The last two times in this column I have introduced hybrid wild-type improved bets.
Even with guppies, I'm more interested in short-tailed improved varieties than those with large fins. Even for betta fish, I prefer Plakat to Halfmoon. In this way, I originally prefer wild fish to improved varieties. Although this wild-type improved betta is an improved variety, it has not lost its charm as a wild betta, so I fell in love with it at first sight.

In March, I escaped from Japan where cedar pollen was flying and came to Thailand, and the next day I encountered the Triple Cross Type II that I introduced last time. However, the next day, she encountered Smaragdina, whose entire body was dyed blue, at a store that sold her familiar wild betta fish. Smaragdina has a strong image of green, so it would feel quite strange if she turned blue even though her body shape is the same. Lately she had been seeing hybrid fish that had been crossed with other species, so her immediate question was whether this fish was a hybrid or a purebred. Fortunately, this Smaragdina Blue is a fish that the owner of this shop has bred himself. Instead of guessing, I was able to ask her directly how she created this fish.

First, the answer is that this Smaragdina Blue is a pure-bred fish produced from Smaragdina from Udon in northeastern Thailand. It seems that a blue fish with a strong blue color appeared as a result of mutation and was then selectively bred to create a fish with a satisfying blue color. In the early days, the blue color was not satisfactory and the fixation rate was low. They were able to create something that they were satisfied with in terms of color, and the fixation rate was almost 100%, so they started displaying it in stores in 2017. I actually saw about 20 males lined up at the shop, and they all had the same body shape and coloration. Well, it's only natural, since they must have been carefully selected at the stage of making them into products.

Although it doesn't seem to be introduced much in Japan, this shop owner also produces a copper Smaragdina before the blue Smaragdina. It is also said to have been produced from Smaragdina, which is also grown in Udon. I had been aware of the fish being lined up as a commercial item for about five years, but I didn't dare take a photo of it before because I wasn't really interested in improved fish. This time, when introducing the blue Smaragdina, I wanted to introduce it together, so I decided to take a photo of it for the first time. Although the color is different, it has the same characteristics as Smaragdina, and is somewhat timid, so it took some time to photograph it.

Regarding this copper Smaragdina, I saw a photo taken by Horst Linke of Germany several years ago. When he looked at the specimen he photographed himself, he noticed one difference from the specimen photographed by Linke. The individual photographed this time does not have the thin black spot between the soft rays at the base of the caudal fin of the Smaragdina from Udon. This spot exists in every individual Smaragdina Blue. He asked the producer directly to find out why the copperfish he had photographed did not have this spot. Regarding copperfish, it seems that some individuals have this tail fin spot and others do not.
Of the two males that happened to remain in the store, one of them did indeed have a spot. Over the course of generations, the number of fish that lack this characteristic has probably increased.

In this way, copper and blue fish appeared as a mutation from the green Smaragdina. The strong green Smaragdina from Buriram, which also exists in nature, was previously introduced in this column. It is very interesting that Smaragdina alone has three colors.
So, which color of Smaragdina will be the most popular in Japan?