I think it's safe to publish it soon, so I'll write about it in this column, but I'm currently working on a solid book.
I plan to introduce the Splendens Group's wild betta and improved betta there, but there was one photo I was not satisfied with. That was the photo of the spade tail of the Betta Smaragdina guitar that I will be introducing this time.
Here, let me explain a little about the spade tail of the Betta Smaragdina guitar.

Betta smaragdina is a wild betta that is distributed from northeastern Thailand to Laos, and its color and fin shape vary depending on its habitat.
I have previously discussed this in this column, so please refer to that.
Among these regional variations, one with a distinctive appearance is the population affectionately known as Guitar, which lives around Lake Bungkong Rong in Bungkang Province in northeastern Thailand.
I have previously covered this in this column, so please take a look.
An individual mutation of this guitar is that there are fish whose tail fins have an elongated central part, making them spade-shaped.

I have known about its existence for quite some time, and when I actually went to Bueng Kong Long Lake to collect guitars, I confirmed that they were being bred there as fighting fish.
Sometimes they were sold at betta shops in Bangkok's Sunday Market, but they were expensive and I didn't have any plans to use the photos, so I ignored them.
However, when producing this book, I was not satisfied with the photos I had, so I decided to retake them.
It is only natural for photographers to want to use the finest individuals as models when photographing.

In 2018, I had been looking for a model specimen, but I couldn't find one that I was satisfied with.
It is ironic that they are there when you don't need them, but not when you need them.
I occasionally saw individuals with well-elongated tail fins, but I was not satisfied with the overall balance.
Somehow, it's December 2018, and it's almost time for me to return to Japan.

I couldn't wait any longer, so I started looking for a model in earnest.
Previously, there were only a few shops selling wild betta fish, but now there are more than 10 shops in the Bangkok area.
I visited almost all of them, but I was not satisfied with any of them.
In the end, I found a model specimen at a wild specialty store that I have been working with for the longest time.
Although the price was several times that of an average guitar, it was of acceptable quality.
I got two pairs of individuals of almost the same level.
The length of the tail fin is about 80% of the ideal length, which is quite acceptable.
In addition to the tail fin, the length of the pelvic fin, dorsal fin, and anal fin is also perfect.
I once photographed a young guitar player, Spadetail, who was very nervous and I remember having trouble photographing him.

This time, perhaps because the fish was well maintained at the shop, it started fighting as soon as it got used to the photo tank.
Thanks to that, we were able to complete the shooting in half a day.
In this way, when photographing fish, it's not just the photography that is important, but the process as well.
Because I have such feelings, I feel more motivated when shooting.
This time, I would like you to see a fighting scene that is full of spirit.