Mambo Gets the Blues

Loneliness is not only bad for humans, it’s true for other forms of life, including amphibians.

Recently, staff workers at an aquarium in southwestern Japan discovered that their sunfish was feeling blue because of the lack of company.

The fish – nicknamed Mambo – first arrived at the Kaikyokan aquarium in Shimonoseki in February and immediately became a sensation among the locals.

“It’s curious and would swim up to visitors when they approached the tank,” staff member Mai Kato told the Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun.

But last month, the aquarium was closed for renovations and workers noticed that the 60-pound fish was not happy – it appeared low on energy, didn’t eat its jellyfish, and began rubbing against the tank’s walls.

The aquarists worried that it was experiencing digestive issues or stress from construction vibrations, but one keeper suggested an unconventional theory – loneliness.

“We were skeptical but decided to do anything we could,” aquarist Moe Miyazawa told the Associated Press.

Miyazawa and his colleagues then taped smiling photos of human faces to the tank and hung their uniforms nearby to mimic the presence of visitors.

And to their surprise, Mambo’s appetite returned the next day.

“I knew (the sunfish) was looking at us when we were placing them, but I never thought it would start eating the next day,” Miyazawa said, adding that staff are now trying to visit the giant fish more often.

Still, Mambo’s blues are at odds with the species’ character because sunfish are considered solitary creatures and are typically spotted alone, according to Smithsonian Magazine. They can weigh up to 5,000 pounds and are known for basking in the sun near the surface of the water.

That behavior has led to the fish facing threats to its survival, such as getting caught in nets and choking on sea trash – which they mistake for jellyfish, National Geographic noted.

Now that they know the problem, the aquarium’s staff members say they will make sure the fish gets company.

“When the renovation work is finished, I’d like visitors to wave to it in front of the tank,” Kato told the Mainichi Shimbun.

The aquarium is expected to open in the summer, but you can watch Mambo getting its groove back here.