Shortly after the visitors stopped coming, the giant fish lost its appetite, started swimming into the aquarium walls, and seemed generally unwell. The staff were groping in the dark, but suspected that the fish simply felt lonely.
In a last-ditch effort to save the fish, they therefore hung up their work clothes on life-size paper dolls – topped with photos of smiling faces – and placed them next to the aquarium. The next morning, the ocean sunfish ate food for the first time in about a week.
According to aquarist Moe Miyazawa, the fish has been steadily improving since then.
I noticed that it looked at us when we set up the dolls, but I never thought it would start eating again the next day, she says.
The ocean sunfish, also known as the sunfish or mola mola, can weigh up to two tons and is thus the largest living bony fish. The specimen in Shimonoseki arrived at the aquarium in February last year from Japan's Pacific coast and quickly became a favorite among visitors.
There are four different species of ocean sunfish, of which the largest is simply called the ocean sunfish (Mola mola).
The smallest grows to 80 centimeters in length, while the others can reach up to four meters in length and weigh up to two tons.
Ocean sunfish have a peculiar appearance – they are heavily compressed from the sides and their body is round or elongated oval. The mouth is protruding.
Ocean sunfish are slow swimmers that live in free surface waters in warm and temperate seas.
Source: National Encyclopedia
