What you need to know:
- Man makes wheelchair for his goldfish and wins the internet.
- Social media users were very happy with the contraption and praised him for his effort.
- Many goldfish suffer from Swim Bladder Disease that prevents them from staying afloat.
Dubai: If you’re drowning with deadlines on the first day of the week, this piece of news will keep you afloat. A man made a wheelchair for his disabled pet goldfish, and melted hearts online.
Tweep @Kuch_bhi_Surbhi wrote: “If this isn’t love, I don’t know what is.”
And people agreed.
What happened?
According to an article by Indian online website Storypick, Henry Kim, professional designer from Korea, created a water wheelchair after many of his fish lost their lives to the Swim Bladder Disorder.
The disease makes fish swim upside down or sink. Kim built this apparatus for his goldfish and said it was a success.
The article quoted him saying: “I often find [the disease] in fish from Thailand or China.... Fish with this issue only live a couple of months, but thanks to this device, one of my fish has lived to be five months old.”
Online reactions
Pictures and videos of the Goldfish in his water wheelchair went viral and users found it “adorable”.
Tweep @MurshHabib posted: “Henry Kim, from Seoul, decided to build a ‘wheelchair’ for his disabled goldfish. I want to be Henry’s friend. Got a golden heart, no pun intended.”
Tweep @dianedianamite posted: “Today I saw a video of a goldfish with a wheelchair and now I feel a little better about life.”
What is Swim Bladder Disease?
The Swim bladder disease is also known as “flipover”, a common ailment seen in fish.
Tweep @ZeldaMew posted: “Aww, sadly lots of fancy goldfish end up with swim bladder problems!”
The swim bladder is an internal gas-filled organ that hampers a fish’s ability to float and swim. Goldfish are commonly affected by this disease. The ailment can be caused by certain intestinal parasites or by constipation.
Wheelchairs for animals
Kim is not the first animal lover to make his fish a wheelchair, and there have been other such creative inventions in the past.
Over the years, there have been many inventions catering to disabled animals, such as pet dogs, who have lost limbs in accidents or have certain birth defects.
Twitter user @plantskies shared multiple pictures of animals including dogs, cats and piglets in wheelchairs with the caption: "Wheelchairs for animals are the most amazing things in the world... I am so happy they exist."
From wheeled harnesses to actual prosthetic limbs, humans have created tools to help animals overcome their disabilities.
