pla kad (ปลากัด)

Thai. ‘Biting fish’. A fighting fish used in illegal betting. Its has the scientific name Betta splendens and belongs to the family Osphronemidae (formerly classified among the Anabantidae). It is a small, colourful freshwater fish native to the Mae Khong river basin and of which there are several species with many different colours and features. They are originally about 6-8 centimeters in length but through crossbreeding also larger species have been created. They usually have a long veil tail and flowing fins which are mostly the result of selective breeding. Unlike other tropical fish, they obtain oxygen from the air (fig.), as well as from water using their gills. This means that when keeping them in a bowl or an aquarium the top may never be completely closed, but also that there is no need for a filter or pump (fig.). This makes them popular pets with people on a budget. It is extremely protective of its area what makes it seem very hostile towards other fish, both their own kind and others, and males are more aggressive than females. When it feels threatened or agitated it will expand its fins and inflate its gills, giving it a look somewhat reminiscent of an arrow or a hammerhead. If housed with others of their own kind, one will bully the other or sometimes even kill it, and when kept with other small fish it might nip at their fins. Therefore two pla kad, especially males, are hardly ever kept in the same tank but instead are kept in ordinary glass bowls, alone and away from others. If someone does keep more than one pla kad fish, they are kept in separate bowls often placed next to each other with a piece of cardboard in between them (fig.). A soon as the cardboard is removed the fish get agitated just by seeing one another. Contrary to popular belief, in the wild pla kad never fight to the death. Once one side has clearly won the other normally retreats. In a fish bowl however, there is no place to flee, so the champion customarily continues to attack the loser, often resulting in death. Another characteristic of the male pla kad is that it builds and guards a bubble nest near the surface of the water. This is a floating mass of saliva bubbles at the bottom of which the female deposits her eggs (fig.). In the tambon Bangkachao (บางกะเจ้า), which corresponds with a peninsula formed by a huge bend in the Chao Phraya River in Samut Prakan, there is a museum on Thai fighting fish, called Phiphithaphan Pla Kad Thai (พิพิธภัณฑ์ปลากัดไทย) and in English referred to as Siamese Fighting Fish Gallery. In English, these fish are known as Siamese Fighting Fish or Betta Fish, and sometimes nicknamed ‘Jewel of the Orient’. See also POSTAGE STAMPS (1), (2) and (3). 回