Fishy Wishy

Right smack dab in the middle of the Queen’s Medical Center emergency room sits a peaceful, quiet and serene aquarium, the perfect mind-relaxer for anyone sitting there waiting for their turn to be treated.

And boy, is it needed. The emergency room was packed to the gills last week when I was there waiting for my charge to be summoned inside. I can’t tell you how many people were just sitting there, staring at the half-dozen or so salt-water reef fish hovering around the lava coral rocks.

I wish I could tell you what species of fish were there, but I only can name one for sure – the Hawaiian aholehole (Kuhlia sandvicensis, pronounced “ah-ho-leh-ho-leh”). I think the yellow fish pictured here is a surgeonfish of sorts because of the barb near the base of its tail.

Because those little fishies are always moving in the dimly lit aquarium, I couldn’t take very many sharp pictures.

An aquarium – the perfect “stare at another world so you forget your own troubles for a while” distraction in a hospital emergency room.