Fish fighting dates back two hundred years to Siam, and a warrior clan called “Bettah”. Siamese fighting fish earned this label because of their aggressive behavior, and fighting fish became so common that the King of Siam taxed them. While not as widespread today, fish fighting is still an acceptable form of game in some cultures.
Betta fighting fish get a bad rap, and in some ways they don’t deserve it. Even going back to their origins in Siam (Taiwan now) and Vietnam, betta fish don’t fight each other to the death, like in a dog fight. Fish fights are judged more on bravery than bodily injury.
Fish owners don’t want to see death and injury, more domination and surrender. The winner is the fish that continues to attack and harass its opponent even after the weaker fish has turned around. Fish fights last from a few seconds to a couple of minutes, and their owners eliminate the fish.
Most of the fish fought only a couple of times, and if they won both fights, they were bred and lived like a stud today, keeping themselves in the best environment. Fighting fish were only found in Siam and some parts of Vietnam, and when the King of Siam gave Teddy Cantor a pair of breeding betta fish in 1840, he didn’t realize he was introducing this beautiful little fighter to the world. .
Mr. Cantor bred and studied his fighting fish for years and eventually wrote a scientific paper about them, giving them the scientific name of Macropodus Pugnax. After realizing that name was already in use, he renamed them Betta Splendens, or splendid betta.
In 1896 several breeding pairs were shipped to Germany, where they began their move to Europe, and in 1910 a pair was shipped to an American businessman, where they exploded, and have since become one of the most popular pet fish, and They are still only fought in Taiwan and Vietnam, where you can bet on betta fish fights at street markets.
When Frank Locke received one of these early pairs, he noticed a bright red coloration on their ends and thought he had discovered a new species. What happened was due to years of breeding, resulting in a new color scheme. Now, due to two hundred years of breeding, bettas can be found in just about any color scheme imaginable and can even be seen in banks, retail stores, and other public places.
