FRESH-WATER FISHES OF SIAM, OR THAILAND 459 



have never known one fish to assail another at such a time. It is literally a 

 breathing spell provided for in the fighting fish's code of ethics. 



Fighting contests are decided by the general exhaustion and the failure of 

 stamina in the combatants rather than by a definite injury or a knock-out as- 

 sault. Sooner or later one fish shows a lack of ability or desire to continue the 

 fight and swims away — literally turns tail — when his rival assumes a position 

 for attack. The engagement is then over, the fishes separated, the wagers, if 

 any, are paid, and the owners put their charges into jars and go their respective 

 ways. 



At the end of a protracted contest both fishes may present a most unattractive 

 appearance because of their mutilated fins, but they seem to experience no dis- 

 comfort and, if permitted, would fight again the next day. The fins regenerate 

 rapidly and completely, and at the end of a few weeks may show no signs of 

 injury. Loss of scales may be more serious, inducing the development of fungus. 



My experience, which extended over 12 years and covered many hundreds of 

 exhibitions, coincides with that of most observers in finding nothing brutal, cruel, 

 or repulsive in fighting-fish contests. The participants seem to get so much satis- 

 faction from their encounters, their physical discomfort is apparently so negligible, 

 and their recovery is so complete that there is little occasion to expend sympathy 

 over them, while their graceful movements, muscular agility, acumen, tenacity, 

 and wonderful color displays cannot fail to arouse enthusiasm even in the most 

 sensitive spectators. 



Wholly erroneous impressions on this subject have been conveyed in some 

 published articles. In an account that has often been quoted, one of the un- 

 fortunate combatants always terminates his fighting career and his vei^y existence 

 by literally bursting because of his futile efforts to reach his adversary kept in a 

 separate jar. Another description of the fish and their fights concludes with a 

 statement which, if true, would enlist our sympathy: 



"The two [fishes] are brought together in the same bowl and they forthwith 

 begin to tear at each other with their mouths and sharp spines, until the one is 

 overpowered. The victor seldom lives to enjoy his triumph." 



As has been pointed out, fighting is done wholly with the teeth, and one fish 

 is not overpowered. I never knew the victor, or even the vanquished, to suc- 

 cumb to a fight or to undergo serious injury. 



An outstanding peculiarity of the fish is its dependence on atmosjjheric air. 

 In an open water course, just as in a well-aerated aquarium, the fish cannot 

 obtain through its gills dissolved oxygen in amount sufficient for its needs, and 

 hence it has to make frequent excursions to the surface to take in mouth- 

 fuls of air which it utilizes by its accessory respiratory apparatus. The fish 

 does not loiter at the surface where, in a wild state, it is exposed to attack by 

 birds and other fish-eating animals. It projects its mouth for only an instant, 

 expelling a bubble of vitiated air and taking in a new supply, and then rapidly 

 retreats toward the bottom. 



The air-breathing apparatus is of simpler construction than in some related 

 species, the "climbing perch" for example, which can and do spend considerable 

 time out of water. Above the gills there is in each side of the head a cavity lined 

 with vascular epithelium, the absorptive surface being increased by several pro- 

 jecting laminae. 



The bubble-blowing habit is strongly developed in the male fish. At the time 

 the bubbles are made there is a viscid mucous secretion of the mouth or pharynx, 

 which strengthens and makes more lasting the walls of the bubbles and tends to 

 keep the bubbles in a compact mass. 



