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The concept of training:

The purpose of training a fighter is to get him in top physical condition and elevate his instincts of aggressiveness in a natural way. Chasing female is one way to make the fighter develop aggressiveness and top physical shape. Muscle and the mucus coating on the fighter’s scale will grow (which will increase toughness of scales) from protein being consumed through the training period. For the fighter this is preparation for breeding purpose so that it why he must prepare himself to be the strongest in order to mate female. Training should continue until the fighter is ready for mating period.  The fighter should be at an extreme state, this is when you want to take him to fight.

What not to do

Most newcomers think the harder the training the fighter will gain more strength and have tougher heart. This concept is totally wrong.  THESE ARE THING YOU SHOULD NOT DO:

• EXCESSIVE TRAINING –Training your fish too hard will get him stressed and he will break down. He will not fight. He may express aggressive in the first hour and slow down after because he already consumed all energy in his training period.
• EXTENDED TRAINING: Training your fighter to long will cause him to become tamed, dull, lose prime time and lose its nature of aggressiveness.  The appropriate time to keeping and training a fighter should not last longer than 15 - 20 days from when your fish arrived. Once your fighter arrive you should conditions the fighter in IAL in 1 - 2 liters the best is 15 liters container more about 7 days for its adaptation to the new environment.
• JANTUR TRAINING or swirling water is unnaturally training: Always keep in mind that "Any training method unnaturally of the fighter is wrong". In the natural habitat fighting fish very happy to lives in the low level still water with peaceful environment, its always escapes from the stress conditions such as strong stream of water or disturbance from any alien animals.

Conditioning the fighter

The most importance stage of training the fighter is conditioning the fighter in the suitable way. It would take 1 - 3 weeks of conditioning period. If this stage is failed, the stage of training the fighter would be meaningless.

The purpose of conditioning the fighter is to see its readiness for taking a real course of training.

• To see the healthiness of the fighter. Not all the fighters come to the hand of receiver are healthy and ready taking to the hard training course. Some of them may get hurt from a bad handle or over-stress from journey and fall into sickness. So the period of conditioning is to observe the health and readiness of the fighter or you may have to discard the one that getting sick. Starting to open the bag, you should observe the fish in the bag whether it is already sick or not. Then observe the completeness of physical structure especially mouth and gill that it should look normal. However, there is no problem on torn fin. Because some fighter may just net from the tank and they might pecking each other in the tank. The conditioning container can use 1 – 2 liters with IAL that producing the dark tea light color.  The healthy fighter should build the bubble nest within 3 days. The water should be clear; the dirty object should be lying on the bottom of the container. The fighter should swimming in the good manner. If water has a lot of dirty object with dust hang around and look cloudy. The fighter builds no bubble nest. You can presume already that your fighter not in the good condition. Change water and put new Indian almond leaf if the fighter shows no sign of better condition just simply discard this fighter and do not forward it for training to fight in the ring.

• To diet or improve the fighter condition when arrived. Most of the fighter you received is fresh from the pond. So they require reshaping to be appropriate physical structure. Some may come with too fat or too slim. So the conditioning period is a good time to reshape them and forward them to the next training step. If a fighter arrived with the fatty body you have diet them by condition it in the small container say 0.5 liter of water and feed it with small amount only 1 time for 2 days. The period of conditioning should be longer at least 10 days but change water every 5 days. The fatty fighter can not fight well even you train it in the very good way. In case the fighter comes with slim or thin body, you should condition it in the larger container and feed it as much as it can eat. The conditioning period should be short, say 7 - 10 days. Too slim fighter though, it may swim and fights fast, but in the long run fighting, a fighter may have no energy to beat an opponent.

• Before taking a course of training 5 days, choose only the healthy fighter to show on board in 2 liters of water glass (picture), with new water and new Indian almond leaf. The shifting time should doing on evening before dark. This is to prevent the fighter hit or sliding the glass, due to its stress and aggressiveness. Open the card board for a few times morning and evening. The ready fighter for taking to the real training course should show its sensitivity, alert active and show its aggressiveness (picture). The body structure should be fit and extremely dark color. The most importance is, it should start to build the bubble nest.

After 5 days showing on board you can decide which fighter should take into the training course. 

