# Mephisto's Adventures



## Spook (Dec 30, 2011)

So I thought it would be cool to keep a little journal about my Betta, especially since this is my first one! 

Yesterday I brought Mephisto home for the first time, and since then he has settled into his tank quite nicely! He's in a 5 gallon tank with a Java Fern, an Anubias, a little rock cave, a small piece of driftwood, and a floating Betta log. 









So far, Mephisto's proven himself to be a pretty lazy little guy. He especially likes to sit inside his floating log and sleep -- but on or under the plants will suffice as well! 









He isn't too interested in eating at the moment. I'm hoping this is just due to the fact that he's still settling in, but it might be that he doesn't like the type of pellets I bought him.


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## Spook (Dec 30, 2011)

Last night I figured out that my heater had been set wrong, and Mephisto's tank water was a little on the cold side. After turning the heater up a bit, he came out from his log and swam around for a little while. This morning the tank was up to 80 degrees, and he seemed much more active and interested in his new tank. 

However, he's currently gone back to sleep inside his floating log, and he's been there for most of the day. He comes out every few hours to make a little lap around his tank before returning to his log to sleep. 

I still haven't seen him eat anything, but his belly doesn't look distended and his fins are all flowy and relaxed, so I think he's okay. I'm hoping it's normal for a new Betta fish to hide and sleep this much, and not that there's anything wrong!


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## Spook (Dec 30, 2011)

This morning I woke up to a thin string of bubbles lining the perimeter of Mephisto's tank! I'm pretty sure that this is an early attempt at a bubble nest, which makes me very happy! 

He's been getting bolder in making his rounds about the tank, and even showed some interest in my hand for a minute when I put it up to the tank. He's started to spend less time in his floating log, and has begun exploring some of the ground-level hiding places, evidently feeling confident enough to make the long swim up to the surface for air and then back down again. 

I'm starting to think he knows when I'm watching him. He'll lay still as long as I'm watching, but as soon as I turn away I see him dart across the tank from the corner of my eye. Sneaky little thing!

Mephisto made an attempt at eating a pellet today, but spit it back out and then lost it in the rocks. He fell asleep looking for it, I don't think he ever found it. I'm thinking I might need to get some frozen food for him -- he seems to have trouble seeing the pellets and fitting them in his mouth.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

It's probably just taking him a while to get used to his new home. He'll probably eat soon.


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## Spook (Dec 30, 2011)

Thanks, dramaqueen.  I'm sure that's all it is. He seems to be a very healthy boy otherwise -- beautiful flowing fins, healthy colour, swims well... And he's really starting to come out of his shell. c:

I tried to feed him a bloodworm today. He seemed interested and stalked it for a few minutes, but didn't eat it. The fact that he's showing interest seems promising though, so I'm not too worried. 

I also came home from work to a lovely bubble nest, today! Unfortunately, he'd built it against his floating log, so it broke apart when the log began to drift.


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## Spook (Dec 30, 2011)

After his week long hunger strike, Mephisto finally ate today!  And with gusto, I might add! He slurped down a pellet and a bloodworm. After the first bite, I could almost swear he looked at me in a new way, as if to say, "Ohh so THIS is what you keep dropping into my tank! Why didn't you say so?!" 

He certainly livened right up, once he realized that there was food to be had! I'm happy to see a bit more of his personality showing through.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

lol! I'm glad he's finally eating. I guess he's figured out what he's been missing.


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## angella (Dec 21, 2011)

That log looks great, I bet he loves it! As he uses it a lot, too xD

And he's a gorgeous betta, looks kinda like mine =)


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## Spook (Dec 30, 2011)

I thought Mephisto's tank was looking a bit skimpy, so I went out and bought a few plants -- including a monster sized Hygrophila Difformis which he absolutely adores hanging out in.  I'll take a picture tomorrow and show off the improvements!

In other news, my husband surprised me today with a beautiful 30 gallon tank and stand! I'm going to eventually try setting up a sorority in it (after I get it cycled), so I'm super excited!



angella said:


> That log looks great, I bet he loves it! As he uses it a lot, too xD
> 
> And he's a gorgeous betta, looks kinda like mine =)


Thank you! C: 

Yes, he really loves his log. At first he was constantly hiding inside it, but now that he's more comfortable in his tank, he likes to sleep propped against the side of it. Either way, he seems to love it!



dramaqueen said:


> lol! I'm glad he's finally eating. I guess he's figured out what he's been missing.


I'm glad he started eating, too! He's been eating like a champ ever since, I have to be careful not to overfeed!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

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


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## Spook (Dec 30, 2011)

dramaqueen said:


> 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!


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## Spook (Dec 30, 2011)

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. 

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!


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## Spook (Dec 30, 2011)

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!


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## Spook (Dec 30, 2011)

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.  

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!


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## sunrise2397 (Jul 19, 2011)

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


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