Plakat Betta care

Introduction The purpose of this article is to give a short introduction on the Siamese fighting fish but I rather prefer to call "Plakat Thai". To lead the reader to have the same understanding before the reader going to other more detail articles. The topics of this article are:

• the structure form types of Plakat Thai
• the good structure form of Plakat Thai
• the conditioning Plakat Thai after net from the pond
• the fitness the fighter to maintain its aggressiveness.

Plakat Thai (Siamese fighting fish) developed from Bettas that were wild caught in the flood lands or rice fields. In the early times Thai people kept Bettas for fighting after they were done with their work, some people kept them as aquarium pets. Those who kept the aquarium Betta developed their interests in their own way.

People who kept the Betta for fighting developed it from the wild caught Betta, which was smaller, paler in color, and had less stamina. They developed it to be a stylistic fighter with a larger body, more muscle, and darker more splendid colors. It also developed shorter fins, but with a broader caudal peduncle to push the opponent and make him lose control. The most important things to develop are shape, fighting style, size, and jaw...etc. In Thai we call this type of Betta “Plakat Morh.”

Plakat Morh in Thailand nowadays has been crossbred with other lines such as Cambodian, Vietnamese, Malaysian, so now it is difficult to distinguish which one is which. Currently we breed long fin and short fin Betta splendens for export, serious hobbyists, and for show, not just fighting.

People, who keep the Betta as an aquarium pet, developed them for their beauty. Its fins should be long and bright with many colors. The most important things to develop for this Betta are colorful scales, long fins, balance of shape, and multiple colors. In Thai we call “Plakat Cheen” and now branching into Half moon and Crown tail form type.

This article would emphasis on the traditional short fin Plakat which is the gate way on branching various kind of Betta Splendens.

So Plakat Thai can be categorized into 2 main groups:

Short fin type or Plakat Morh Long fin type or Plakat Cheen Plakat Thai Form Type From the long development of breeding Plakat Thai for fighting purpose. Plakat Thai can be classified into 4 form types, showing in the old manuscript. Snake Fish Head and Long Body or Channa Striata Bloch Form Type In Thailand, this is the most popular body style of the good fighter. Its movements is very fast, very aggressive, and it has a sharp bite. These fish look rather long. The shape is slender when viewed from the front angle. The colors are assorted, reds, greens, and blues. Their body color is dark and the crystal scales are usually green. Most breeders in Thailand continue developing this type of fish. Short Head and Short Body or Anabas Testudineus Form Type This is an old style of Plakat Thai. They look short and thick when viewed from above, and look quite broad from the front view. Most of them have solid colors such as green, red, and blue. The scale color will be the same as the fin color. The scale of this type of fish is very tough with a very strong attack. However, the fighting style is quite slow. Sharp Curve Mouth and Long Body or Chitala Ornata Form Type This is also an old style of Plakat Thai. They have very good shape when viewed from the front, both square and broad. When viewed from above they might look thin, they also have long pelvic and anal fins. These types are very beautiful when flaring and shuffling. They are very fast and have a good sharp bite when fighting. Hybrid Type This hybrid type is an effort to combine the good nature and habits of the above types with the wild caught Betta. The wild caught Betta exhibits small size, speed, and has a very sharp bite. These are very desirable qualities. However, the first batch the breeder makes may not have the desired qualities. The experienced breeder will then select the very best from that batch to breed with the best from another bloodline, the selective breeding process will then begin from there, eventually achieving the desired result. The good structure of Plakat Thai The following descriptions about good structures for Plakat Thai come from my own discoveries and observations. My basic interest in Betta splendens is the beauty of the fish, but I also want to preserve its nature of fighting, not just the capabilities of the fighter’s skill which we will never know unless we let them fight. The reader should not worry whether or not the aquarium store fish he bought will meet my standards. Since we all realize in truth that, there is no real perfection in life, perfection only exists in an ideal world. The world is yours, so the Betta you have is an ideal Betta, and they are the best by their own nature.

It’s my personal choice to use the simple short fin Betta splendens as the model. I believe this is also applicable to the long fin. I do not provide guidelines for colors, because for me colors are just another bonus. I find that structure is the most significant.

The most challenging aspect of breeding...