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.

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.

TOKYO — A solitary sunfish at an aquarium in southwestern Japan lost its appetite, began banging into the side of the fishtank and appeared unwell days after the facility closed last month for renovations. As a last-ditch measure to save the popular fish, its keepers hung their uniforms and set up human cutouts outside the tank.

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.

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?’ "

The ‘sociable’ fish’s unusual behaviour during the temporary closure of the aquarium prompted the unorthodox intervention by staff

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