Turns out that there's a sizable group of people who are really into the Polynesian pop culture kitsch known as Tiki. Who would have guessed? Naturally, the community is pretty laid-back, but one event did cause quite a stir. Following the closing of the popular Bahooka Bar, its beloved mascot, a 37-year-old pacu fish named Rufus, was suddenly homeless, or, more accurately, living alone in a dark, vacant restaurant, kept alive only by his longtime carer's volunteer efforts. The new owner of the bar space had technically bought Rufus, along with the rest of the bar's decor, but found no use for him. In reaction to this news, the Tiki community scrambled to find a way to save Rufus by rehoming him somewhere where he could be properly cared for. A local to the area and fan of Rufus set up a fundraising page where they quickly amassed over 2.5k in funds, while a number of skilled aquarium-keepers offered to provide the fish with a place to stay. The tight-knit fandom tried to do everything in its power to save the orphaned mascot.

After exceeding their fundraising goals, Rufus' fan posted an update on the fundraising page. They announced that while they had found a potential new home for Rufus, the new owner of the restaurant space saw profit in Rufus after his dilemma generated quite a lot of local publicity. Although he had once wanted to get rid of the fish, the owner now refused to hand him over to proper caretakers.

The Tiki community was disraught; not only was their beloved fish in limbo, but so was their hard-earned rum money. The fan who'd set up the donation drive briefly mentioned that they were deciding on what do do with the money in the update, but following that, all communication and contact ceased. One user protested the accusations now flying towards the new owner and his treatment of the fish, but the worst was yet to come. After finding pictures of the gutted bar and the empty tank where Rufus used to live, the saddened Tiki-lovers speculated about where he went (and produced some fanart about the matter), praying for answers (though some were not so upset about the idea of a dead fish, causing turmoil in the usually placid community), or at least some form of contact from his new owner. However, as time went on, and the thread grew longer, they began to accept that Rufus was gone forever. While they hoped for the best, it became increasingly likely that the worst had occurred, and that the middle-aged fish had simply been disposed of. Some rumors have circulated over what happened to the pacu, such as that he was released into a koi pond (though the "proof" of this was dubious at best), thrown into a river in Long Beach,or spotted with Elvis in London, but it's likely that his fate will remain the Tiki community's biggest mystery.