When 21-year-old Emma Marsh from Brisbane, Australia, bought her goldfish Conquer one year ago for just $12, she could’t have imagined that one day she will have to pay $500 in medical fees to save her pet’s life… Many may wonder if it was worth it, but then again – you can’t put price on love.
So when Marsh found Conquer choking on a piece of shingle in his tank, money became immaterial as this goldfish is more precious than gold for her loving owner. Poor Conquer was rushed to the Veterinary Service in Greenslopes where vet Emma McMillan took care of him.
She dripped anaesthetic into Conquer’s water until the fish fell asleep, then tilted his mouth out of the water, and used forceps to extract the lodged stone. The operation was a success, but Marsh had to pay $100 for the emergency consultation plus $400 for the anaesthetic and an overnight stay in hospital. That’s the same cost as 13g in 18-carat gold for this 13g 5cm long fish…
The goldfish has fully recovered, and is happy to be at home in his tank, while the owner can boast that not only is Conquer special for conquering death; he’s also literally worth every gram of his weight in gold.
(h/t: seeker)
Emma Marsh from Brisbane, Australia, bought her goldfish Conquer for just $12 a year ago
One day the fish started choking so Marsh took him to the vet. ‘The pebble was about eight or nine millimetres long… if we did nothing he would have starved to death’
The vet dripped anaesthetic into Conquer’s water until the fish fell asleep, then tilted his mouth out of the water, and used forceps to extract the lodged stone
The operation was a success, but Marsh had to pay $100 for the emergency consultation plus $400 for the anaesthetic and an overnight stay in hospital
That’s the same cost as 13g in 18-carat gold for this 13g 5cm long goldfish…
The goldfish has fully recovered, and is happy to be at home in his tank
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Share on FacebookWhen you get a pet, make sure that you're ready to do everything to save your pet's life. Kudos to this responsible pet owner!
But if it is about money and you can't afford to help ... :(
Load More Replies...I took all my cats in a shelter and the last one was wounded. I paid 6 months of vet, bandage, pills... I don't regret a second, because now he's fine. And I don't understand people who say that a fish can not be treated like dogs, cats, horses... all of them matters. If you follow this "logical" way you don't treat all humans in the same way either. I mean, you refuse to spend money for old people because it's a waste, because death is closer ? Silly question. People are equal, so are animals.
I used to be a "it's just a fish" person... until I got two fancy goldfish and one feeder fish (that survived being food for a turtle, it got too big LOL) Castitatis, Moortimer, and Fred. I'm an animal watcher. I had just never had an occasion to monitor fish since I don't live in the water... but being able to watch them, and to watch them watching me... it really taught me a lot. It's surprising how pet-like fish can be. Castitatis would even let me pet her. And before anyone says it, no she did not have a mucus or scale infection making her itchy LOL
Load More Replies...My dog got attacked by a coyote and we couldn't afford to repair her.. She died and this makes me feel glad to see someone that actually cares for their pets❤️❤️❤️
This is so sweet! Fish are often seen as unlovable because they aren't cuddly and such, but my first ever pet was a beta fish, Princess Peach, and I miss her tons. She was a huge part of my life, and I will always remember what she meant to me.
Why did it cost that much? When my hamster had cancer and had to be euthanized to relieve him of his pain, the vet office charged me $34 for anesthesia, euthanasia, and a box nested with a fluffy towel to bury him in. A fish is far smaller, and only anasthesia and forceps were needed. I'm so very proud that this pet owner did everything in her power to save her little baby, but charging her $500 is a shameful overkill.
One of my guinea pigs almost died in mid 2013. To save her I spent over $600
This is what I call a ripoff. Poor girl probably did not even know how much this would cost in the end... 400 dollars for a few drops of anesthetics and overnight stay? Must have been so expensive to keep that fish in a jar of water in there. Not a respectable vet.
Gee, could have bought a pair of needle nose pliers like the doc used there for about $5 dollars and saved the fish and $495...
It's basic first aid but would a pet owner damage the goldfish by doing this?
Load More Replies...Crikey, what prices!!! In Germany this would have cost her...not sure...100€? Maybe 200? Overnight stay for a goldfish. What a rip off!. But i like that the owner had this done. I hope her fish will live a long time!
$500AUD is about 300€, so expensive, but not as bad as it first seems.
Load More Replies...400 USD for one drop of anaesthetic an overnight stay of a tiny fish? So if this was a horse, what would they charge you? As romantic as the owners of the pets are, I think that the vets are exaclty the opposite.
I hate how they compare the value of the Goldfish's life to GOLD. Life is worth more than gold. >.<
if she can afford that for vet bills, she can afford to give it nicer living accomodations...a little bed, a tv, a fancier bowl, maybe even a friend...
$500?! For a GOLDFISHs operation?! I would have let it die. Plus serioualy? $400 for anesthesia? I think the vet is a rip off artist. It was a FISH, i bet all it took was a DROP or two of anesthesia to knock out the fish in order to do the surgery, yet the vet has the nerve to charge $400 for a drop or two of the stuff like he had to use a LOT of the stuff in order to fully knock out a fish no bigger than your finger? I would have sued that outrageous bill and refuse to pay.
