Habitat:  Wild fighting fish live in calm waters of small lakes, ponds, slow rivers, and irrigation ditches. They prefer shallow, clear water with summered plants under which they can hide from predatory birds. In still waters fighting fish often swim near the surface to breathe. They will suffocate if submerged too long. The fighting fish feeds on plants, small worms, and fragments of dead animals. A voracious eater, the fish grows quickly and may complete its entire life cycle in just over two years. During courtship the male nibbles at the females scales and may even bite at her fins.

Predators:  The male fish fights to defend its territory or mating rights during breeding season. The male is most ferocious when attacking a rival suitor. When he becomes angry, the male begins to glow, its flanks and fins illuminated in vibrant shades of metallic green and red. The heightened colors warn the intruder, sometimes intimidating the weaker fish into retreating.  In a fight, one fish advances fiercely, ramming the other in the flank, scattering scales or slitting a fin with its narrow teeth. 

The other instantly retaliates, and before long both fish may be badly injured. In uneven matches, the weaker fish normally flees after only a few minutes with damaged fins. Captive fish are bred for their ferocity. Unable to flee, they may battle for hours until one of the fish dies.

Fighting Fish & Man: In Thailand the fighting fish has been selectively bred for centuries to enhance its appearance and ferocity. The resulting fish is very different from its wild ancestors. More colorful than the dull gray or green wild fish, the captive bred species have long, flowing, iridescent fins. Known for their aggression the fish will fight to the death. People traditionally placed large bets and pitted the fish against each other like game cocks in a cockfight.

Breeding: The male's courtship display both intimidates rivals and attracts females. If he is unsure of the other fishes sex, the male waits for it to respond; if it is a female, she folds her fins to indicate interest, whereas if it is a male, he attacks. Before courting, the male builds a nest for the eggs by blowing sticky mucus bubbles that bind together and form a raft. The eggs stick to the underside of the raft, safe from predators and close to oxygen. After the male performs this display, he leads the female under the nest. 

He entwines himself around her and turns her on her back. She releases eggs into the water, which he then fertilizes. The eggs are laid in small batches, and a they are released, they sink down through the water. The male catches them in his mouth and blows them up into the sticky nest. He guards the nest until the eggs hatch.

Key Facts:
Sizes: 
Length: Wild fish grow up to 2 1/2 in.
Breeding:
Eggs: Tiny, spherical, and transparent. Laid in 3 - 7 bathes of several hundred.
Hatching Period: 24 - 30 hours.
Lifestyle:
 Habit: Solitary, territorial.
Diet: Small insect larvae, particularly mosquitoes; also aquatic crustaceans and other animal matter.
Lifespan: About 2 years.
Related Species: Siamese fighting fish belong to the order of perch like fishes, Perciformes, the largest order of fishes in the world. The 7 species of fighting fish are closely related to the cgouramis and mud skippers.
Distribution: Siamese fighting fish inhabit Southern Asia from Thailand to BOrneo. Cultivated varieties are bred in aquariums around the world.
Conservation: The brightly colored aquarium varieties are selectively bred from cultivated stocks. Wild populations are not threatened.

Did you Know:
The males fighting fish is an oddity among fish species because he takes care of the eggs. He chases the female away from the nest after mating because she is likely to eat the un-hatched eggs as he attempts to fasten them securely to the raft.

How the Siamese Fighting Fish Breeds:
1. Before mating the male builds a nest. He blows mucus bubbles that stick together to form a raft like construction.
2. The males wraps himself around the female and turns her on her back. She releases her eggs and the male fertilizes them.
3. The male catches the sinking eggs in his mouth and then blows them into the nest.
4. The eggs stick to the nest. The male stands guard over them until they hatch.

Fighting fish with long fins are more vulnerable them the short finned varieties and are almost always defeated because they can not move as fast with their long fins.
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