This time too, I was regularly checking Beta Street in Chatuchak in the hot weather. My work has always been well-understood among the Betta dealers in this area, but after publishing Betta2020, it seems that it has been better understood, and when new fish come in, I am approached more often than before. became.
I'm so happy.
This time, I received a call from a shop that mainly stocks wild items. As usual, when I removed the partition from the glass container, there was a splendour with a splendid spade tail.
When I asked where it was produced, the answer was "Penshalin". At first I thought it was a place name, but after listening to it again, I was convinced. Maybe it was my hearing that was bad, or maybe the Thai people's pronunciation was bad, but the correct answer is Benjarong! !
The product name was derived from Thai Benjarong ware, which was made during the Ayutthaya Dynasty from the end of the 16th century to the early 17th century.

The reason why the shop owner used to call it 5 colors comes from Benjarong. This is because the etymology of Benjaron comes from the ancient Sanskrit words benja and long, and it has the meaning of five colors.
5 colors means multiple colors rather than 5 colors. It seems to mean that Splendens is that colorful and beautiful.
I personally like the idea of ​​naming Thai fish after such meaningful local Thai products. It's much more palatable than giving meaningless trendy movie titles or character names, like the recent Indonesian Beta. I managed to understand the origin of the product name, so I next asked where this fish was produced.
The answers that came back were the place names Phitsanulok and Purua. Judging by its appearance, I thought it was a pure breed, but it turned out to be a hybrid of Splendens, a species from Phitsanulok and Purua.

Recently in Thailand, the fever for interspecific hybrids such as the triple cross, which was previously introduced in this column, seems to have subsided. On the contrary, there is a movement to further refine the characteristic colors by breeding regional variations of the same species. The Splendens benjaron we are introducing this time is also a variety born from this kind of crossbreeding.
If the crossbreeding information is not misrepresented and sold while being made clear, it may be considered crossbreeding between regional variants.

When I hear stories like this, I am reminded of the situation with Pervicachromis taeniatus in Japan a long time ago. Taeniatus is a West African river cichlid with an attractive variety of regional variations, but it has a dark history in which enthusiasts have turned away due to misleading regional names and selling fish from different regions as pairs. It goes without saying, but as a hobby fish, it is important to sell fish with real information, not false information.

Now, regarding this Splendens Benjaron, the center of the tail fin is beautifully elongated and becomes spade-shaped, just like the one from Purua. The dorsal fin of the Purua fish is also reddish, and it seems that this characteristic has been inherited even more strongly. In my opinion, it is a variety that inherits more characteristics from Purua than from Phitsanulok. Although 5 colors is overemphasized, it is colorful and beautiful as a wild betta. Personally, I really liked the spade tail inherited from Purua, more than the color.

In addition to Mahachaiensis, the Splendens and Smaragdina spadetail populations have something that appeals to enthusiasts. Females also exhibit the same characteristics as males, such as reddish fins and black edges on the dorsal fin. In terms of price, I also liked the fact that it wasn't extremely expensive like hybrids such as the Triple Cross.

With this beauty and this price setting, enthusiasts can easily obtain it not only in Thailand but also in Japan. I think the reason Triple Cross hasn't become very popular in Japan is because of the price. As expected, at that price in Thailand, the fish exported at a profit is out of reach for ordinary enthusiasts.
This is a good example of how the attractiveness of fish has not kept up with the sales price.

As Splendens Benjaron introduced this time becomes more popular, the price will probably become even more affordable. It is a very attractive fish, so I hope it will be further refined and become a standard variety that will be loved forever.