#  >  > Living And Legal Affairs In Thailand >  >  > Farming & Gardening In Thailand >  >  A slightly different farm

## Derk

After 8 weeks in Isaan the time of returning to Germany came.
The day prior to the flight I started an fighting fish excursion in Bangkok.

In the morning I met with my preferred dealer at his shop. 
Of course two pairs went straight into the transport bags, one for me and one for a friend.
As the dealer just had birthday the week prior I brought him the latest german fighting fish book as small present.



From the shop we went with his neighbour - a taxi driver - to a farm 70 km outside - Siamplakad.
Well in contrast to Germany in Thailand it's still afforedable to hire a taxi for a complete trip - 6 hours, around 180 km for just 1000 Bath.






The farm is run as a one men show and on a productive area of around 800 sqm he produces 15000 fighting fish every month, mostly of the traditional short fin type.
As the land is a lot larger than used now there is continuous expansion going on.

Behind house and fighting fish breeding area there are two small pond completely covered with plants. In these there are a lot of snakeheads feeding of the unwanted low quality fish now suitable for sales.





Starting the way through the prodiction cycle the breeding couple is placed into small blac plastic bowls with around 7 cm water. 
After successful pairing the female is removed and the male is caring the nest. After hatching the male is also removed and in the first days the fry lives on the yolk bag.





After 7 days the small fish are transferred to concrete rings normally used for sewage pipes. These have a central dump opening normally covered with a pice of PVC water pipe then acting as overfall.
Initially the water level is low but gets increased continuously with the fish growing.





As food on this farm cooked egg yolk is used which prior to feeding is blended with water.

The fish stay in the concrete rings until 2.5-3 cm when the largest and best are taken out to be put in Thai Whiskey bottles if they are males. 
The bottles are bought used (2.5 Bath) and get a horizontal slit cut in at the upper side as over-fall.

1200 (60 x 20) of these bottles are placed in one area with small walkways on each side for managing the fish. If one is too lazy to use the walkway it's also possible to just walk across the bottles as they are really strong.















From now on the daily work consists of feeding and exchanging water using a hose so it spills out of the over-fall.
As only the males are separated into the bottles the best females are put in different concrete rings, and only like 10% of the quantity of males is kept of the females, the rest is crap, ahm meaning snakehead diet.






As to the time of my visit the cold winter nights were showing an increased effect due to some porosity of the concrete rings. Not every batch handles conditions changing as fast as well as normal batches and in case of problems the central PVC pipe is pulled and the complete batch goes to visit the snakeheads. Only the best and fittest fish will see the market.





Well, some of the best and fittest are also staying at the edge of the area, may be their fins have signs of a fight just before separation or they are just too good to be sold and kept as parents of the future batches.
After passing the final selection they go into buckets or cut 6 l water bottles where they also get some plants to hide under.
When the time for breeding is come they are placed into the prior mentioned black breeding bowls.









Well and the best of the best you'll see in the house respective on the terrace - future participants of national or international Betta shows...





As at the end of all visits the new stock for the shop is selected, but this time two more pairs are packed, the right male is for a friend and the left one now swims in my Betta-room.









After this we were heading to the dealers home where he keeps the future stock for the shop and conditions them with comercially available food. He also keeps his designated show fish and especially selected color patterns to set future trends - 2013 this is gold/yellow with red spotted fins named "golden Vanda" after the Thai orchids.

With the quality of "Giant"-type Betta - 6 cm body woth 4 months old males and more than 5 cm wit h3.5 months old females the price of 20-25% of a standard thai salary couldn't scare me and they also got packaged.









Well, besides the 15000 fighting fish per month the farm also makes around 200 kg of snakehead every year giving additional 50000 Bath.

Bye,
Derk

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## wasabi

Interesting. Learnt something new.

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## BobR

Interesting thanks for the pictures.

_"As only the males are separated into the bottles the best females are put in different concrete rings, and only like 10% of the quantity of males is kept of the females, the rest is crap, ahm meaning snakehead diet."
_
Very German, reminds me of something  very big I saw, among other places, on the History Channel. :Smile:

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## Derk

> Very German, reminds me of something  very big I saw, among other places, on the History Channel.


No, just Thai style.
Some sell the non-quality for 10 Bath at Jatujack, others prefer to sell snakehead  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic): 
But afaik all over the works most Betta breeders also keep snakeheads and know why.

Bye,
Derk

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## Neo

Excellent thread Derk! Very informative and really good quality photos. 

Welcome to Teakdoor

 :Thankyou:

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## Kurgen

Great thread, cheers.

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## Mid

Top thread , thanxs Derk .

