A little goldfish is making a big splash thanks to an aquarium store manager with some ingenuity and a background in marine biology.
KENS 5 reports that the Ranchu goldfish was brought to Aquarium Designs by a woman who couldn’t care for her fish anymore.
“Unfortunately there was one little goldfish that couldn’t seem to keep himself upright. He was stuck on the bottom upside down,” store manager Derek Burnett told KENS 5.
When the fish, which had a permanent bladder disorder that kept it from floating like the rest, wasn’t adopted with the rest, Burnett stepped in – and the “goldfish wheelchair” was born.
Burnett told KENS 5 he used scraps from around the store to fashion the floating chair and sent a picture of it to Taylor Nicole Dean, a friend who posts YouTube videos about animal care. She tweeted the picture and the original tweet has since been retweeted nearly 30,000 times and has more than 78,000 likes.
It’s the cutest little thing, right? Turns out, the Internet agrees. Since that day, the story has gone viral, prompting Burnett to create a Twitter account to give fish updates.
“Out of all the love and support for my brave little ranchu goldfish I started a page to provide updates and help others with similar issues,” Burnett tweeted. “Thanks to all who have shown support. We still need to come up with the perfect name for him so any clever suggestions are appreciated.”
Burnett also tweeted a video, showing how the fish used to spend his days trying to swim without the wheelchair. The wheelchair has since been upgraded for the fish’s comfort, with the main addition being a Velcro strap instead of airline tubing, according to Burnett’s Twitter.
Needless to say, we’re all rooting for this little fish and can’t wait to see what he’ll be named!
