SIP Ace :blue_heart:

Swincess 09/22/20

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Ace

Adoption Date: June 28, 2018

Date of Death: September 22, 2020

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I just received news that Ace has ed away today. :broken_heart:

If you had been following up on Ace’s story, you know that he had a tumor on his left gill cover. Unfortunately, the tumor got large enough to where it made him struggle to swim around, due to the weight of it. However, he coped with this quite well by resting in his leaf bed a good bit. I was going to put him down before going on vacation, but decided not to because he was doing really well and so I decided it wasn’t quite time for him to go yet.

My plans were to put him down after my return from my vacation. Well, my 2 week vacation turned into a much longer one. I’ve been away for about 4 weeks now due to complications. If I had known this would’ve happened, I would’ve definitely put him to rest before going, and I regret not doing that so much now.

I’m currently a 24 hour drive away from my tanks, so someone (not going to name who) is supposed to be taking care of them for me. She isn’t doing a great job with it, they’re just now getting water changes after going about 4 weeks without them. I’m scared that’s what ended his life, and it absolutely destroys me that it played out this way. I’m going to hope that the tumor is what truly made him away. But in the end, knowing that he’s at peace now certainly helps numb the pain at least.

Ace was my favorite betta. His personality was amazing and hilarious from day one, up until the very end. The first day we met, he ferociously flared at me while sitting in the store....

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I suppose we can call it “love at first sight”: betta version. I didn’t get him that day, and it ate away at me. So a couple days later, I decided that I had to go back and get him. Luckily, he was still there, so our adventure together finally began.

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I didn’t get him that first day because I didn’t have a tank ready, but, well... We made things work. This was his temporary home: a bowl that looks rather small, but was actually a cozy 3 gallons.

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Throughout time, his living quarters changed drastically. With this being his final setup - minus a decoration piece that was added recently and his bed.

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Not perfect by any means, but boy was he happy. He especially loved his leaf bed...

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He was my very first marble. Watching his color change was absolutely amazing, and an experience I’ll never forget. Though his colors changed dramatically, he always remained the same:

Just downright beautiful...

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From the very beginning, we had such a special connection, and it only grew stronger as our time together grew longer. There was always something about him that would make a spark of happiness flow throughout my body when visiting with him or even when talking about him. It‘s truly unbelievable how much happiness a little fish can bring upon you.

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I could go on forever about this little guy, but I’m afraid you’ll soon think that I’m beyond crazy, so I’ll end it on this note...

Ace, no words will ever be able to accurately describe just how much I love you. Though the term “heart horse” is used to describe a horse that is like your soul mate in life, I’m going to put a twist on this and call you my little heart fish. Thank you for making my life so much sweeter. Until we meet again, bud... :heart:

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