Our cav was free. We have spent over $6000 on operations on her back legs. We love her to bits.
...and she couldn't have done that by herself? It's a stupid stone in a stupid fish not a surgery... this just shows how decadent and far-away from nature we already are...
That's a lot of money for pulling a damn stone out of it's mouth. We're not talking triple-bypass here.
Gotta love people downing your comment because it's a little too true. The guy literally just stuck some needle nose pliers in there and pulled the stone out. That was all of what? 10 minutes?
Load More Replies...My fish actually like to suck on pebbles and keep them in his mouth and then spit them out. The first time I saw him do this I thought he was choking and just as I was ready to try to take it out he threw it out. This became something he did all the time. I always wondered why....
I would definitely do this for my cats (or dogs if I have them) but for a fish... I dunno. But then again I have nothing with fish so I probably wouldn't have a fish as pet anyway. Still kudos to her for saving her fishy friend though.
I'm also really curious how they can charge that much for a fish. I get that a emergency vet-appointment can cost more but the rest?
Load More Replies...This all could've been avoided if she used those huge marbles at the bottom of the tank (bigger than the fish can fit in it's mouth) instead of gravel. It still filters the detritus without the choking hazard.
Let's help save all of them not only our beloved pets. Please check this out: https://www.boredpanda.com/am-i-a-criminal/
Goldfish live in groups, and being kept on his own Conquer might just as well commit suicide. Please, sweet owner, if you really love Conquer (and I know you do), give him/her some friends to live with - and a proper basin or pool for a group of goldfish - and he will be eternally grateful!
I used to have 4 goldfishes for 6 years. Then one day I had to go on a trip for a week, so my cousin took care of them for me. But some how, their scales were all peeled when I came back, and then they died. I cried like months, so I can understand this woman situation ( ps: Sry for the bad English )
I like this. I cried when my goldfish died. But to sell 5$ anesthetic for 400$ it is a rude robbery. OK, I would pay it too, but that is a s****y vet.
I would give even more than that to save my little daughter golden fish if any thing bad happen to him. Other day he was stacked with a stone and was turning upside-down when my little saw her fish dying, she become in panic and the expression of pain in her face was really sad. My husband went to do something under her crying begging him to save her Charlie ... luckily he spat the stone and went back to normal. We love our pet fish and we do anything to keep it well. They live more than 10 years, some can reach the age of 30 or 40. It end iPhone making part of the family. 😊
It end up and not (iphone)making part of the family.
Load More Replies...Why did it cost that much? When my hamster had cancer and had to be euthanized to relieve him of his pain, the vet office charged me $34 for anesthesia, euthanasia, and a box nested with a fluffy towel to bury him in. A fish is far smaller, and only anesthesia and forceps were needed. I'm so very proud that this pet owner did everything in her power to save her little baby, but charging her $500 is a shameful overkill.
I'm going to be of the "It's just a fish!" sort of thinking. Fish don't evidently form emotional connections with people like a smarter animal such as a dog or cat.
We've spent over 500€ on our little chinese dwarf quail (if that's the right name in english for it) as she had eggbound again and again. The vets kept going on to say that she's too weak and probably will die, but the little birdy was so strong and is still alive here with me and shows me her love and gratitude every day. Now she has 10 sweet babys and is healthy :) Never give up on animals, otherwise don't have them!! No money on the world can buy you the bound to an animal.
She lives that fish that's all that matters when you get a pet you don't just let it die this makes my heart happy
I spent 1000$ on my 15$ budgie when he got sick. Now he's better and I have no regrets.
ALL vets are crooks, they are like doctors they all want to be millionaires before they retire.
Not sure how to feel. On the one hand, I hate goldfish and they die all the time. Note, that I don't have this prejudice with other fish, just pet goldfish. On the other hand it's not MY money, so whatever.
It's easier to help a choking human than a pet, so what's your point?
Load More Replies...And if the fish is her everything ... dude - that is just so sad. And so wrong.
Load More Replies...Wait...can fish choke on things? We choke because something blocks our airways...fish breathe through their gills sooo....
It would actually starve to death and I think that's what they meant but they said it somewhere ;)
Load More Replies...Why should she feed hungry children with that amount of money if she hadn't needed the vet?
Load More Replies...When you get a pet, make sure that you're ready to do everything to save your pet's life. Kudos to this responsible pet owner!
But if it is about money and you can't afford to help ... :(
Load More Replies...I took all my cats in a shelter and the last one was wounded. I paid 6 months of vet, bandage, pills... I don't regret a second, because now he's fine. And I don't understand people who say that a fish can not be treated like dogs, cats, horses... all of them matters. If you follow this "logical" way you don't treat all humans in the same way either. I mean, you refuse to spend money for old people because it's a waste, because death is closer ? Silly question. People are equal, so are animals.
