Thread: I officially give up on Japanese fighting fish

Siamese Fighting fish don't do well in large open tanks, in the wild they live in rice paddies and rarely travel more than a few inches. Siamese Fighting fish do really well in jam jars or small tanks up to 10-15 cm in diameter. Males must be kept apart as they will fight to the death, when breeding place 1 male and 2-3 females in a small bowl and watch them go for it.

I guess I had better not mention that I love Marine Aquariums then. Had my first one back in 1970.

Siamese from what I have read should be in a minimum of around 11/15L

Those stupid little tanks are hideous and the fact they have to be kept in really small tanks because they live in puddles is a myth. I think like most things with animals it's for our own viewing pleasure not the fishes pleasure.

The smaller the tank for any fish the greater the chance of ill health and the fish not thriving. The smaller the amount of water the more water changes, the more likely the build up of ammonia because the water dirties quicker etc etc etc.

Siamese fighting fish should be generally kept in small containers or tanks, tiny containers are generally for transport or sale. They do not do well in large tanks. We had them live over 12 months when we had fish. The problem is a lot of breeders and resellers keep dodgy stock. My daughter had one a last year an it lasted 2 weeks.
If you are going tropical or warm water get some advice on what fish can be kept together. Nothing more disheartening than your fish eating one another.
Oscars are also good fish, but will eat anything else in the tank and will grow as big as your tank will allow them. If you get Oacars you will need to weight the lids as they like breaking glass lids and jumping out.

actually, I've found they do very well in a decent sized tank but only IF it is heavily planted... if the majority of the tank is open water, then forget it they are cannon fodder for everything else!

There are a few people on my other forum I frequent that have them in large tanks but like you say echidna they are all planted tanks...

Dullbird do you mean 1.1 to 1.5l? Which is what I have also read. Mine was in about that amount. Thing was the 3 days I had it it did not feed either, looked to be the healthiest fish in the shop too. The other thing is you really do not know how old the fish are when you buy them.

No crash I meant to write 11 to 15 litres.

That's the problem with fish shops is your right you don't know how old they are or what sort of up bringing they have had...

The best thing is to get in to a fish forum like I have and buy from members on there you can see photos of there tanks you read their posts so you can work out how experienced they are. They are often cheaper and you generally get better advice