The Siamese fighter fish problem
Betta fish
A popular - and somewhat unusual - fish people keep in aquaria is the Siamese fighter fish, also called Betta fish (betta splendens). They originated in the 'stagnant' still waters of Thailand and they can survive in very little, dirty puddles of water. The males are quite beautiful and territorial, and will fight to death any other male in sight. Their beauty, behavioural displays and their relative ability to live in small aquaria have made them popular.
Again, though, when an animal becomes popular, this opens up a lucrative opportunity for the ornamental fish industry. The chances are that this fish will suffer as a result of this. Indeed, the product 'Betta in a Vase', where a fish is kept in a flower vase with plants in it, brought the Betta fish into many homes in the USA. Shops that do not specialise in fish have been accused of telling customers that the Betta does not need to be fed but they can feed it if they want to. R Hanby of Floral Fixations said "We have had Bettas in bowls for over a year without providing any other food than the plant, our brochure says you may feed the fish if you like". But what they do not say is how many of their fish die. It takes a Betta about a month to starve to death.21
Betta fish
The problems relating to the keeping of fighter fish do not need to go to the extent to that of the Betta fish. If fighter fish are kept with other fish, their long fins become targets for fish nippers.1 Either the fighter fish will become stressed and worn out from trying to run away from these fish, which will rip and tear at its fins, or it will become aggressive and fight with the other fish. The males do not get along well with each other but they will even bite the females to death if they are not yet ready to spawn or are past spawning.22
Alternatively, if the fish is kept alone, the chances are that is going to end up fighting its own reflection on the glass tank until it becomes a stereotypia. The following comment in one of the online fish care forums illustrates this problem:
"He's thoroughly miserable. Something I'd not considered before upgrading him (as there is NO literature on this) is that he can apparently see his reflection in the side of the tank. He spends his days and nights running along the bottom toward the corner of the tank. He won't eat, his fins are clamped, and when taking a break, he hangs in the water at an axis, not on his usual happy horizontal."23
Despite all these problems you still see fighter fish in many pets shops in Scotland, often housed in such ways that they are in constant view of other males (and therefore they are displaying all day), and sometimes are kept in extremely small bags, glass boxes or containers.
/www.advocatesforanimals.org.uk/camp...n/glassprisons/
