Knuckles McGee banished to Petland Olathe

It's the end of an era.

Amid tight security, convicted fish killer Knuckles McGee this afternoon was transferred to Petland Olathe, where he will be rehabilitated and offered for sale.

So ends the tragic love story of Knuckles McGee and Fatty Arbuckle, whose love spawned many fry and a few harrassment charges before ending, tragically, in assassination and incarceration.

McGee's transfer came 20 days after a jury sentenced McGee to banishment from the main aquarium in the death of Fatty Arbuckle. Arbuckle was slain Oct. 13 after giving birth.

McGee was placed in an isolation tank moments after attacking Arbuckle. He remained incarcerated in the tiny plastic cell until today. Fish-watchers sympathetic to McGee's plight complained earlier this week that it seemed cruel to keep the fish confined for such a long period of time.

"People don't seem to understand that he killed another fish - a fish who was in the midst of childbirth, mind you, in cold blood," said tank police chief Jesse Barracuda in a statement issued Wednesday night. "We had a responsibility to keep Mr. McGee out of the general population and away from our other female mollies."

Transferring a problem fish takes time, TankKeeper explained, because not many pet stores want to take on a fish that has been convicted of fishicide.

After days of calling, Petland Olathe, located at 2008 E. Santa Fe in the Olathe Landings Shopping Center, agreed to accept McGee as a non-refundable return. PetSmart Olathe, where McGee was purchased last spring, has a policy that prohibits the acceptance of return fish after a period of 14 days.

Two armed guards drove McGee the two blocks that separated his holding cell from the pet store. Once at Petland, McGee was removed from his transfer bowl and placed in a plastic bag for re-conditioning prior to release in a store display aquarium filled with other mollies of various color and gender.

"He's a real good-looking molly," said Rick, who works in the fish department and handled the bowl-to-tank transfer. "He should sell right away. We'll be sure to warn everyone that he's quite the lady killer."

McGee's owner, Guy Fish, declined to comment for this article but is said to be considering what fish he would add to the aquarium if and when tank officials extend the invitation.