Are Fighting Fish Weak?

[Tyrannosaurus]

I've been keeping fish 'properly' for maybe a year now, and though I started with fighters and still have quite a few, I have observed that fighters seem particularly prone to ailments (particularly those resulting in dropsy type conditions) , much more so than other fish.

For example, since I started keeping fish I've had the fighters, a jack dempsey, an oscar, danios, a synodontis catfish, a jewel cichlid, a red tail shark and a bunch of baby angels. In that time I've lost none of the fish apart from fighters to illnesses, in fact, the worst thing that's occurred to any fish other than the fighters is that they got a bit of white spot a year or so ago. Since then, they've all been fighting fit, pardon the pun.

Fighters have a reputation for being incredibly hardy, but that hasn't been my experience. I see too on the boards here that people seem to lose their fighters almost randomly on occasion.

I have noticed that some fighters seem hardier than others however, I have some who have been with me since the beginning and some 'batches' that just all die off one by one for mysterious reasons of their own accord.

So, what's the deal? Are there some NZ fighters that are just constitutionally weak?

[Davd-lw]

from my experience, only the F1 and F2 from the imported stocks are showing the resonable quality, from F3, you need to introduce new bloodline to stengthen the pool. however, new indroduction can result 'kicking back'( not desiable tail type), and only small % fries are showing the quality, and worth to keep breeding.

two of the main probs we having are 1. limitation of quality stocks. 2. the way we keeping them.

back to basic. the original way of keeping fighters in Thai land is jaring or pond keeping, water change,and high protein live food. lets forget about filteration and fleaks etc, sometime, we are thinking too much on behalf of fighters, eg. bigger area for fighers to swim, Oxygen, water flowing etc. regarding to water quality, there is no way apart from manually water change can keep fighters happy.

[diver21]

short answer yes i think they are. but ive found that the PK ones are alot hardier and active than the long finned variants

[SamH]

Fighting fish are like many fish these days. They come in all different shapes and sizes, depending on the shape and/or size they can be very different. A plakat should have a better chance than a fancy in a more aggressive tank. The more you line/inbreed fish the more weak they tend to be. Again, it all depends on the individual fish, each seem to have their own personalities so you should be able to see if they can hold their own or not.

HTH

[Adrienne]

If its any help I find that the more often I feed bloodworms the more incidences of dropsy I get in my tanks. No bloodworms - no dropsy, bloodworms 1x per week (about 4 bloodworms each) - no dropsy, bloodworms 2x per week and the dropsy starts.

[BikBok]

If its any help I find that the more often I feed bloodworms the more incidences of dropsy I get in my tanks. No bloodworms - no dropsy, bloodworms 1x per week (about 4 bloodworms each) - no dropsy, bloodworms 2x per week and the dropsy starts.

interesting. do you mean fresh/live bloodworms or the frozen type?

I feed my fighters frozen bloodworms once a week. What is it about the bloodworms that can cause dropsy?

[Jennifer]

Dropsy is a term used for accumulation of fluid in the abdomen. Mammals get a similar condition known as ascites which is often caused from organ failure but can also result from other things like injury or infection. Certain foods can contribute to organ failure in some species by putting metabolic stress on the organs. I am not saying that there is definitely a correlation between bloodworms and dropsy, but it is possible.

[Adrienne]

Frozen bloodworms - I know I notice an increase in dropsy which is ime related to the bloodworms but I also know that other breeders of fighters say they only ever feed bloodworms. Therefore I only feed sparingly and rarely.

[SamH]

I used to feed my PK boy with only freeze dried bloodworms once daily, perhaps a day or two without food a week. Made him jump for them though and didn't let him get fat. No longer feed as he is part of a community now.

[Tyrannosaurus]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I have heard the dropsy/ bloodworm connection before, and I don't feed bloodworms because of it. I do find it frustrating that fighters can seem fine one day and be listing about half dying the next even when their water is super clean and their tank-mates are doing fine.

I tend to keep my fighters in either communal tanks (for non aggressive females) or in filtered separated tanks for males. It just seems as if there's almost no correlation between their conditions and their health.

Interesting point about the smaller tanks with the 100% water changes, is that what you do, David-lw? Your fighters are magnificent! When they keep them in ponds, are there males and females all mixed in together? How does that work with aggression? Is it simply survival of the fittest?

[Davd-lw]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I have heard the dropsy/ bloodworm connection before, and I don't feed bloodworms because of it. I do find it frustrating that fighters can seem fine one day and be listing about half dying the next even when their water is super clean and their tank-mates are doing fine.

I tend to keep my fighters in either communal tanks (for non aggressive females) or in filtered separated tanks for males. It just seems as if there's almost no correlation between their conditions and their health.

Interesting point about the smaller tanks with the 100% water changes, is that what you do, David-lw? Your fighters are magnificent! When they keep them in ponds, are there males and females all mixed in together? How does that work with aggression? Is it simply survival of the fittest?

PM'd.