This is the viral moment a Florida man swims in the ‘mermaid tank’ at a plush bar as onlookers crack up laughing.

The lighthearted prank, viewed 19 million times on the TikTok page ‘Davestoktiks’, managed by David Mellinger, 26, took place at The Wreck Bar in Fort Lauderdale in Florida.

David, a Mexican-American who lived in Florida most of his life and now resides in Brooklyn New York, said he was not punished or thrown out for the prank because he had a “very elaborate escape plan”.

Mellinger told Newsflash: “This was filmed at the Wreck Bar in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I was there with my wife and two of our friends. They were laughing hysterically and they could not believe that I actually did it.

“Everyone in the bar knew that I had been with them that night, so everybody was approaching them to laugh about me jumping in.

“When I was swimming, security was coming up to the mermaid area looking for me. They were also looking throughout the lobby, as the bar is located inside the B Ocean Resort.

“I don’t think what I did was dangerous at all! I am a great swimmer and was on my high school swim team. However I don’t recommend that other people try to copy this out of respect for these establishments!”

David, who works as a supervisor for a media advertising agency in New York City, told Newsflash: “I was definitely hoping to get a lot of engagement on my video, but I never would have anticipated it would have gone this viral!

“I have always wanted to share my humour with the world, so getting tens of millions of views has been a dream come true.”

He added: “I was not punished or thrown out, because I had a very elaborate escape plan that I detail in my follow-up TikTok video.

“I did not interact with any of the mermaids at night in person, but I have seen a lot of them commenting on my videos as they get reposted across the Internet.

“I hope that they enjoy the tens of millions of views in promo that their show has received through this.”