Antonio Found Dead in Tank

No, not that Antonio. This was a little goldfish being kept in an aquarium filled with official LA River water. Along with another goldfish, Little Ed, the two fishies were named for two of the river's biggest supporters, Mayor Villaraigosa and Councilman Ed Reyes.

The tank resided for a while in City Hall, until it was transferred to the offices of the Los Angeles Times where they could be viewed on a webcam.

Upon hearing the news of Little Antonio's death, Councilman Reyes said, "I'm really bummed that Little Antonio died. His mere presence brought an international splash to our efforts to renew the city's famous waterway — the Los Angeles River. I only hope Little Ed can swim through his grief long enough to see the results of what he and Little Antonio have worked so hard to create — the L.A. River Revitalization Master Plan."

The two little carp even had their own MySpace page. A memorial to Little Antonio has already been posted.

Little Antonio and Ed had developed some type of skin condition, but later recovered. Little Antonio managed to survive 111 days in the Cypress Park vintage of LA River water that was their home.