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Everyone wants a fish with sharp teeth and a strong bite.
Everyone wants a fish that is strong and have hard scales.
Everyone wants a fish that is a smart fighter and hit vital parts.
Everyone wants a fish with excellent skills, able to out manoeuvre the opponents.
Everyone wants a winner!
But ask any breeders and players what they want and they will say "I want a fish that never surrenders".
And Yes! To have a winner you must have one that does not want to lose! How logical.
The above video shows my blue fish, a gift from a friend who bred it and pitted against a green fish.
My friend told me it was from a "respectable" spawn. But it was hardly the case, it started badly and very soon got injuries to the cheeks, on both sides! and also lost much
fresh on the neck and much of the body too. By the second hour it had become a punching bag and could hardly bite.
With wounds on both cheeks, and injuries to the neck, it could not inflict damage to the opponent nor moved
quickly to avoid one.
Many spectators told me I have lost, just a matter of when. Any time soon I thought.
But it's determination to carry on despite the injuries and his opponent's lack of any, made many
of us watching in admiration in spite of it's many short comings in the fight.
This blue fish of mine got guts I was told and with pure grit it just refused to surrender and by the
end of the 4 hour scheduled fight, it had nevertheless forced the green fish to the bottom of the jar.
The green fish although dominated much of the fight and suffered no visible injury, but it's will
to carry on with the fight were left wanting by the 4th hour and any chances of winning also vanished.
After the fight have ended, which was a tie by the way, a breeder jokingly told me that I have a good fish.
But the better of the two was more accurate I think, all because it survived.
He was in fact very disappointed with the green fish, to him this fish had got no spirit to fight at all and all his brothers from the spawn are useless too!
I could see from his remarks, how much emphasis he placed on good attitude in a fighter and to him that is
fundamental in a fighting strain, first and foremost.
With his experience he could never be wrong as many winners won based on pure grit and perseverance and
many losers lost for a lack of it.
The willingness to fight on despite the injuries and possible death are what fighting strain bettas
should have and such strong character put them apart from other bettas.
Such strong desire to win is not a natural trait and many people take it for granted.
In the wild, bettas will fight for a territory in order to mate and propogate, to be seriously
injured or be killed in a fight will end their chances of survival not to mention of having a chance to breed,
therefore most fights are short and not life threatening.
But in a fighting strain breeding program, it is very different, fight they must and till the very end if need be.
It is this continuous selection of breeders that are the
hardest fighters with extreme gamenesss that successive fighting strains are made from.
It is centuries of selective breeding that made such bettas not just strong physically but
mentally prepared to fight and win at all cost.
I have come to realise what "respectable spawn" meant from my friend, it is pure grit and it is an instinct.
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