Bubba the Fish goes belly up

[Tiger in Spain 0]

Why do I feel like I need to have fish for lunch now?

First Fish To Undergo Chemo Dies At Shedd

Bubba the Queensland "Super" Grouper Passed Away Tuesday

CHICAGO - Bubba the Queesland Grouper was born a female but became a male. More remarkably, this Shedd Aquarium resident was the first fish to successfully undergo chemotherapy. Now, staff members at the Shedd Aquarium are mourning the death of a most “super grouper.”

Bubba died suddenly on Tuesday. Teams were mobilized to provide emergency medical care to Bubba, but efforts to save the fish were not successful.

“The past twenty-four hours have been extremely difficult for our staff as Bubba was truly a member of the Shedd family,” said George Parsons, director of the Fishes department, in a news release. “Bubba overcame some incredible odds over the years, and that’s what made him so special to us. His story of survival inspired so many of our guests and the public that followed him.”

An initial autopsy revealed Bubba had health issues related to old age and a number of abnormal growths. A more extensive report will come back in a few weeks.

Bubba was born a female, but later became a he because groupers can actually change gender as they mature because of social and other factors. Bubba was left as an abandoned pet at the Shedd in 1987.

Bubba was diagnosed with a type of cancer and successfully treated in 2003, earning him the nickname “super grouper” by the media who followed his story. He became an inspiration to cancer paitents and even has a tile in his honor at the Hope Children’s Hospital oncology division in Oak Lawn, Ill.

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