Siamese fighting fish “We cannot keep two male fighting fish in the same tank, because male fighting fish have a particularly strong attacking habit.” “The fighting between male fighting fish is bloody and cruel. The end result is often endless.”
Beautiful and outstanding Siamese fighting fish
The fighting fish is a very interesting creature with extremely bright colors, red, yellow, blue, purple, cyan, white, and even black.
Another major feature of fighting fish is the ferocious and combative habit of male fish. In order to grab territory and fight for their mates, male fish often “fight” between them. Both sides become extremely fierce, attacking and biting each other with all their abilities, until one of them is seriously injured and defeated or even died.
Siamese fighting fish,
Also known as Siamese fighting fish, colorful fighting fish, Thai fighting fish,
It is native to countries such as Thailand and Malaysia.
Like other fighting fish of the same kind, the overall appearance of Siamese fighting fish is laterally flat, the head and back are shallowly curved, the back and belly are straight, the dorsal fin is located behind, the fin rays are longer, the ventral fin is below the pectoral fin, and the anal fin is at the base. Long, fan-shaped tail fin.
As a recognized leader in the world of fighting fish, Siamese fighting fish’s prominence can be described as all-round. It is not only one size larger than other fighting fish, but also more gorgeous in appearance, and its fierce and combative qualities are even better. Under normal circumstances, people will not keep more than two adult male fish in a tank, but this problem does not exist between female fish.
Therefore, in some aquarium stores, people often see that the store has put up some transparent water tanks or water tanks with colored fish swimming in them. At this time, the number of fish can be used to judge the male and the female.
△The two fighting fish are separated by glass, but their eyes are still staring at each other.
And some males living in the “single room” sometimes even fight their reflections in a serious way.
In fact, most of the Siamese fighting fish on the market are artificially cultivated, and few wild individuals appear. After generations of manual intervention and evolution, Siamese fighting fish have also been differentiated within the interior. One type is more and more colorful and exaggerated display type fighting fish, such as horsetail fighting fish, lion king fighting fish, half moon fighting fish, etc. , The other is the more brave fighting fish, which is often used for gambling.
Nowadays, Siamese fighting fish is known as the “underwater gem”. Thailand’s annual export volume alone exceeds 20 million, which are sold to more than 90 countries around the world. While bringing stable income to fish farmers, it also forms A unique cultural phenomenon.
The blood and tenderness of the “Gladiator”
Siamese fighting fish generally mature sexually at 4 to 8 months. When the male fish enters the estrus period, it will need a mate. Like most creatures in nature, in order to fight for a spouse, there will always be a “dragon and tiger fight” before the winner has the opportunity to pursue the spouse first.
After winning, the males will take into account the growth and breeding environment of the next generation in advance, and then start to “build the nest.” The way males build their nests is very special: they float up to the surface to inhale, and then spit out a series of blisters under the water plants-this is the “love nest” they build for their offspring.
△ Siamese fighting fish inhaling
After the nest is completed, the male fish will “proposal” to the female fish. They will swim back and forth around the female fish, dance lightly, and try to show their beauty. In this process, it will unfold all the fins and protrude the gill membrane. Because the male fish are in a state of extreme excitement at this time, their bodies are often in a state of tremor and twitching, and the color will be more normal. More conspicuous and splendid.
However, if the female fish has not reached the estrus period or is indifferent to their marriage proposal, the male fish will become angry and chase the female fish continuously and even kill her.
Of course, if the female agrees to the male’s proposal, her body color will darken, and lines will extend on the side of her body in response.
But what is unexpected is that during the mating period, although the female fish will also help her partner to conceive and raise the eggs, more often, the female fish will swallow the eggs into their stomachs and eat them! At this time, the male fish who is extremely grumpy will drive the female away immediately.
Next, fierce and combative, they will show their “iron-blooded tenderness” side, incarnate as conscientious and good fathers, taking good care of their children, and guarding the nest for several days during the incubation period of the fertilized egg. During this period, it constantly spit out foam to repair the bubble nest, stroked the water with its fins to increase the oxygen required for the development and hatching of the eggs, and brought back the scattered eggs, and continued to pick and eat the unfertilized dead eggs to avoid dead eggs. Mildew and fertilized eggs.
△A bright red fighting fish is building a nest
After three to four days, the larvae of Siamese fish will leave the bubble nest to live alone, and in a few months, they will also enter adulthood and combine with their mates to lay eggs, thus completing another cycle of life.
“Gambling fish” used by humans
Among the folks, there are countless acts of opening gambling by using fighting between animals. In Southeast Asia, especially Thailand, Siamese fighting fish is specially cultivated as a gambling tool.
Watching fighting fish has not only become a way of leisure and entertainment, it has gradually evolved into opening and gambling, and the high gambling has triggered a fanatical pursuit.
In Thailand, fighting fish competitions are popular at all levels of society, from ordinary people to the ruling class, almost all people are keen on it. Nowadays, with the continuous cultivation of Siamese fighting fish, people are competing for financial resources only to win the fighting fish competition.
Many of the artificially cultivated Siamese fighting fish exist as gambling tools, and their fate is often bleak. At the same time, their wild populations are also facing many survival crises, even being evaluated by IUCN (World Conservation Union) It is VU (Vulnerable) level. The Thai government has also set up a special project and hired experts to investigate and protect the wild population of native betta fish.
After investigation, it was concluded that, in addition to being affected by habitat disappearance and pollution like other wild fish, Siamese fighting fish also faces the threat of further development of farmland.
On the other hand, Siamese fighting fish has become a powerful invasive species in other regions because of people’s random release. In January 2014, people found a large number of Siamese fighting fish in the northern plains through the Adelaide River in Australia. They pose a serious threat to the survival of local fish, amphibians and other marsh wildlife.
Today, when human activities have an increasing impact on the natural environment, almost all animals cannot completely determine their own destiny, and where they should go in the future is worth pondering for everyone.
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