The last few times in this column, I have introduced hybrid wild improved bettas and pure wild improved bettas. I've always been a fan of wild fish, so I'm most interested in Plakat among the many improved betta breeds. For wild betta lovers, these improved bettas, which still retain the charm of the original wild bettas, are a real hit. In Thailand, the home of betta fish, along with the recent popularity of wild betta fish, the popularity of these improved wild betta fish is also increasing. Some types are even more expensive than the original species. The supply of products such as the Triple Cross that we introduced previously cannot keep up with demand, and there is a waiting list for people to get their hands on them.

This improvement of wild betta fish is centered around crossbreeding between splendens groups. Maybe I don't have enough information, but I have rarely heard of hybrids in other wild betta groups. Wild bettas of the Splendens group, which includes Splendens splendens, Inveris, Smaragdina, Mahachaiensis, Styctus, and Siamese orientalis, can be bred relatively easily, and their offspring are often fertile. This kind of interspecific hybridization is not new; it has been attempted by betta fish enthusiasts for a long time. Although not many people in today's younger generation know about it, it seems that the Neon Betta was created by the late great German specialist Schmidt Focke by crossing Splendens and Inveris. Inspired by this, about 30 years ago I crossed Inveris with a betta fish called Metallica. The result was a very beautiful betta fish that looked very similar to the Inveris, but at that time there was no market for hybrid betta fish, and this would only confuse the wild betta market, so just taking a picture of the fish was enough. It was never released to the world.

Times have changed, many wild bettas have been newly described, and people's knowledge of wild bettas has increased considerably. In my personal opinion, in such a situation, it would not be a bad idea to introduce the wild hybrid betta as an improved variety after providing honest information about its origin. The fear is that there is no information on mating, or that fish are distributed with false or incorrect information. If such fish become available, the betta industry could decline along with the booming wild betta market. The triple cross that I introduced earlier has become popular in the Thai betta market, and is traded at high prices and is in short supply. Perhaps inspired by this, some hybrids with unclear breeding information have also recently appeared in Bangkok. I am concerned about what is happening.

Well, this time the introduction has become long, but it seems that Mahachaiensis is often used as the basis for breeding these wild-type improved bettas. This is probably because the metallic color of Mahachaiensis becomes even more noticeable when hybridized. This time, we will mainly introduce this Mahachai hybrid.
First up is Mahachai Green, which has been available in the Bangkok market for quite some time. Many enthusiasts seem to think that this fish is not a hybrid, but considering its body shape and coloration, it seems that it has Splendens blood in it somewhere. There is also a fish called Mahachai Blue, but this is also thought to be a different color of the same family, or a fish derived from this. These are often used as a base for crossbreeding, and are also used to create triple crosses.

The improved variety with a beautiful metallic blue color, also known as a double cross, is said to have been created by crossing Mahachai Blue and Smaragdina, and is a new variety released in the spring of 2017, but the information varies depending on who you ask. , details of mating are unknown. Although I have only seen blue fish, I am told that there are also green fish. The fact that there are blue and green fish seems to be similar to the triple cross. I brought a pair of these fish back to Japan, so I plan to try breeding them myself. If you look at the phenotype of the child, you may be able to confirm to some extent what kind of crossbreeding took place.

An improved variety called Mahachai Silver has also been on the market from time to time. This seems to have been created by crossing Mahachaiensis with the steel-type Plakat. However, in the two pairs I acquired in June 2017, the male's color was not the same silver, and one had a slightly stronger reddish color. There are also blue and green females, and when considered from this point of view, it seems that the number of females as a breed is still not that high. However, since they are attractive in both body shape and color, their popularity will likely increase depending on the future direction of fixation.

In one store, I found a fish sold as Mahachai Green, but with a distinctly different flavor. At first, it was small and I didn't have any clear characteristics, but as I bought more and more, I started to see its characteristics. Judging from the characteristic red color on its anal and tail fins, it definitely has Inveris blood in it. Since it also has other characteristics of Mahachaiensis, it is probably a hybrid of Mahachaiensis and Inveris. Personally, I didn't find the half-baked features appealing, and I don't like the fact that it's clearly being sold under the wrong name. This distribution of fish is hindering the spread of improved wild betta fish. It is impossible to create attractive varieties that can be sold at high prices by blindly breeding without a goal. I would like Thai breeders to understand this as well.