Japan, Sunfish and Aquarium

Lonely Sunfish at Japanese Aquarium Comforted by Staff in Clever & Sweet Way
"When an aquarium in Japan closed to the public for restorations, the aquarium's beloved sunfish grew lonely without visitors and lost its appetite — until aquarium staff pasted cutouts with photos of human faces onto the tank," the video caption explains. That's right — they made people! Have you ever seen something so sweet?
Japanese Aquarium Puts Cutouts Of People To Comfort Lonely Sunfish
An aquarium in Japan has come up with a unique and out-of-the-box idea to cheer up its lonely resident sunfish after the facility closed for renovations.
Japanese aquarium places cardboard cutouts of people near tank of singular sunfish to cure its loneliness
Without its usual crowd of spectators, Kaikyokan’s sunfish essentially started to fall into a deep-sea depression.
Aquarium tapes human cutouts to tank after lonely sunfish refuses to eat alone
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.
Sunfish that got sick after aquarium closed has recovered — thanks to human cutouts
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.
Fishes Too Feel 'Lonely': Japan Aquarium Uses Human Cutouts To Cheer Up Sunfish
A sunfish at Japan's Kaikyokan Aquarium became unwell, possibly due to loneliness caused by the lack of visitors during renovations that began in December 2024. To cheer it up, staff decorated its tank with photos of faces and uniforms,
‘Lonely’ Sunfish Comforted by Cardboard Cutouts of People After Aquarium Closes Due to Renovations
The aquarium noted, “We didn't know the cause [of the fish feeling unwell] ... but one of the staff members said, ‘Maybe he's lonely without the visitors?’ "
Japanese aquarium cheers up lonely sunfish with cardboard cutouts of people
How do you perk up a lonely fish? This may sound like the start of a particularly silly joke, but it was a very real challenge faced by staff at a Japanese aquarium when they noticed their sunfish was ailing.
"Maybe It Became Lonely" — Aquarium Staff In Japan Comforts Sunfish With Smiley Cutouts
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.
Japan aquarium cheers up 'lonely' sunfish with staff uniforms, portraits on tank
A sunfish at a municipal aquarium undergoing renovation in this west Japan city became unwell, but recovered after its tank
Sunfish Saved by Creative Care at Japanese Aquarium
A sunfish at a Japanese aquarium became ill after the facility closed for renovations. In a novel attempt to help, aquarium staff used uniforms and human cutouts to simulate a crowd, prompting the sunfish to eat and recover.
World’s loneliest fish left heartbroken & alone at closed down aquarium gets cardboard cutout friends to ease boredom
A SUNFISH that was literally dying of loneliness has been saved with a group of cardboard cutouts friends keeping it company.
Lonely sunfish given cardboard human friends to improve its mental health
The ‘sociable’ fish’s unusual behaviour during the temporary closure of the aquarium prompted the unorthodox intervention by ...