Every spring, from March to May, I try to go to Southeast Asia to take photos. The reason for this is that a large amount of cedar pollen is scattered in Japan at that time of year. Cedar does not grow naturally in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, etc., so they do not suffer from cedar pollen. It's 100 times more efficient to shoot in the field overseas than to have to suffer through hay fever in Japan. For this reason, I haven't been to cherry blossom viewing in the past 10 years, and only see the cherry blossoms while watching TV.
This time, while I was staying in Thailand during the summer heat and cedar pollen, I received an email from a Japanese acquaintance. In Thailand, Wi-Fi is now available anywhere within mobile phone signal range, and although the speed is slow, you can use email and the Internet anywhere. Wi-Fi signals can be picked up not only in Bangkok, but also near the borders of Myanmar and Cambodia, and in Laos, near the opposite bank of Thailand across the Mekong River. It has become a convenient world.
I went off topic, but the person who sent me the email was an old guppy fanatic, and he told me that there was a rare guppy in Bangkok, and he wanted me to look for it. The guppy is apparently a Churn guppy with a greatly developed pectoral fin. Chang in Thai means elephant, and it is so named because its large pectoral fins look like elephant ears. The name was originally given to the betta fish, which also has large pectoral fins, but it seems to have also been used for the guppy, which has a similar appearance.
If you're looking for fish in Bangkok, of course the famous Sunday Market, better known locally as Chatuchak, is the place to go. This is a huge market, with all sorts of products on sale. There is an area in this corner that sells only pets, and there are many aquarium shops. There are several guppy specialty stores, and I went to one of them that I had known for some time and asked them about Churn Guppies. We also sell them! The answer was simple. Unfortunately, they were sold out at that time, so I didn't see any fish, but they promised to bring me a few pairs from the breeder and leave them for me if I came the next Sunday. Come to think of it, this store gave the same answer when I asked about balloon guppies a few years ago.
On the appointed day, I went to the shop looking forward to it, and the manager's older brother pointed out that it was in the aquarium there. As I peered closer and closer, I saw a male guppy with a large pectoral fin swimming around. In the case of the Churn Betta fish, the large pectoral fins are white, so I thought that the Churn Guppies were also like that, but apparently it's not the same. It has a black pectoral fin with some white parts. It seems that most individuals have different colors on the left and right pectoral fins. The only variety I saw at this time was the Mosaic Tuxedo, but the breeder told me that there were other varieties as well. This characteristic is not as noticeable in females, and the only difference is that the pectoral fins are slightly darker.
Now, what I'm concerned about is the price. When I asked about it, it turned out to be an exceptional price for a guppy. Since I am an acquaintance of mine, even if I could ask for a cheaper price, it would still be more than five times the price of a high-grade Half Moon Betta sold at Chatuchak. Here in Thailand, new varieties are often sold at relatively high prices. Moreover, guppies, which are easy to breed, are bound to drop in price within six months. The idea is probably to make money when you can.
When Churn Beta was introduced, it was initially quite expensive, but now the price has come down to about a tenth of the price. And even though the price has gone down, the quality is much better than before. Churn guppies are likely to follow a similar pattern. My impression is that this Churn Guppy is still a complete product as an improved variety. It can be said that it is a variety that has the potential to become even more attractive with continued improvement. I'm looking forward to seeing what it will look like in a year's time.
