Social conditioning and dominance in male betta splendens

Abstract

To determine whether social conditioning modifies relative dominance in the Siamese fighting fish ( Betta splendens ), individual fish were matched for gill cover erection frequency (GCEF) to a mirror. One member of each pair experienced a series of four winning encounters (dominants) while the other of the pair experienced four losing encounters (subordinates). After the fighting experience, matched pairs were placed together and aggressive responses of both fish were recorded. Fish experiencing wins displayed significantly more and were more aggressive than fish experiencing losses which showed significantly higher levels of avoidance. However, no change in mirror GCEF occurred as a result of differential experience.