What happened to MiniWaters in 2023?

Some of our customers noticed that we never turned on the website and added inventory for sale in 2023. Obviously, there was concern.

Some of our customers also know that MiniWaters.fish is not my primary source of income and employment, but that I’ve been serving in editorial and publishing capacities for AMAZONAS and CORAL Magazine dating all the way back to 2011. This is vitally important, as many of our customers also know that due to our extreme-northern location in Duluth, we pretty much have to shut down retail shipping operations from November through April, save the occasional warm-weather spell that can sometimes allow us to ship living things safely.

When May 2023 rolled around, I was in the mindset of “time to turn on the website” when the unthinkable happened. James Lawrence, the Publisher and Editor-In-Chief of CORAL Magazine, unexpectedly passed away. Simply put, in addition to all I do for both publications, I had little option but to steward CORAL Magazine forward, taking on the duties that James normally covered.

Thus, the summer of 2023 has seen me doing what I call “4” jobs. 1. I have my normal duties for CORAL. 2. I have normal obligations for AMAZONAS as well. But now, I’ve also been 3. functioning as an interim editor-in-chief while also working with my partner, Stephan Tanner, to 4. bring CORAL Magazine into our company, Aquatic Media Press.

As it stands, these increased responsibilities have been very time-consuming, and for the good of our shared teams, failure is not an option. Thus, I gave no second thought to not opening MiniWaters.fish for the 2023 season. And, as I type this now, I have tanks and racks full of vastly overgrown fish and plants that won’t be shipped this year.

Some might ask, “why not hire help?” Simply put, I have tried in the past, but the people who have stepped forward and shown promise have sadly not been able to stick with it, ironically due to health conditions (like getting pregnant or winding up in the hospital for two months and nearly dying). And, right now, bringing on “staff” is simply the furthest thing from my mind, I simply don’t have the time to train and guide a third party to run the business (and my children are not yet old enough to consider such a role). So, for now, MiniWaters.fish will sit idle while I focus on the much larger demands of CORAL and AMAZONAS Magazine.

Will I open shop again in 2024? Probably, but I’m not going to make promises just yet. Until then, be sure to subscribe to AMAZONAS and CORAL Magazine – I somewhat joke, but in truth, it really does help put food on the table for my kids!