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## Kurgen

I know male fighting fish attack each other but is it ok to put 1 in a small pond with other fish or do they attack all other fish?

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## BobR

> Originally Posted by BobR
> 
> 
> Very German, reminds me of something  very big I saw, among other places, on the History Channel.
> 
> 
> No, just Thai style.
> Some sell the non-quality for 10 Bath at Jatujack, others prefer to sell snakehead 
> But afaik all over the works most Betta breeders also keep snakeheads and know why.
> ...


No offense intended, thank you for some interesting reading.

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## bushwacker

Great read ... thanks for sharing.

 :Smile:

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## Davis Knowlton

Great thread!

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## sunsetter

good stuff, so you just bag your own ones up and hop a plane home to germany? surely not, what about customs at both ends?

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## Chairman Mao

Nice, thanks.

btw I think there's a museum or similar dedicated to them in Phra Pha Daeng. There were wooden Thai signs for it last time I was down there.

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## sunsetter

^ sorry bit off topic, but whats the easiet way to get on to pra pradeng from say on nut?

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## Chairman Mao

> ^ sorry bit off topic, but whats the easiet way to get on to pra pradeng from say on nut?


Very very easy.

10b ferry across the river, at the end of Sanphawut Road.

https://teakdoor.com/bangkok-forum/62...mins-city.html (Nice green drive 10 mins from city centre.)

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## jizzybloke

In a cab you dickhead  :Smile:

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## Derk

> btw I think there's a museum or similar dedicated to them in Phra Pha Daeng. There were wooden Thai signs for it last time I was down there.


That surely would give a great trip for me.
Do you possibly have some more specifics on the location?





> good stuff, so you just bag your own ones up and hop a plane home to germany? surely not, what about customs at both ends?



In Thailand the issue is to get them through security check.
They told me that I need to go to customs, afterwards they told to get them to quarantine and finally just to get it approved by the airline.
The airline then said that's not their issue but the securities - expecting this I had the phone number of the security guy and they called him.

After the next check I could pass  :bananaman: 

In Europe you need an animal disease control reporting document to be sent in at least one day prior to arrival, but only if doing commercially. So if revised you have to prove to the officer that your quantity is purely private and does not go to distribution.

So now happy little and bigger fish in german coldland.
Some got significantly bigger tanks now, most with plants and I hope to start breeding in around 3 weeks.  :Baby: 

Bye,
Derk

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## Chairman Mao

> Originally Posted by Chairman Mao
> 
> 
> btw I think there's a museum or similar dedicated to them in Phra Pha Daeng. There were wooden Thai signs for it last time I was down there.
> 
> 
> That surely would give a great trip for me.
> Do you possibly have some more specifics on the location?


Exact satellite location?

bangkok - Google Maps

Just below the writing is a large, and quite nice park. Big lakes with fish to feed, and perhaps small peddle boats.

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## Derk

> Exact satellite location?
> 
> bangkok - Google Maps
> 
> Just below the writing is a large, and quite nice park. Big lakes with fish to feed, and perhaps small peddle boats.


 :Biggthumpup: 

Thanks a lot!
I'm sure I'll pass by directly after coming back to BKK...

Bye,
Derk

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## xanax

> ^ sorry bit off topic, but whats the easiet way to get on to pra pradeng from say on nut?


Get BTS to vic monument then get the 140 or, or go back to central city Bangna cross over the road and get the 558. Both only go as far as Wat Son. If going further up the road get the 20 or 82 er yeah the boat is quicker

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## Bogon

> I know male fighting fish attack each other but is it ok to put 1 in a small pond with other fish or do they attack all other fish?


When the World Cup was on in 2006, I thought it would be cool to get a fish tank and stock it with 11 white fish (for England) and 11 gold looking things (think we were playing Portugal) and a black one of those fighting fish as the referee.
Set the tank up and put the 23 fish in together and marveled at them for 20 minutes or so until it was time to have a beer.
Woke up in the morning and the referree had taken out my back 4 and at least 6 of Portugals finest.
Beware! These buggers headbutt any fish in the tank.

Great thread BTW. Big cheers for sharing.

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## sunsetter

> In a cab you dickhead


hmmm, interesting...........

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## hillbilly

Another great thread on TD!

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## kingwilly

Sensational thread, cheers!

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## Derk

> I know male fighting fish attack each other but is it ok to put 1 in a small pond with other fish or do they attack all other fish?


They can live with other fish without issues but...
- if they have fancy fins
- if they look to similar to a fighting fish
- if they are too slow
... they might get attacked and possibly killed.
If the other fish are too small they will just get eaten.

The most fun you have with some small tanks (bigger than the Thai version for Bettas) put one aside the other and with removable optical separations. 
So you can see the natural behavior and also get them into fake fighting or mating ritual.




