What would you do if you had an aquarium at home and only one fish was left? This might sound like a joke, but it became a serious challenge for the staff at an aquarium in Japan, where a sunfish had become sick due to loneliness.
In December 2024, an aquarium in Shimonoseki, a city in southern Japan, was closed for renovation. As a result, the only fish left in the aquarium began to show signs of illness, possibly due to loneliness.
Staff members shared on X (formerly Twitter) that they were unsure what was happening with the fish and had tried several measures. One staff member suggested that the fish might be feeling lonely because there were no visitors anymore.
Following this thought, they decided to hang a staff member’s uniform next to the aquarium tank. According to an X post, “The next day, its condition improved.”
A photo shared by the staff showed the fish swimming in the tank with its eyes fixated on the “temporary” figures made from cupboard materials and covered with the staff uniforms.
The aquarium explained that the fish seemed to be curious about people, and whenever visitors were present, it would swim toward the tank’s front. However, when people stopped visiting, the fish gradually became ill.
It’s worth noting that sunfish often grow very large, reaching up to 1900 kilograms in weight and 3.3 meters in length, though the fish in this aquarium was quite small, but still active.
