32-year-old Leighton Naylor, a warehouse worker from Blackpool in the United Kingdom whipped up a handy floating aid for his beloved goldfish, Einstein, after the poor bugger developed swim bladder disease and began to sink.
Mr Naylor was so distressed at the sight of his poor pet sinking to the bottom of its tank on his back that he took matters into his own hands, fashioning a kind of fishy life vest for Einstein.
“He’s always been a fighter so when he sunk to the bottom one day and couldn’t get back up again it was a very sorry sight,” said Mr Naylor to the UK’s Daily Telegraph.
“It broke my heart to see him so helpless. He looked so depressed.”
Using his ingenuity and some recycled tubing lying around the place, Mr Naylor succeeded in custom fitting the stricken poisson with a ‘floating frame’.
The result can be seen in the adorable video below.
“I wanted to build something that would allow Einstein to move his fins a little bit and be comfortable at the same time,” he said.
“He wriggled a bit a first and he wasn’t too keen on the idea. He kept catching on to plants and getting stuck but since I’ve rearranged the tank to make it disability friendly he’s been absolutely fine.”
Doesn’t that just warm the cockles of your heart? The story of a man and his pet, battling the elements and the cruel whims of the fickle fish gods.
The greenies will be pleased too, seeing as all the tubing used was recycled.
Kudos to you Mr Naylor, I’m sure Einstein would thank you too, if he could even remember what you’ve done for him.
Goldfish after all aren’t well known for their long memories.