Sad Day

Forgive me if this turns into a pitty party but it's been a tough day.

I received an email from my cousin who I have recently reconnected with notifying me that my Aunt Vickie passed away last night around 8:45 p.m. Even though I haven't seen her or spoken to her since roughly 1993, this really saddened me. One of my earliest memories after being adopted was of her and my Uncle Bud. When ever I was in trouble, and man did I get into trouble, they always tried to talk to me and understand why I acted the way I did.

My Uncle Bud was a commercial fisherman in south Florida and he would smoke massive amounts of fish on any given weekend. We would sit around the smoker and play games and eat fish all day long. My Aunt Vickie was a very good artist. She was such a kind soul and hosted all of the neighborhood kids each summer in their home for art lessons. My brother Joe, Adam Noble, John and Adam Moran, maybe Heather Horne, Scott Syring I believe one year, would all attend. We worked with pastels, charcoal, and water based paints. The last year she hosted we worked with oils. It was a lot of fun. My favorite thing I ever painted was a large portrait of Emmett Kelly, the clown. She had three wonderful grandchildren that were very close in age to my brother, sister, and me. Tina and Jackie, Joe and Troy, and Me and Jenny. Jackie lives near me now in Woodbridge and has a great family.

So, why am I writing all of this, well Copper our Copperband Butterflyfish passed away today as well. I noticed he wasn't eating well this morning but just thought to myself to monitor him. I was expecting a new lighting system today and was thrilled about getting it hooked up. While I was at the fish store I also got Nicole's fish of choice, a Flame Dwarf Angelfish (Scarlett).

Scarlett the Flame Dwarf Angelfish

I was excited about the corals I will soon be adding. When I got home I started my feeding process. Flakes first, then thawing some Mysis Shrimp for Copper. I realized I hadn't seen him yet so I looked around the back of the rock formations and there he was. He was pointed straight down and non-responsive. I attempted to rouse him with my fingers and he leaped at my slightest touch. He drifted to the other side of the tank, ignoring all of the shrimp floating around, and landed on the other side of the tank. The Serpent Starfish touched him and he leaped again but all the while floating and swimming erratically.

He eventually stopped breathing and I removed him from the tank.

With that said, the Angelfish looks amazing and seems to be adapting well. The lighting looks amazing and really shows off the fish and anemone.

So, today has been a sad day, I lost the person responsible for some of my oldest memories and lost a new friend. Rest in piece both of you.