aquarium with other peaceful fish of a similar size or smaller.

One aquarium I like for a fighting fish is the AquaNano range of tanks made by Aqua One.  Even the smallest, the AquaNano 25 is big enough for a fighting fish with or without a small community of compatible fish.

Like nearly all fish, fighting fish will eat another fish if the fish is small enough to fit in its mouth.  Generally a fighting fish can be kept with fish as small as Neon Tetras without trouble.  However, the occasional fighting fish may learn to catch Neons.  I would suggest that in a confined space fighting fish should be by themselves . I know of at least two cases of a fighting fish which has been put in a bag with neons and has learned to eat them.  Having learned, the fish is likely to continue to eat neons in an aquarium.  Fish have  good memories.

Fighting fish are slow and have long fins. They are very vulnerable to fish that nip fins.

Some of the fish that can be fin nippers and which I would not recommend as companions for fighting fish are Tiger Barbs, Red Eye Tetras, Serpae Tetras, Some Galaxies and Rosy Barbs.

Another way of keeping fighting fish is to use one of the ‘Betta containers’.  These come under several names, but are similar and allow several male fighters to be kept in one aquarium.

Another, similar, way of keeping fighters is to use a ‘breeding tank’ which floats in an aquarium.  Normally these are use for breeding fish such as Guppies, but they can also be used for keeping (but not breeding) Fighting Fish.

There are several other options for keeping fighting fish.  Aqua One makes a Duo and a Trio Fighting Fish tank.  These are big enough to put a small heater into one of the compartments.  There is enough conduction of heat between compartments to keep them all warm enough.

Transporting fighting fish

Normally fighters are transported in a plastic bag.  It is important that there be some air (or Oxygen) above the water in the bag.  The bag should not be allowed to get very cold or very hot in transport.  It is better that if you are transporting a male fighter that no other fish is in with it.

Siamese Fighting Fish are not very long lived.  Their normal life span is about two years.  The Male fighters normally on sale in shops are typically about nine months old, so if you have had a male fighter for a year, it is already old and could die of old age.

       Female fighters are usually about five months old when sold.

Breeding Fighting Fish 

The Siamese fighter is not one of the easiest fish to breed.  It is considered to be a medium difficulty fish.  Full instructions on breeding this fish would take up much more space that this fact sheet, but since I am frequently asked about breeding this fish, I will attempt to give a very brief description of breeding.  Before the fish can breed they need to be in good condition; both the male and the female need to be well fed for some time beforehand.  An increase in temperature will sometimes induce the male to build his nest.

After the male has built his nest, you can attempt to put a female in with him.  Watch them!  It is not unusual for one of them to attack and try to kill the other.  It is not always the male that tries to kill the female.

The fighting fish is a nest breeder.  The male builds a nest of bubbles on the surface of the water.

Then he entices a female to go under the nest with him.  They wrap their bodies round each other, and the female releases her eggs while the male releases his sperm to fertilise them.

After that the female sinks down in a sort of stupor while the male quickly picks up the eggs in his mouth and put them in the nest.  If he has not finished before the female recovers, she starts eating the eggs.  This process will be repeated until the female has no eggs left.  The male then chases her away.  She should be removed.

If there is another female available, in some cases, a male will then induce her to go under the nest as well and he will raise a bunch of fry from the eggs of both females, but you are increasing the danger of problems by having two or more females in while breeding.

The male guards the nest while the eggs hatch.  He also guards the newly hatched babies until they are free swimming.  After that he will eat them unless he is separated from them.

If you succeed in getting as far as having free swimming baby fighters, now you have the more difficult part.  The babies are very small.  You need reasonably good eye sight even to see them.

They will need tiny food.  In the wild they would be eating things like protozoans.  These are single celled organisms usually too small to see without magnification, but much bigger than bacteria.  In the aquarium hobby these are usually called ‘infusoria’.  Some of these will be present in nearly all aquariums, but there will probably not be enough for the babies. 

There are ways of making cultures rich in infusoria, but this is a big subject in itself.  There are also fry foods made by many companies.  Fighting fish will need the finest ones at first, such as Sera ‘Micron’.

If you succeed in getting them growing at first, they will soon be big enough to eat larger fry food such as Sera ‘Micropan’ or HBH ‘Fry Bites’.  At all stages, fighting fish benefit from some live food of suitable size.

At around six weeks old the baby’s accessory breathing organ; the ‘labyrinth’ starts working.  At this stage it will be necessary to have a small stream of air from an air stone to break up any surface film because the babies might not be strong enough to penetrate it to get air.

The males and females are normally separated as soon as they can be distinguished, with the males going into containers by themselves.

Types of fighting fish

The wild fighting fish have much shorter fins than the aquarium ones.  When they were bred in Thailand for fighting, colour varieties were developed, but fins were not selected for in the modem sense.  The long and fancy fins of the present fighting fish are a comparatively recent development.  Fighting fish are bred in many places.  A lot of the fighting fish sold in Australia are bred in Singapore.  Fighting fish come in many colours including blue, red, purple, white, yellow and black.

Many different fin types have also been developed, including the crown tail, the half moon the double tail and the delta tail.

C) Copyright is claimed for the text, video and photographs by Steve Challis, May 2008; the present booklet is an expanded version of a fact sheet written by Steve Challis in 1990.  

Steve Challis