That Conquer’s eyes were bigger than his stomach nearly cost him his life. Luckily, the 1-year-old goldfish’s owner was willing to shell out big bucks to save him.
The Courier Mail reported that after Conquer swallowed a pebble about .4 inches long, the rock got stuck across the side of his mouth and he began choking. His owner, Emma Marsh, of Queensland, Australia, rushed him to the vet, where she paid about $375 for doctors to sedate the fish and remove the pebble. Marsh reportedly paid about $9 for Conquer, who is about 2 inches long and weighs .03 pounds.
“[Conquer] was making excessive mouth movements trying to dislodge it,” Marsh, 21, told the news website. “If we did nothing, he would have starved to death.”
Veterinarians dripped anesthetic into Conquer’s water until he fell asleep, tilted the fish’s mouth slightly out of the water, and placed forceps into his mouth to dislodge the pebble. The emergency consultation cost $65, while the anesthetic and overnight hospital stay cost $300, The Courier Mail reported.
Conquer is reportedly now on the mend.
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