This green slime isn't Nickelodeon Gak. It's a lake in China.

(Image credit: Twitter)

published 9 July 2015

You could be forgiven for thinking this fish was just slimed with Nickelodeon Gak. Unfortunately, it's a real fish in a real lake in China.

That vivid green on display at Dianchi Lake in Kunming, China, isn't from a dye, but an algae bloom that has spread across part of the lake's western shore, Shanghaist reports. Such blooms plague bodies of water all around the world — remember Toledo, Ohio? — and are often the result of agricultural pollution. Unsurprisingly, Kunming, China, has a notorious problem with water pollution, mainly from fertilizer. Billions of dollars have reportedly been earmarked for environmental cleanup there, but apparently not enough to keep the algae at bay.