Until now there is no clear definition on what is a plakat or to be detail : Traditional Show Plakat. There isn’t any judging standard for a show plakat and also no clear definition on what are not Traditional Show Plakat. 

Plakat derives from the Thai word Plakad which means fighting fish and does not really restrict to one specific strain of betta. These Plakad can be wild caught or bred in captive. 

The purpose of this article is to emphasize on plakats as a Traditional Show Plakat and not for fighting. Before we can appreciate what is a show plakat, it’s good to have some basic understanding of those strains developed for fighting. Those plakad that are used for fighting are carefully bred and crossbred. 

There are two main types of wild Plakad namely the Plakad Pah and Plakad Lukmoh, and they are usually found in natural habitats like ponds and rice fields. 

The Plakad Pah can be found almost everywhere in Thailand and has a longer body but no stamina for long fight. The Plakad Lukmoh is hardly found in the wild but bred in captive as it is tougher than the Plakad Pah.

Picture shows a Plakah Pah;

Some breeders cross bred the Plakad Lukmoh with Plakad Pah and is called “Sangasi” in Thai language (which means Hybrid) or short "Plasang" These Hybrids are not as tough as the Plakad Lukmoh and are cross bred to fight with Plakad Pah and they also look like the Plakad Pah.  

‘Plakad’ here denotes fighting fish (which is used simply for fighting) and they can be found or bred in various parts of Thailand or some other Asian countries. Some of the common types of Plakads that are used in fighting are Betta Imbellis, Betta Samaragdina and Mahachai Betta. They are also cross bred to improve on their fighting skills and thus resulted in hybrids.

Betta Imbellis, Betta Samaragdina and Mahachai Betta are usually classified under the Wild category instead of Plakat category in a competition show. So we must not confuse the word Plakat with Plakad, as Plakad can be other species that are used for fighting. 

So Plakad that are used for fighting are bred and cross bred from the wild caught and these short fin betta are also called “Plakat Morh” in Thai language. 

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