Around the end of October last year, I went to Bungkong Rong Lake in Bungkang, northeastern Thailand, to photograph and collect fish. The purpose was to check the habitat status of Betta Smaragdina Guitars, which only live in this area. Although it was still a young specimen, I was relieved to be able to collect the guitar I was looking for so quickly. However, during this collection, we were able to collect fish that were just as interesting as the guitar. It is Trichopsis chaleri, also known as the three-striped cloaking gourami. The moment I scooped up the chaleri that live around Lake Bung Kong Long, it was clear that they looked different from the chaleri I had collected up until now. First of all, the body color is a shining metallic green in ordinary Charellies, but this one had a strong yellowish tinge and was shining golden. Next, regarding the body shape, the tips of the tail fins of ordinary Chareries are elongated and form a pintail, but this one only protrudes a little and does not form a noticeable pintail. We collected and observed over 100 individuals, and found that they had almost the same characteristics. Males seemed to have a strong yellow tinge, while smaller individuals and those that appeared to be females had lighter colors. On this occasion, I packed several individuals and brought them back to Bangkok for photography, but unfortunately I lost them.

This year, as usual, I headed to Lake Bung Kong Long at the end of April on my way back from Laos to obtain a visa. This is because my buddy Ton collects guitars and other fish for export. I have always believed that it is necessary to go to the field in different seasons, even in the same place, so it was natural for us to do it together. I wanted to check out the guitar in different seasons, and I also wanted to get revenge on Charelly.

First, I went to a place called SEKA where I was able to see a lot of guitars and charmeries last year. Since this is the driest season, the water level has dropped considerably, and the habitat has changed considerably. When I put my foot in the water to collect it, it was quite lukewarm. At a slightly deeper depth, you can feel the water temperature being slightly lower. As I cast my net into a thicket of plants, the first thing I saw coming in was a chaleri that I hadn't seen in a while. As expected, it has a strong yellow tinge, just like last year, and is clearly different from the chaleries in other places. This time I took a picture immediately after collecting it. Like Charerie, other plants like Licorice Gouramie show their best color the moment they are picked, but the color fades after a few minutes. A few minutes after scooping it up with a net is the key. During this time, you can record the original colors in nature by taking pictures on a net or in a container such as a plastic bag. This time I put it in a plastic bag and took the photo.

If I'm not mistaken, the chaleri at Lake Bung Kong Long here has a strong yellowish hue, and is different from the chaleri in other northeastern Thailand and Laos. To distinguish between the two species, we will refer to the chaleri from Bueng Kong Long Lake as the golden chaleri. Anyway, Bung Kong Long Lake is a mysterious place. Not only Betta smaragdina but even Trichopsis chaleri have their own unique colors. Perhaps there was a tectonic movement in the past that isolated the region from other regions? By the way, we have confirmed that not only the chaleries here at SEKA but also the chaleries on the main lake of Bung Kong Long Lake are the same Golden Chaleries. Another result this time! Only one paradox fish, which I could not collect last time, entered my net. The paradox fish in this area is different from that in southern Thailand, and is said to be Indostomus spinosus. Regionally, it wouldn't be strange for them to be in this area, but it's always nice to see them in the net for the first time.

Guitars are often found in the shade of plants near the shore, and Golden Charerii are often found under floating clumps of plants. This time, the water level had dropped, so we were able to collect more guitars than last time, but despite their large size, many of them had pale colors. Last time, there were many small individuals, and many of them shone a blackish metallic green color the moment they were collected, but this time you can't see that sparkle. From this, it seems that October to November is the peak breeding season in this location, and April to May is not the breeding season. This kind of thing can only be understood after coming multiple times.

Unfortunately, I killed them last time, so this time I packed up the golden chaleri one by one as soon as I scooped them up. We were able to transport the six models for the photo shoot to Bangkok safely, and we were also able to photograph them in the aquarium. I would like to see what kind of changes in color and body shape occur after this while raising them. My buddy Ton, who is also a shipper, seems to have exported this precious fish to Japan, so there may be a chance that he can actually raise this fish in Japan. I would like to hope that Golden Charerie, which has a charm different from ordinary Charerie, will become established in the hobby world.