Facebook: Brisbane Bird and Exotics Veterinary ServicesWhat do you do when your pet goldfish accidentally swallows a pebble? Spend $500 at the vet to save him, of course! While most of us would probably opt out of spending that kind of cash on a fish that can cost as little as a few cents, one owner did not give a frick.
The goldfish in need is named Conquer, and when his owner noticed he had swallowed a pebble, she rushed him to Brisbane Bird and Exotics Veterinary Services in Brisbane, Australia. According to their Facebook page, little Conquer was given a physical exam which determined a black pebble was lodged in his throat. Ouch. The vet put the sick fish under anesthesia, which is kind of the cutest and slightly most extra thing ever, by feeding "an anesthetic agent into the water until Conquer was asleep enough to allow us a good look in his mouth." It appears they used special tweezers to dislodge the stone, which, as you can see from the pics, is a pretty decent sized pebble for such a small fish to swallow.
After the procedure, Conquer was transferred to an anesthesia-free recovery tank and is now back home living a pebble-free life. The vet's office also posted to Facebook, "We were amazed that Conkers owner noticed the pebble- she is a very observant and devoted mum! Due to Conkers translucent white scales, there was a slight darkening in the mouth region where the stone was sitting at the bottom of his throat, and when he gaped his mouth it was possible to get a glimpse of the pebble if you were looking for it. We are constantly amazed by our brilliant owners, this was definitely one of those cases!" Seriously.
The cost of saving the life of a Ranchu Goldfish? According to The Courier-Mail, owner Emma Marsh paid more than $100 for the consultation and an additional $400 for the anesthesia and overnight hospital stay. Whatever works!