A solitary sunfish at an aquarium in Japan lost its appetite, began banging into the side of the fishtank and appeared unwell days after the facility closed last month for renovations.

A sunfish at a municipal aquarium undergoing renovation in this west Japan city became unwell, but recovered after its tank

The Kaikyokan Aquarium in Shimonoseki, Japan, which is undergoing renovations, revealed in a post on X that its staff had to think out of the box to help one of its sunfish struggling with the change.

The Japanese aquarium posted a photo on its official X (formerly Twitter) account on 3 January, showing the sunfish named Mambo swimming in its tank, surrounded by cutouts of smiling faces and staff uniforms on hangers stuck to the glass. The heartwarming but hilarious post has gone viral, receiving more than 12.5 million views and comments.

When the crowds stopped coming after an aquarium in Japan closed Dec. 1 for renovation work, a sunfish swimming alone in a tank stopped eating, became unwell and began bumping into the side of the fish tank.

Staff members believe the sunfish stopped eating when the aquarium was temporarily closed because it was lonely.

Japanese aquarium staff used cut-out human companions to cheer up a lonely sunfish, leading to improved health.

SHIMONOSEKI: A lonely ocean sunfish in a Japanese aquarium, which seemed to be missing its human visitors and caretakers during the facility’s closure, has found a surprising source of comfort.

A solitary sunfish at an aquarium in southwestern Japan lost its appetite, and began banging into the side of the fish tank.

A solitary sunfish has been brought back from the brink with the help of fake humans. The rare fish at an aquarium in southwestern Japan lost its appetite, began banging into the side of the fish tank and appeared unwell days after the attraction closed for renovations.

To create the illusion of people observing the fish, the staff members printed cardboard cut-outs of visitors wearing clothes and attached them to the aquarium.