Male Betta Splendens build bubble nests when they are ready to mate.
The bubble nests help to secure the fertilised eggs and held them together
after the mating process. The males take the reponsilbity to protect the eggs
which it will gather and place under the bubble nest. The females play no part
after the eggs are laid and are chased away, leaving the males to guard the
nests and take care of the fry when they starts to hatch in about 2 days time.
It is this desire to protect the bubble nests that make the males aggressive to intruders and will fight to defend it.
Male Bettas are used in South East Asia
as a fish fighting game, not just for entertainment but also as a form of gambling.
Purpose bred Bettas used for fighting have been raised for centuries, these
Bettas will fight long and hard, and have sharp teeth and very strong scales,
very different from other Betta breeds.
The method to make them fight is to jar
them in a "fight" bottle once they are harvested from the ponds. The bettas
while in the ponds will not fight but will nip each other, the male siblings
being raised in the ponds since they were hatched would have formed a hierachy
among themselves and a pecking order established, which will provide the peace.
But once they are isolated and starts to build their own bubble nests in their
respective jars, their attitude will starts to change.
The video shows the Bettas
each in their repective jars flaring against each other. The Bettas are conditioned
in the bottles into believing that such an environment is suitable for mating and
will build their bubble nests. With flaring exercises for about half an hour and
over several days will be enough to make them into fighters, willing to fight
to the last. If they are then placed together to share one jar a fierce fight
ensue.
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