Japanese aquarium raises the mood of lonely sun-fish

Japanese aquarium raises the mood of lonely sun-fish

How do you bring a lonely fish to cheer up? This question may work like the beginning of a particularly silly joke, but for the employees of a japanese aquariums it presented a serious challenge when they noticed that their Sonnenfisch was.

background: The emergency of the solar fish

Kaikyokan aquarium in Shimonoseki, in the south of Japan, closed in December 2024. Shortly afterwards the solar fish got sick, as the aquarium in a Post to x.

an unexpected approach to healing

"We could not find out the cause and took various measures, but an employee said: 'Maybe he is lonely because he was missing the visitors?' We thought 99%that this could not be! However, we attached the uniforms of the staff (at the aquarium) with a little hope," said the aquarium. "And then ... the next day he was healthy again!"

The reaction of the solarfish

A picture of the aquarium shows the solar fish that swims in his pelvis while he looks at the temporary “people” with one of his eyes, which consist of cardboard faces and uniforms of the aquarium. The employees also waved to the solar fish to cheer him up.

behavioral changes in the event of missing visitors

Although the idea of ​​a lonely sun fish appears unlikely, the aquarium explained that this fish was curious and always came to the pelvis when visitors were there. When the visitors failed to materialize, however, he stopped eating his jellyfish and began to rub his body on the tank, which caused the employees to think of digestive problems or a parasite infection, reported the Japanese newspaper Mainichi shimbun .

fascination of the oceanic sunfish

ocean sunfish in the open sea in moderate and tropical regions worldwide and were washed up in places such as Australia, California, Portugal, Spain and Oregon. They can grow large, with weights of up to 1,900 kilograms (over £ 3,300) and lengths of up to 3.3 meters (near 11 feet). The specimen in the aquarium is much smaller, but shows the characteristic, crooked, spherical body and the long fins that give the species their unmistakable appearance.

creative solutions in the animal world

Another Japanese aquarium found an equally creative solution to get his animals used to human contact. During the Covid Lockdown in 2020, the Sumida aquarium about volunteers 300 panted garden grooves could communicate that had become shy without the presence of visitors. This made it difficult for the employees to look after them and ensure that they were healthy.