Even Japanese people probably know that Thailand was suffering from floods last fall, as it was covered in the Japanese news coverage to such an extent that it was disgusting. At the time, I was staying in Thailand.
Most of the farms for betta fish and other tropical fish are concentrated in the area of ​​Nakhon Pathom, which is about a two-hour drive from Bangkok. At the beginning of the flood, this area was not damaged yet, but the water gradually reached this area and it appears that quite a number of tropical fish farms were damaged.

There is a betta farm here that I have a close relationship with, and I was passing by so I contacted them and was told that the water had reached the area where the betta fish bottles were lined up, so they were busy moving tens of thousands of bottles. It came back. It takes a lot of effort to move bottles filled with that much sticky substance. Since the breeding area is no longer usable, it seems that breeding will have to stop for a while. Although it was a natural disaster (man-made disaster?), it is a sad story. I was planning on going to see Betta, but it would only be a nuisance if I bothered her in such a situation.

So I contacted another farm, and they replied that their area was still safe and that they would be grateful if they could stop by.

This farm mainly breeds crowntail bettas, rather than the popular halfmoon fish. The main fish are contest-level fish, rather than ordinary crowntail bettas. These classes of fish are sometimes called show clowns to distinguish them from regular clowntail bettas. I greeted them quickly, walked over the betta bottle, and had them show me the fish. There are a lot of high-quality fish that you don't often find in betta shops such as Bangkok's Sunday Market. As someone who loves betta fish, I would be drooling to see such a high-grade fish. For the first time in a while, I felt the desire to photograph a Crowntail Betta. When I asked the price, even though it was a wholesale price, it was more expensive than I expected. Of course, since he's an acquaintance, he's discounting the price considerably, but it's still several times the price of an average half moon. The price was reasonable considering the grade of the fish, so I returned to Bangkok with about 10 carefully selected fish.

Now that we're talking about prices, let's talk a little bit about the prices of betta fish in Thailand. In Thailand, the home of betta fish, traditional betta fish called average betta fish are the cheapest. The next cheapest fish is the crowntail betta.
Next is Plakat, Half Moon Betta, and Giant Plakat. However, this is the price for average-class fish of that variety, and this does not apply to competition-class fish. This difference in price seems to be proportional to the ease of management. Traditional bettas and crowntail bettas are physically strong and easy to breed, with little loss. On the other hand, half-moon and betta fish require a lot of effort to raise, and there is a lot of loss, such as damaged or misshapen fins. This leads to the price difference.

It is often thought that being durable and inexpensive is convenient for the buyer, but this is not the case in the hobby world. For enthusiasts, it is seen as a fish of a lower rank, and sadly it is often treated poorly.

Even at the Sunday market, where there are many betta shops, there are not many opportunities to see high-grade crowntail bettas. The main reason for this is probably that it is less popular than Plakat or Half Moon Betta. However, the lack of high-grade fish like the ones seen at this farm on the market may be one of the reasons for its unpopularity. In fact, the Crosley type of Crowntail Betta like the one introduced in this photo is rarely seen in stores. If more high-grade fish like this come onto the market, there is no doubt that it will become a little more popular. However, it seems that it cannot be mass-produced like the Half Moon, which has suddenly become popular, so it can't be helped that it is still expensive.