Every year in March, when cedar pollen starts to disperse in Japan, I decide to escape from Japan and spend time in Southeast Asia. His eyes were itchy, his nose was running, and his head was foggy, making it difficult for him to take photos or write manuscripts. Fortunately, he is a freelance photographer who does not have to go to the office every day. On the other hand, being out in the field is more work than being in Japan. He is jealous of his acquaintances who also suffer from hay fever, but he cannot give up on this privilege. So, after completing my final tax return in mid-March, I flew to my base in Bangkok, Thailand.
This is a long introduction, but as soon as I return to Bangkok, I go to Chatuchak Market, commonly known as Sunday Market or Weekend Market. There are many pet-related stores here, and you're sure to find something new when you go there. This time, as I greet the familiar betta shop, I keep an eye on the glass container containing the betta. Soon after, I found a fish that caught my eye in a corner of a store. That fish is a triple cross that was created by crossing the three types of wild betta that were introduced in this column last time. When I asked the owner of the shop, he said that it was indeed a cross between Mahachaiensis, Styctus, and Smaragdina guitar. However, although the fin pattern is similar to the Triple Cross introduced last time, it gives a completely different impression. This will be a bit confusing with the triple cross introduced last time, so let's distinguish this fish as a triple cross type II.
First of all, the shape of this fish seems to retain the characteristics of Mahachaiensis, with the center of the caudal fin slightly protruding. The rear end of the anal fin is also more elongated. What is completely different is that some of the fish this time have their entire bodies made of steel or silver. There were about 10 fish in the shop, but I was able to divide them into roughly 3 types. A greenish fish, a bright blue fish, and this steel/silver fish. What kind of steel color is this characteristic inherited from? During fights, the irises of the eyes turn red, giving this fish an even more wild look. The area near the edge of the tail fin turns red depending on the condition of the light. The color of this tail fin is also different from the triple cross introduced last time.
The blue type has a similar color tone to the triple cross blue introduced last time, but the difference is that the red on the tail fin stands out and the color of the pelvic fin is different.
The type of green is completely different from the triple cross introduced last time. Wouldn't it be better to call it a calm tone rather than a glaring color? This type has the most elongated central part of the caudal fin, and has a shape similar to Mahachaiensis. All types have beautiful colors on the sides of their bodies and near the gill covers, but the area around the top of their heads is not colored and the ground color is visible.
Even though the same three types were crossed in this way, the phenotypes were so different, perhaps because the variety was not yet perfected, or because the desired final form was different, and the order and method of mating was different. Probably because there is. In the case of the Triple Cross that I introduced last time, I heard that they were dissatisfied with the color of the head during the crossbreeding, so they crossed Smaragdina guitars and arrived at the finished product.
From my personal imagination, I think the Triple Cross introduced last time was created with the goal of making the entire body a solid color from the sides of the body to each fin. On the other hand, none of the triple crosses introduced this time are solid colors, and the overall look still has a very wild feel to it. Either the creator intentionally tried to preserve this characteristic, or perhaps they were in the process of refining it further. However, it is highly unlikely that a breeder would put a fish on the market that has not reached its final form, so the former is more likely. Personally, I find both the Triple Cross that I introduced last time and the Triple Cross Type II that I introduced this time so attractive that it's hard to compare them to each other.
If possible, I would like to meet the creators of this Triple Cross directly and hear their stories, but I haven't gotten to that point yet. However, in the narrow industry of ornamental fish, we will be able to learn the secrets of breeding from breeders in the near future. At that time, I would like to introduce it again in this column.
The story up to this point is something I discovered on my second day in Thailand. This time, in just 2 days since I came to Thailand, I found two other interesting wild improved bets. It's frustrating that I can't introduce all of them at once, but I'm sure I'll be able to introduce some interesting topics next time.
