A fish with a funny swimmer undergoes a CT scan at the Denver Zoo

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DENVER (AP) — A fancy-looking French angelfish found one day with a funny float has regained its buoyancy after taking some time away from its tropical holdings to get a CT scan at the Denver Zoo.

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A zoo employee recently noticed that the blue-and-yellow fish was swimming at an angle, prompting him to visit the local hospital last week for an ultrasound and CT scan.

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The CT scan took place in a machine large enough to hold a 700-pound grizzly bear, so some special precautions were required, zoo spokesman Jake Kubie said. The seven-inch fish was sedated, balanced upright on a sponge and had water poured over its gills to keep it alive during the examination.

The diagnosis: too much gasoline. Enteritis, or inflamed intestines, led to increased internal gas production, which affected the fish’s buoyancy, Kubie said.

“It was treated with antibiotics,” he said. “He is doing much better and swimming normally.”