Sunfish felt alone and stopped eating, until they stuck faces in an aquarium in Japan – Observer

And it worked. To the experts’ surprise, the sunfish regained its appetite and was more active the next day.

“You may have felt lonely due to the sudden absence of visitors, which may have contributed to your health problems,” declared one of the experts to the Japanese newspaper Manichi Shimbun.

The surprise was announced via post on the social network X. “We were 99% sure that loneliness would not be the cause, but after trying several things, we glued on some team uniforms as a last resort. The next day… the fish felt better!”

Actually, I felt a little unwell right after the museum closed. We didn’t know what the cause was and were trying to deal with it in various ways, but one staff member said, “Aren’t you feeling lonely because the visitors are gone?” I thought 99% of the time, “That can’t be true!”, but with a glimmer of hope, I pasted on the staff’s uniforms.
Then…I felt better the next day!

— Official Shimonoseki Aquarium “Kaikyokan” (@shimonoseki_aq) January 3, 2025

This sunfish is one of Kaikyokan’s most popular attractions, due to its “friendly” personality, says the Japanese newspaper. “He is curious and swims towards visitors who approach the tank”, revealed Mai Kato, one of the aquarium employees, to Manichi Shimbun.