A Wisconsin man became best pals with a fish named Elvis while diving in a lake. 2 years later, he's still documenting their adventures on TikTok.

• Scuba diver Rex Colubra says he befriended a smallmouth bass named Elvis in a Minnesota lake.
• Elvis has grown close to Colubra and lets him feed him crawfish, the diver said.

For Rex Colubra, a dog isn't man's best friend — instead, it's a fish named Elvis.

Colubra, a Wisconsin native, said he met and befriended Elvis while scuba diving in a lake in eastern Minnesota in September 2021. Since then, Colubra has been sharing his quirky interactions with the smallmouth bass on his TikTok and Instagram accounts, where he has over 173,100 and 3,690 followers, respectively, as of July 2023.

In one of Colubra's most popular TikToks — a compilation of videos that show him hanging out with Elvis, which has over 445,800 views since it was posted in November 2022 — the diver wrote that his freshwater pal has been "strangely fascinated" with him since they crossed paths.

In the caption of the TikTok, he also noted that Elvis is easily identified by his distinctive crooked mouth from, a result from a "fishing injury that ripped the connective tissues in his upper lip."

On Wednesday, Colubra went into more detail about his unique relationship with Elvis and how it evolved on an episode of the "According to the Osbornes" podcast.

Colubra told the hosts Jack and John Osborne, a son-and-father podcast duo, that he crossed paths with Elvis nearly two years ago but never expected that they'd end up spending more than 16 dives together.

"It was more about finding that connection with nature," he said, speaking about his diving adventures.

Colubra said he noticed Elvis seemed comfortable around him on their first dive, and that the smallmouth bass has since let him feed him crawfish.

Colubra also said in the podcast that he named the fish after the late musician Elvis Presley after noticing the "conspicuous wound" on the creature's mouth. "He had that little snarl so I decided I'd call him Elvis," Colubra added.

During his early interactions with Elvis, Colubra said he quickly discovered his assumption that fish just "kind of traveled around willy nilly" wasn't the case with his new friend. Over time, he realized that Elvis kept to a "home range" the size of a football field within the lake, which one of the podcast hosts said Colubra wouldn't name out of concern for the creature's safety.

That said, in order to give Elvis the heads up he's in the water, Colubra said on the podcast that he taught the fish to answer to a special call. He showed off exactly how that works in a TikTok video he shared in December 2022 that has over 138,100 views as of Thursday. The clip shows Colubra uses a series of noises made with his throat to call Elvis to him from beneath the water.

And since he and Elvis have gotten close, Colubra said on the podcast that the relationship has encouraged other smallmouth bass that call the lake home to approach him.

"Since I've been going out there and Elvis has learned to trust me and has shadowed me and been around me a bunch, the other fish have seen that and kind of like 'Monkey see, monkey do,'" Colubra said.

In an Instagram post shared on June 20, Colubra shared a video of a fish he's called Chum, who he said is one of around six to seven of the bass in Elvis' school in the caption.

Colubra said on the podcast that he credits his bond with Elvis to his "knack for befriending animals." Outside of the water, the diver said there's a family of crows he feeds every morning and raccoons that come "hang out every night."

And when it comes to the following he's gained from posting about Elvis, Colubra said he's not letting the attention overshadow his friendship with the fish. "It doesn't seem real, it's kind of strange," he said. "I try to keep a humble head about it, I'm not out there seeking fame."

Colubra did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.