Zoot. Zoot. Zoot.
21-May-04
Well, my betta finally ate a pellet today, 1 week after I got him. Boy, did he resist those quite a lot after the bloodworms! 4 days without eating, basically. Ah, well. He seems to spit them out, then take them back and try again– perhaps he wants them to be more waterlogged/soggy before he finally eats them?
No final decision on a name yet. I’m almost decided on “Zoot” after the Muppet (he’s the saxophone player who never speaks). Upturned mouth and all. But there’s an antiquated pejorative of “zoot” (as in Zoot Suit) for a Mexican dandy, and I don’t want to insult anyone with my fish.
We’ve been having fun with flaring at mirrors lately. I bought a mirror to keep on my desk, and I periodically put it next to his tank to flare at, get some excitement, before moving it back to the other side of the desk. He then spends a good portion of the rest of the day swimming back and forth in front of where the mirror was as if to say “Hey! Come back here! I’ll show you!” He also flares and darts away when I point a finger at him. Sometimes he flares when I dip some paper into the tank to scoop out uneaten food near the top of the water.
Have had some small bubbles at the top of the tank, but nothing “nest” like yet. I’m not surprised– he’s still settling in.
I did a full water change today, so his water is especially clear right now. I also changed the plant he has in there– he had the dark purple plant this week. Today I put the pink one in. Next week I might put the green/turquoise one in. I don’t know if he will be happier with the same plant arrangement week after week or not; right now I’m trying out different things for both aesthetics and to see which ones give him happier hiding places. Right now, I lean towards the dark purple one, just because it fits in the corner really well and is aesthetically pleasing to me personally.
Oh, and he’s definitely affecting productivity today– I keep watching to see if he’ll eat, how he’s eating, etc.