Now this has got to hurt … a mermaid performer at China’s Xishuangbanna Primitive Forest Park aquarium was mauled by a giant fish … leaving her with a gnarly cut below her eye.

Watch the shocking video … the performer — reportedly a 22-year-old named Masha — is gracefully gliding through the freshwater tank when the fish opens its mouth and clamps down on her head, leaving onlookers in a state of horror. Aquarium visitors are heard screaming as she fights her way out of the fish’s mouth and frantically swims to the surface.

The unidentified fish appears unbothered by the fiasco and carries on with its journey around the tank. The aquarium reportedly features fish native to the Mekong and Yangtze rivers.

Masha was reportedly offered around $96 in “moral damages” following the attack … and apparently the aquarium wants to keep the incident as hush-hush as possible.