> When the World Cup was on in 2006, I thought it would be cool to get a fish tank and stock it with 11 white fish (for England) and 11 gold looking things (think we were playing Portugal) and a black one of those fighting fish as the referee.
> Set the tank up and put the 23 fish in together and marveled at them for 20 minutes or so until it was time to have a beer.
> Woke up in the morning and the referree had taken out my back 4 and at least 6 of Portugals finest.
> Beware! These buggers headbutt any fish in the tank.


Any is not correct as a lot of people have them in tanks with other fish, but generally this is bad for the fighting fish as they tend to live in small, heavy grown areas with few other fish present and protect their territory in there.

Bye,
Derk

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## Chairman Mao

> Originally Posted by Chairman Mao
> 
> 
> Exact satellite location?
> 
> bangkok - Google Maps
> 
> Just below the writing is a large, and quite nice park. Big lakes with fish to feed, and perhaps small peddle boats.
> 
> ...


There's a very nice, open-plan, massive teak restaurant along the main road that has bands etc. at night, and is a nice place for lunch too. 

Also on that map it says there's a floating market.


I must really head back there for a ride around.

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## Chairman Mao

Info on the Floating Market in Phra Phadaeng here:

Bang Nampheung Floating Market - Samut Prakan (Paknam)

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## Bogon

^^^ Cheers for the insight.

Wish you were about in 2006 when I wasted a couple of grand on a tank, filter and fish. :Smile:

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## Gipsy

Nice thread Derk! There was a time i kept a 'few' of these Betta splendens myself, along with a few other of the other Thai Betta species. Next time you're in Thailand, try to find yourself a set of these stamps, they're still around.

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## Derk

> Wish you were about in 2006 when I wasted a couple of grand on a tank, filter and fish.


Buying tanks new can burn your money fast - buying from the ones who burnt the money saves a lot if you know what you are doing  :Smile: 




> Nice thread Derk! There was a time i kept a 'few' of these Betta splendens myself, along with a few other of the other Thai Betta species. Next time you're in Thailand, try to find yourself a set of these stamps, they're still around.


Well currently I'm at 20 tanks plus >30 Betta-boxes in Germany and around 35 Tanks in Thailand  :smiley laughing: 
The stamps look great, I'll see if they have gotten up to the northern Isaan  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic): 

Oh, and whoever it was, thanks for selecting my thread for the weekly mailer...  :mid: 

Bye,
Derk

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## yortyiam

Very interesting. Really beautiful fish! I had no idea that the standards are so high for fighting fish, a lot of work goes into them ! Thanks for the thread , Derk .

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## t.s

> In a cab you dickhead


take a cab to the 10b ferry across the river, at the end of Sanphawut Road.

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## Derk

> Very interesting. Really beautiful fish! I had no idea that the standards are so high for fighting fish, a lot of work goes into them ! Thanks for the thread , Derk .


There are international competitions with judging standards in which most of the fishes would be classified with some minor and/or a major fault.
It start with having the male anal fin ending in a single tip whereas most specimen you see have it ending in two. And so on and so forth - fortunately I don't care about competitions and just breed them for pleasure  :Smile: 

Bye,
Derk

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## pescator

Very interesting read. Thanks.

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## nigelandjan

Blimey !  what an unusual and interesting thread Derk !  well done mate , learnt something new here today.

Please have a go at another picture thread of some kind very soon

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## Derk

> Please have a go at another picture thread of some kind very soon


No problem, I already made one of my visit to the Aquarium Nong Khai (Sirindhorn Aquarium Nong Khai).

Bye,
Derk

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## Rural Surin

Interesting and esoteric vocation [with income], Derk.

Nice info. :Smile:

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## Derk

I'm no native speaker, so I just do my best to get the shades I put into the German version also in English...

Bye,
Derk

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## nevets

Wonderfull pics of the fish Derk and a well thought out thread, thanks .

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## garye

Siamese Fighting Fish. Online Sales of Betta Splendens       on Facebook    family_betta@hotmail.com

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## David48atTD

Yes, yes, I know ... it's an older thread, but I love Fish, love Farming and the OP is a great read during the Covid shutdown.

Thanks for the heads up *ChairmanMao*  :Smile:

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## OhOh

Interesting yes, thanks.

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## Chittychangchang

Nice bump David! Some great threads on here previously missed by many.

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## Backspin

> Yes, yes, I know ... it's an older thread, but I love Fish, love Farming and the OP is a great read during the Covid shutdown.
> 
> Thanks for the heads up *ChairmanMao*


Bumps are fun. There should be no negative stigma for bumps

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