Mephisto's Adventures

[Spook]

Originally Posted by dramaqueen

he'll probably give you that look like *I'm STARVING, more food!!!* lol

Haha, yes! He definitely has that look down to an art! C:


Anyway, some updates on the little guy! Here's his new digs, as promised!



He's officially won my heart! He's become brave enough to eat his food right out of the plastic spoon I use, and has already begun expecting food every time I walk past his tank. Sometimes while I'm at my PC, he'll swim over and stare at me for a while. xD

I've been noticing that Mephisto's spine is unusually curvy. I don't know if this is a recent development or not, since he's spent so much of his time hiding and has only just recently begun coming out to be seen. Does this look bad? He swims perfectly fine, and doesn't seem otherwise unhealthy...



And finally, my sorority tank the day after setting it up! C: It's currently cycling, and a ton more plants are in the mail, on their way!

[Spook]

So I definitely think I have a case of the over-anxious new-mom disease. Mephisto's spine has flattened out after upping his daily food amount a bit, so that was nothing. I think he was just a bit thin from his hunger strike, and needs to fatten up a little. :P

Mephisto finally flared for the first time, today! It was the cutest thing I've ever seen. I've been holding a mirror up to his tank for a few minutes every day, and for the last few days he's finally been showing a bit of interest -- mostly just hovering in place, staring obsessively at himself. But today when he saw his reflection, he pulled his little beard out and put on a show. xD It was too quick for me to get a picture, but I'm sure it won't be the last time...

I've pretty much scrapped the idea of feeding pellets. I have him on bloodworms, baby brine shrimp, and tubifex worms (frozen). I have some NLS pellets on their way here, and I'm definitely going to try that -- but would a staple diet of mainly varied frozen (not freeze dried) or live foods be okay? That's what I've always fed my other tropical fish, and they've always done really well. I see no reason why Betta would be an exception, but I suppose they are exceptional fish!

[Spook]

Mephisto's begun biting his tail. :( He unclamped all of his fins and let them flow beautifully for a few days, but one morning I woke up to find his entire tail just about completely gone. I rearranged his tank and bought a ping pong ball for him to play with, so I'm hoping for the best now...

The tail biting did begin right around the time that he started flaring at his reflection, so I'm going to stop showing him the mirror for a while and see if that helps.

In other news, Mephisto built a BEAUTIFUL bubble nest last night! I didn't get a picture, so I'm really hoping for a repeat! :)

And the Sorority tank is finally complete! I brought home two girls last night (they're currently floating in a breeder net, separated -- no worries!) I'll be bringing home the rest of my girls tomorrow!

[Spook]

I finally got my sorority all set up! (: The girls have been in since last Wednesday, and everything has been very peaceful so far! They're in with 11 Danios (6 gold, 5 zebra).


Here's the tank. It looks a bit sparse from this angle, but it definitely passes the side-view line of site test. (: I've got Brazilian Pennywort, Bacopa Caroliana (the only thing that's not doing so hot at the moment), Ludwigia, Italian Val, Water Sprite (sniplettes from Mephisto's tank), Java Moss, Anacharis, Hygro Compacta (also transplanted from Mephisto), several types of Anubias (including Frazeri: that monster thing in the far back left), and Amazon sword stuffed in there!

The dark thing in the back left corner is actually a long rock cave with several holes, and there are a bunch of caves in and around the driftwood as well. Lots of hiding places! Sometimes it's a chore to find everyone and make sure they're all there! The girls absolutely love the Pennywort wrapped around the driftwood there at the top -- they like to hide under the big leaves. (:

Anyway, introducing my girls!
These pictures are from a few days ago; all the girls have brightened up even more since then.


Selene - goddess of the moon
AKA "Fatty"

I was so sure she'd be the most peaceful -- and wouldn't you know it, she's the top girl. In fact, she's quite a little brat. Selene spent the first few days doing nothing but flaring her tiny little pathetic gill covers out at everything and everyone, making sure they knew who was boss! She started out as the smallest one, but is quickly changing that with every meal. She is a HUGE pig!

Selene cracks me up -- she puts on a big tough attitude for all the other girls, but she's pretty easily spooked. :P

Selene has blue eyes and small black flecks that get more prominent and numerous every day. I'm hoping she will marble up in the coming months. (:


Tiamat - dragon goddess of chatos
AKA "Big Mama"

I've never seen markings like Tiamat's! When I first saw her, she had red, white, and blue striped fins and a white body, but she is really starting to colour up fast! Looks like her body may eventually be purple... only time will tell! She has the darkest black eyes I've ever seen. And yes, despite those huge fins and gigantic body, I think she is definitely female. No beard whatsoever, and a very prominent eggspot.

Tiamat was very mellow at first, and let herself get pushed around by all of the other Betta. She is the biggest girl in the tank, and I think it took her a while to realize that... (: Now Selene is the only one who gets to push her around. She is still a very peaceful girl, and will not go after any of the other girls -- but she will defend herself if need be.


Persephone - goddess of the underworld
AKA "Little Red"

Persephone seems to be in the middle of the pack. She doesn't really go after any of the other girls and no one really goes after her. She is red Cambodian, with blue iridescent on her fins, and a big red streak on her right side.

Persephone is my husband's favourite girl -- I'm not a huge fan of Cambodians, but he thought she was stunning and had to have her. :)


Nammu - mother earth

Nammu was one of the very first girls I picked up. She is a very calm and laid-back girl, usually preferring to spend her time minding her own business scavenging for food in the substrate. The only girl she really doesn't seem to care for is little Sati.


Pattini - guardian goddess born of a mango
AKA "Pineapple"

Pattini is definitely my favourite girl! (: She is so pretty! I never thought I'd find a pineapple girl -- when I got her under the tank lights, I realized that her black scale outlines are actually iridescent blue! I think she's absolutely gorgeous. I hoped she might be a spade tail, but I'm pretty sure she's just a long-finned veil tail.

Pattini spent most of the first few days hiding, but has begun coming out more and more.


Ophelia

Ophelia is another of my favourites. She's a pretty mellow little girl, being the second smallest of all, and spends most of her time either alone or following Selene around. Her fins are iridescent blue, which I think is beautiful.


Sati - first wife of Shiva

Sati is my precious little girl at the bottom of the totem. She spent the first day looking pale and swimming listlessly slowly around the tank, and I wasn't sure if she'd make it. For the last few days, however, she's coloured up to a deep royal blue with a black head, and has been much more active. She seems to be doing a lot better!

[sunrise2397]

i absolutely love all your girls. i think that Tiamat is justt soooooooooooo gorgeous!!! but so are all the other girls:)