Little Fish

Our local aquarium is too small for ocean sunfish, but I’ve seen these remarkable creatures up close. The Monterey Bay Aquarium has sunfish in their Open Sea Exhibit. At 4,400 pounds, they’re the world’s largest bony fish, and they’re like enormous fish heads, floating aloof and disinterested in their watery world. At least, that’s how they look. When Japan’s Kaikyokan Aquarium temporarily closed for renovations, their solitary sunfish began to show signs of distress. It stopped eating, became lethargic, and started bumping into the tank walls. The caretakers worried it might be missing the aquarium visitors, so they came up with a creative solution. They placed life-size human cutouts outside the tank to simulate adoring crowds. Gradually, the sunfish began to improve. Its appetite returned, it became more active, and it stopped colliding with the walls of the tank. Evidently, even fish may experience certain sensory input patterns which are anticipated and even missed when absent.