just got back from THAILAND.after a week of not even seeing a betta,i started to think my mission to see thai fish fighting was going to fail.i went into phuket town to get a tattoo and it turns out that my tattooist was a bit of an expert on fish fighting.after my tat was complete he took me on the back of his scooter to an alley behind some shops where a few of his friends fight fish.its perfectly legal there as long as there is no money exchanged.
these fish were the wild variety from farms and boy were they aggressive.i was astonished at the damage these fish caused one another and the punishment they can withstand.
the fight generally starts by the two wacking eachother with their tails,feeling the other fishes power until someone takes a nip.then the fish will take bites from eachother in sudden burst that splash water out of the small tanks.both fish stay at the top of the water to get air easily and the fight is stopped when one retreats to the bottom.
the big bites will continue ripping of scales and some even ripping large chunks of fin right off.i actually watched one swimming around with a large chunk of fin in his mouth showing it off like a trophy before dropping it to continue fighting.then the real dangerous stuff begins.see when the go for bites,its generally at the face where their gills open up.both these fish had massive wounds in this area.what happens every now and then is they lock jaws and hold onto eachother like mouth to mouth.then the shake like a pitbull
trying to rip the other jaw off.at the 45 minute mark of this particular fight,there was bits of fin and scales all over the bottom of the tank.the smaller but much more aggressive betta was carrying massive damage to one side of his body from concentrated bites in the same place.he looked like hed been hit by a fish car!
this is what i was really impressed with.these fish were not trained or conditioned to fight.they were plucked from the farm.and had we not stopped the fight at the 1 hour mark when the larger fish finally retreated,these fish wouldve kept fighting til they dropped dead.although the small betta won the fight,he later died of his injuries.the bravest thing i have ever seen.by all means that little betta shouldve been killed in that fight,but he had the heart of a lion.
a greta experience for me,taught me alot about where these fish come from seeing their natural habitats and fighting history.fish fighting is definetly exciting and i did enjoy it at the time,however later that night and even now,i cant help but feel for that little champion.he deserved better.i do have photos of the fish fight and will email them to you if you pm me.i didnt want to post them without permission from the moderater first.
Glad you had fun!!