Proven way of training

Suitable temperature for a fighter is 28 C. Lower temperature will cause the fighter to be dull not active and keep himself at the bottom of the jar. Higher temperature will cause stress and the fish will be over active from consuming too much energy. The fighter should not stay in unstable temperature (temperatures that go up and down fast or water that changes from warm to cold in the same day).  The smallest glass container should be 2 liters. The best size is 15 liters of water in oval glass container or plastic bucket with a slight color of dried Indian almond leaf. Water should be prepared one day in advance. The contents of the prepared water are:

·         Oval 20 liters glass jar or 20 liters bucket but put 15 liters of water or 70 percent of the container.

·         Put tetracycline one capsule250mg/60 liters (If you do not have any problem).

·         One leaf of dry Indian almond leaf

·         Aquarium plants or small lengthy pieces of dry banana leaf.

Training process

·        Day 1:  In the evening drop one small female and one big female (but smaller than a male 3/4) in the fighter bucket and let him chasing overnight, cover the bucket with thick cloth with soak water if the temperature outside is higher than 30C.

·        Day 2:  Remove the females out on the late next evening or 24 hour chasing female.

·       Day 3:  Rest the fighter for a full day.  The fighter should be building a bubble nest. He will not show aggressiveness in this day because he is too tired and seeking to mate the female.

·       Day 4:  Drop one female and let the fighter chasing around 5 hours or half a day. He should be extremely active, aggressive and build big bubble nest. In the evening change the fighter to the 2 liters jar or the jar you use for fighting with entirely new water.  Put a new piece of IAL to make the water a slightly yellow color, a few of any aquarium plant for bedding. Cover every sides of the jar with thick blanket and turn off the light. Let the fighter fully rest without any disturbance of noise and flash of light.

·       Day 5:  In the morning and evening, open the card board to let him display around with other fighters about 4 - 5 times each time 20 - 30 seconds. Then return the card board and drop one female in his bowl and let him chasing around 10 minutes or until the fighter bites the female one or two times.  Take the female out when the fighter is dancing beneath bubble nest and does not hit the female, open the card board or use a black pen tip provoke his aggressiveness. When a fighter is no longer chasing the female and biting her, this display shows that a fighter has stayed with female too long and is eager to mate. If he is still not attacking female after 20 minutes, then, remove the female out and use flaring method (opening the card board many times but each time 20 - 30 seconds) to provoke aggressiveness.

·       Day 6:  Open the cardboard only a few times morning and evening to let them display and show aggressiveness, but, do not put female in his bowl.

·        Day 7:  Take him to fight, but drop one female for him to display 1-2 minute before shift him to the small bottle.

The sign of fighter that ready to fight is building big bubble or thick layer, bigger bubble mean more readiness of the fighter. The fighter should be very sensitive and very active to the black pointing object such as pen tip. You should play with your fighter with black pen tip to check and see how sensitive and aggressive he is. Good manner of the readiness of the fighter is, he should alert, swim around with relaxation and react in the very aggressive manner to an alien object. (clip)

In case the fighter act hyper-aggressive (he is not care on eating food), some fighter even attacking glass all the time. Then you should calm down his act of hyper-aggressiveness by cover his jar with cloth over night. If he is not calm down the next day, and still act over-exciting then drop one big female to calm down his aggressiveness 3 - 4 times morning afternoon and evening, each time 5 - 10 minutes. If the fighter still act over exciting then discard this fighter and never take him to fight. (clip) 

Some advice:

·         In the morning when open the blanket tries to observe the fighter behavior without open the card board around 10 minutes. This is to check sickness of the fighter, especially Ich, deformation of mouth, pectoral fin or any fungus on the fighter body. The top condition fighter should swim in relaxation manner with a bit spread out fin. (observe.jpg)

·         The best food of the fighter is live food such as water fleas, mosquito larvae, black worms or blood worms. Frozen blood worm should be a last option.

·         Feed the fighter only in the morning if you intend to fight him in the next morning. This routine will prevent your fighter from having a big stomach and having left over food in his stomach the next day but never feed your fighter in the day you take him to fight. If your fighter has big stomach the percentage of winning is very small.

·         The amount of feeding of first 4 days should be full feedings since the fighter needs energy to transform the protein to muscles and mucus. The last 3 days reducing 30 percent in the amount of food to prevent over feeding and let the fighter use all remainder food the last day before fight.

·         Do not use swirling water to train the fighter it is too hard and the fighter is under stress. Once the fighter is under stress he will get sick and do not fight.

·         You should use blanket cover the fighter bowl at night and open in the morning everyday. If room temperature is over 30 C you should spray water the fighter bowl in the evening, this is to imitating the rainy season. Fighter would express aggressive on the raining season.(cover.jpg)

·         Match well and never underestimate your opponent. Try to find the fault of an opponent such as sickness, big stomach, misshape body or misshape fin etc.

