Renovation work at the Kaikyokan Aquarium in Shimonoseki, Japan, left one resident depressed in December. A sunfish suddenly stopped eating and exhibited strange behavior. This was apparently triggered by the lack of visitors.

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 Japan lost its appetite, began banging into the side of the fishtank and appeared unwell days after the facility closed last month for renovations.

"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?

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

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.

The solitary fish named Mambo stopped eating and seemed to be missing its human visitors—so aquarists attached photos of human faces and uniforms to the side of its enclosure

Fish have feelings too – at least if a lonesome sunfish in a Japanese aquarium is anything to go by. Animal caretakers at the Kaikyokan in the southern city of Shimonoseki were concerned when Mambo the sunfish appeared to fall ill, shortly after the facility closed for renovations in early December.

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.

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.

A solitary sunfish at an aquarium lost its appetite, began banging into its fish tank days after the facility closed for renovations.