Lucky
10:13 p.m. x 2003-08-04
I've been debating on writing this because I know a lot of people won't see where I'm coming from and will think "It was just a fish", but Lucky died.
Lucky was an algae eater (I know they have a technical name but to me he was my algae eater so please don't correct me). He may have just been the one that sucks the scum off the tank but this fish seemed to have nine lives. He lived through the great overfeed of 2002 when 6 other fish died, he almost froze in water on the way to Ohio to go live with his dad, he survived the trip from his dad's apartment to here when I forgot him in the hot car for an hour, this fish could live through anything. I didn't feed him. He maintained himself. He really was one cool fishy.
Well, you see, algae eaters don't float when they die. They more or less sink to the bottom and since they eat the algae off the bottom anyway, I thought nothing of it. This fish tricked me before and made me stick my hand in the tank only to go swimming away.. but this time.. well, not this time.
I was moving the tank because the way it was, one couch had to be butted up against the other and it looked like I just threw my furniture in here. Anyway, I was bailing water out because the tank is mighty large and there's no way I could move it if I didn't. I thought it odd after about the 5th bucket that he didn't swim around somewhere out of fear.
So, I lifted up the cave decoration to see if he was in it. He liked to sleep in his cave and sometimes I'd go looking for him and there he was. Well when I lifted it up, there was his head on one side and his little lifeless body on the other. Since I didn't know he was dead, the movement of the water took my little decaying fish and broke him in half. It took all I had between sadness and nausea to get Lucky out of the tank, and when I did, I bawled.
I know so many other people are losing pets that had 4 legs and I don't mean to disrespect them, but my fish was part of the family and he deserves his own tribute too.
While you're at it, go pay tribute to Axel's daddy and Marn.