No fish in human history – or, we guess, fish history – has ever looked more glamorous than this little guy caught in Thailand.
Anglers in Nakhon Pathom, about 30 miles west of Bangkok, pulled up the busty-lipped tilapia fish on January 9.
TikTok user @klanarongsepklang shared a video of the pouty catch that has netted more than 49,000 likes.
People can be heard giggling as they show off the fish in the clip.
‘Being a fish can be beautiful,’ he said in the caption.
He said the fish has ‘Mazda lips’, a beauty trend in Thailand where people use a combination of surgery and filler injections to make their lips have a cupid’s bow shape similar to the Mazda car logo.
One of the fishermen said the crew were left ‘confused’ by the catch and ended up letting it go.
Another joked that the tilapia’s big lips are what many celebrities spend thousands on and countless hours on the operating table for.
‘The fish had its treatment for free. He didn’t need a clinic like those American celebrities,’ he said.
The anglers believe that the fish’s Beverly Hills-grade mouth may be down to poor water quality.
Where the fish was caught may contain high levels of nitrite, a chemical that can clog up a fish’s bloodstream and suffocate them. Ammonia, which can damage a fish’s fills or scales, may also be to blame.
If this is the case, this fish with, well, literal trout lips may have been stressed and suffered an infection that swelled its lips.
Usually, tilapia aren’t exactly anything special. They’re often called ‘aquatic chickens’ by those in the food trade for being a popular farmed fish.
In Thai waters, Nile Tilapia, also called mango fish, spend their days nibbling on insects, algae and other aquatic vegetation.
These dark green fish, native to Africa, have sharp spines across their dorsal fins that they raise to ward off predators. We’re not sure exactly what evolutionary advantage big lips would give them, though.
Tilapia are widely considered perfect for youngsters to give fishing a go as they feed aggressively, making hooking them in easy.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: First picture of girl 17, mauled to death by shark at beach
MORE: Tiny endangered frogs travel 7,000 miles to London in desperate rescue mission
MORE: Unruly pigs who think they’re on Prison Break keep tearing up gardens of village
