This goldfish named Einstein looked doomed when he developed a disease which made him turn upside down and sink to the bottom of his tank.
“When he couldn’t get back up, it was a sorry sight,” said owner Leighton Naylor.
“It broke my heart to see him so helpless. He looked so depressed.”
So Naylor used recycled tubing to make Einstein a buoyancy aid that enables him swim to around the tank without sinking to the bottom.
Warehouse worker, Naylor, 32, 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 has been fine.”
This flotation aid also means that Einstein cannot reach the surface to feed, so Naylor drops him food through a tube which he lowers into the water.
“People have said I’m crazy but every animal is a valued family member,” said Naylor.
“I’ve tried to train all of my fish but Einstein’s my star pupil.”
“He can swim through my fingers and he was getting into fish football when he fell sick, ” says Naylor.
Leighton said he is now looking forward to teaching new tricks to Einstein, who shares his tank with fellow goldfish Pat, Frank and Blondie.
He said: ‘They’re one big happy family now, but he’ll have to wear it for the rest of his life.”
Watch Einstein swim with his life vest on below:
You have to love people that go to the end of the Earth to help their pets. Would you ever make a life vest for your goldfish if they needed it? Share with us in the comments below.
[Featured Image Credit: Leighton Naylor]