·         When you received the fighter from the transhipper you have to rest and condition the fighter in IAL at least 7 days. Then change them to glass jar with new IAL and warm up by open the card board a few time a day let them display to each other (warmup.jpg).

·         Warm up the fighter in glass jar 3 days then transfer them to the training bucket (insidetrainingtank.jpg)

·         The fish room should have good air circulation. The best condition is if under a tree and placing the tank on the earth. However, never let the rain water mixing in the training bucket. The fish room shelter should completely secured from the rain water. (But it may not applicable in the winter in the western country) (trainingtank.jpg)

·         The fish room should have natural day light but no direct sunlight to the fighter jar. Fighters feel comfortable in natural day light. The bubble nest is the only sign to show that your fighter is in the good health. The fighter without bubble nest in his jar hardly to be the winner in the tough match. (bubblenest.jpg). In day time if temperature higher than 30C, you should cover the top of the fighter with soak water blanket but leave a few space for air circulation. (leavespace.jpg)

·         Fighters in a small jar will act more aggressive. However, do not keep them in the aggressive state too long because it is too stressful for him and he will get dull and not fight well in the ring. But, if you have to keep it longer than 3 days you have to remove half of old water and filthy object on the bottom of the jar and add new water. Do this in evening.

·         A training female will need to be kept separately and take care well as good as the fighter. This is to prevent disease and illness from the female to the fighter.

·         Never use sick female for training because it will spread to the male.

·         After using a female for training, drop medicine to cure female wound. Do this every time.

Behind the scene:

Q: Why use a bucket 12” in diameter for training the fighter?
A: Siamese fighting fish is a territorial and residential fish. The center of its territory is the bubble nest it builds. In nature a fighting fish will find the most secure plot of a corner to build his bubble nest to attract a female for breeding.  The distance of his territory is just 10 inches. Therefore, the diameter of 12 inches of the bucket is the most suitable for the fighter to feel most comfortable.

Q: Why use 2 females?
A: A male can mate with only one female in the most peaceful and undisturbed situation. When in training we do not want male to actually mate with the female. What we want to do is to set up the breeding environment in which a male will develop his aggressiveness, muscles, and also spare some part on exercising etc… So, one female is to excite and ready him to mate and the other female is to interfere with the mating process. This serves two purposes: Developing natural aggressiveness and exercise to strengthen the muscles.

Q: Why use females for only 24 hours?
A: Normally a male needs 2-3 days for breeding.  So the 24 hours is for the male develop into top condition.  After the 24 hours, take the females away to prevent him from mating. This will still keep him in an extremes fighting state.  The second day, leave him without female.  A fighter should be building a bubble nest waiting for a mating female. If the fighter does not have a bubble nest at the end of training do not fight him.

4 G. Principles:

To be minimum lose maximum winning chance a trainer should success these 4 Good principles.

G 1 Good condition: A fighter should conditioning in IAL at least 7 days maximum 15 days.  Use the most healthiest fighter to train first.

G 2 Good train: As mentioned above.

G 3 Good health: Check well before train and after train that a fighter is really completely in physical good and mental good health. Any minimal defected fighter should be discarded or non serious match.

G 4 Good match: A match should be the same weight and the similarly structure form. Difference structure form may affected to the fighter's fighting style.

Training time table

Transportation the fighter

Carry and transportation the fighter to fight is importance that player should pay attention. The longer hours of transportation, shaking water, an unacquainted voice and immediate temperature change from transportation, are the factors to make the fighter under stressful. The remote region that has difference environment, difference water and climate also put the fighter in under depression and stress. Once the fighter is in under stressful situation his performance will slow down. He needs proper care and preparation to recover his stressful; he needs a few hours for adaptation to the new situation and new environment.

The good preparation container for transportation the fighter is very importance. Its can calm down the fighter from stress.  The container (picture) should contain one liter of water from its own bowl, the level of water should reach the neck of bottle, with a lot of water plant or banana leaf for him to hide and rest during transportation.  

When the player reaches the fighting ring, the player should place the fighter bottle on the provided table and waiting about 5 – 10 minutes before moving out the stuff in its container. Then open the card board for them to display a few second a few times and rest them a few minutes until he calms down from his over active aggressiveness, then allow for weighting and match.

NO BUBBLE NEST NO FIGHT