A grouper fish has been left feeling ‘lonely’ and ‘depressed’ after it ate all its tankmates. I think there’s a lesson in here somewhere.
Mikko the grouper lives at the Linnanmaki Sea Life centre in Helsinki, Finland, where his keeper Marcus says he’s been left feeling down in the dumps due to the double whammy of tucking into all his pals and coronavirus restrictions meaning there’s fewer visitors to the aquarium.
Speaking on This Morning, Marcus explained: “Mikko has a tendency to eat all his tankmates, that’s the main issue.”
He continued: “We were quite sure that [the poisonous lionfish] would be a good tankmate but obviously he wasn’t, he ate it. So it didn’t go very well.”
Mikko, who is around 3ft-long and weighs 35lbs, recently celebrated his 16th birthday where he was treated to a birthday cake made from salmon and shrimp, which he quickly devoured.
Marcus said: “It’s a big chunk of salmon and it was decorated with shrimp.
“He swallowed the whole thing without looking at it, he will basically eat whatever goes down his throat.”
However, not even a fish-cake and birthday was enough to cheer up poor Mikko, with Marcus explaining: “He is depressed.
“We have seen over the past, he has a tendency to get depressed.
“If he has no visitors he sits at the bottom of the tank and his coloration turns pale, he turns grey which is a sign he is bored mostly.
“We know fish can get depressed and having some movement here really helps.”
Mikko was left feeling bored when the aquarium was forced to close during the pandemic and staff have been trying their best to lift his spirits.
He added: “He watched the TV almost all the time so it clearly helped with his boring days without visitors.
“We try to enrich him by having lunch in front of his display and we also brush the window with a brush and he seems to enjoy that kind of contact as well.”
Viewers at home absolutely loved Mikko, with one posting: “The sad fish who ate all his friends = relatable.”
Another joked: “The sad fish that ate all his friends” that’s me… that fish is me.”
A third person wrote: “Article on This Morning on “sad fish who ate all his friends” and can’t help but see yet another metaphor for our times.”
