"Our planet" betta segment

[DragonScales+Doubletails]

I love this segment.

 

[Essjay]

Is it just me or do those look like domesticated bettas rather than wild bettas? The male looks more like Cambodian colouring and the female is too blue for wild B. splendens. Those fish were either filmed in an aquarium and the video cut to make us think it was in the wild, or the fish were released into the wild just to make the video.

Either way, it's a nice video of bettas breeding

 

[Naughts]

Is it just me or do those look like domesticated bettas rather than wild bettas? The male looks more like Cambodian colouring and the female is too blue for wild B. splendens. Those fish were either filmed in an aquarium and the video cut to make us think it was in the wild, or the fish were released into the wild just to make the video.

Either way, it's a nice video of bettas breeding

Definitely something fishy
The aerial view of the wild only has lily pads but in the aquarium shots around the bubble nest there is duck weed, water lettuce and frog bit.

 

[DragonScales+Doubletails]

Is it just me or do those look like domesticated bettas rather than wild bettas? The male looks more like Cambodian colouring and the female is too blue for wild B. splendens. Those fish were either filmed in an aquarium and the video cut to make us think it was in the wild, or the fish were released into the wild just to make the video.

Either way, it's a nice video of bettas breeding

yep, there's no way those are wild. I concluded that while watching. But it's still pretty neat that a common household pet was included during a wild documentary.

 

[Colin_T]

Is it just me or do those look like domesticated bettas rather than wild bettas? The male looks more like Cambodian colouring and the female is too blue for wild B. splendens. Those fish were either filmed in an aquarium and the video cut to make us think it was in the wild, or the fish were released into the wild just to make the video.

Either way, it's a nice video of bettas breeding

Just staged footage by the BBC. It's cheaper to make a garden pond in the studio and set up the cameras there, compared to visiting Thailand with a film crew. A lot of their stuff is done like that because it means they can control everything and get better footage. Most documentaries have some staged shots in.

Water Lettuce doesn't naturally occur in Thailand and the fish are the wrong colour for wild Betta splendens. They were probably having trouble finding short finned fish so grabbed whatever they could get

 

[Byron]

I see nothing wrong here. This portion of the episode has nothing in it to suggest it is in the wild, so what is the issue? I believe the intent of the programme is to provide viewers with information on some of the freshwater inhabitants on the planet we share. And this video most assuredly does that.

 

[GaryE]

They could be feral pla-kat Bettas. Or just plakats from a pet store. There's a killifish video going around with gardneri in an elephant's footprint. It's impossible in its details, but I get it shared with me regularly. It has a grain of truth to it.
Staged is okay. It's an educational clip. Look at the set-ups we accept as reality TV!
It bugs me when non-staged is accused of being staged. I shared a video here a couple of weeks ago, made by a friend who worked very hard to get a video of Discus guarding fry in the wild. Someone here was dismissive that it was a staged film, which must be very discouraging to the people making the (expensive) effort to show us wild fish in the wild. But this one makes no claims.
Plus I'm told there are huge numbers of feral escapes in the Betta splendens range, so much so the real fish is effectively gone from many regions. if they were around a major urban centre filming, those types are what they would get.
I have another friend who has shown me go-pro shots of wild Betta splendens, from Laos where she was working. Very cool stuff.

 

[Colin_T]

If people are going to film fish in the wild, they should show the river and bank and film while wading into the water. Keep the camera running while they film whatever is in the water. This way it is easier to tell if the footage is staged or a real wild habitat. Unfortunately when people start clipping bits here and there, it can make footage appear staged.

I think a white Betta (even a short fin variety) would probably get eaten in the wild.

 

[itiwhetu]

Great bit of filming. All staged, but what does it matter?

 

[Colin_T]

Great bit of filming. All staged, but what does it matter?

Yes, of course it matters

Nah, I like BBC documentaries and think the BBC does the best doccies.
However, their cop shows are not as good as the American cop shows
But they do have Doctor Who so that is good.

 

[Naughts]

I think you would probably need to be British to understand why both Attenborough and the BBC should be the genuine article.
The fact that it is not is shocking and demonstrates why the TV licence fee has to go!