I used to be a "it's just a fish" person... until I got two fancy goldfish and one feeder fish (that survived being food for a turtle, it got too big LOL) Castitatis, Moortimer, and Fred. I'm an animal watcher. I had just never had an occasion to monitor fish since I don't live in the water... but being able to watch them, and to watch them watching me... it really taught me a lot. It's surprising how pet-like fish can be. Castitatis would even let me pet her. And before anyone says it, no she did not have a mucus or scale infection making her itchy LOL
Load More Replies...My dog got attacked by a coyote and we couldn't afford to repair her.. She died and this makes me feel glad to see someone that actually cares for their pets❤️❤️❤️
This is so sweet! Fish are often seen as unlovable because they aren't cuddly and such, but my first ever pet was a beta fish, Princess Peach, and I miss her tons. She was a huge part of my life, and I will always remember what she meant to me.
Why did it cost that much? When my hamster had cancer and had to be euthanized to relieve him of his pain, the vet office charged me $34 for anesthesia, euthanasia, and a box nested with a fluffy towel to bury him in. A fish is far smaller, and only anasthesia and forceps were needed. I'm so very proud that this pet owner did everything in her power to save her little baby, but charging her $500 is a shameful overkill.
One of my guinea pigs almost died in mid 2013. To save her I spent over $600
This is what I call a ripoff. Poor girl probably did not even know how much this would cost in the end... 400 dollars for a few drops of anesthetics and overnight stay? Must have been so expensive to keep that fish in a jar of water in there. Not a respectable vet.
Gee, could have bought a pair of needle nose pliers like the doc used there for about $5 dollars and saved the fish and $495...
It's basic first aid but would a pet owner damage the goldfish by doing this?
Load More Replies...Crikey, what prices!!! In Germany this would have cost her...not sure...100€? Maybe 200? Overnight stay for a goldfish. What a rip off!. But i like that the owner had this done. I hope her fish will live a long time!
$500AUD is about 300€, so expensive, but not as bad as it first seems.
Load More Replies...400 USD for one drop of anaesthetic an overnight stay of a tiny fish? So if this was a horse, what would they charge you? As romantic as the owners of the pets are, I think that the vets are exaclty the opposite.
I hate how they compare the value of the Goldfish's life to GOLD. Life is worth more than gold. >.<
if she can afford that for vet bills, she can afford to give it nicer living accomodations...a little bed, a tv, a fancier bowl, maybe even a friend...
$500?! For a GOLDFISHs operation?! I would have let it die. Plus serioualy? $400 for anesthesia? I think the vet is a rip off artist. It was a FISH, i bet all it took was a DROP or two of anesthesia to knock out the fish in order to do the surgery, yet the vet has the nerve to charge $400 for a drop or two of the stuff like he had to use a LOT of the stuff in order to fully knock out a fish no bigger than your finger? I would have sued that outrageous bill and refuse to pay.
Our cav was free. We have spent over $6000 on operations on her back legs. We love her to bits.
...and she couldn't have done that by herself? It's a stupid stone in a stupid fish not a surgery... this just shows how decadent and far-away from nature we already are...
That's a lot of money for pulling a damn stone out of it's mouth. We're not talking triple-bypass here.
Gotta love people downing your comment because it's a little too true. The guy literally just stuck some needle nose pliers in there and pulled the stone out. That was all of what? 10 minutes?
Load More Replies...My fish actually like to suck on pebbles and keep them in his mouth and then spit them out. The first time I saw him do this I thought he was choking and just as I was ready to try to take it out he threw it out. This became something he did all the time. I always wondered why....
I would definitely do this for my cats (or dogs if I have them) but for a fish... I dunno. But then again I have nothing with fish so I probably wouldn't have a fish as pet anyway. Still kudos to her for saving her fishy friend though.
I'm also really curious how they can charge that much for a fish. I get that a emergency vet-appointment can cost more but the rest?
Load More Replies...This all could've been avoided if she used those huge marbles at the bottom of the tank (bigger than the fish can fit in it's mouth) instead of gravel. It still filters the detritus without the choking hazard.
Let's help save all of them not only our beloved pets. Please check this out: https://www.boredpanda.com/am-i-a-criminal/
Goldfish live in groups, and being kept on his own Conquer might just as well commit suicide. Please, sweet owner, if you really love Conquer (and I know you do), give him/her some friends to live with - and a proper basin or pool for a group of goldfish - and he will be eternally grateful!
I used to have 4 goldfishes for 6 years. Then one day I had to go on a trip for a week, so my cousin took care of them for me. But some how, their scales were all peeled when I came back, and then they died. I cried like months, so I can understand this woman situation ( ps: Sry for the bad English )
I like this. I cried when my goldfish died. But to sell 5$ anesthetic for 400$ it is a rude robbery. OK, I would pay it too, but that is a s****y vet.
I would give even more than that to save my little daughter golden fish if any thing bad happen to him. Other day he was stacked with a stone and was turning upside-down when my little saw her fish dying, she become in panic and the expression of pain in her face was really sad. My husband went to do something under her crying begging him to save her Charlie ... luckily he spat the stone and went back to normal. We love our pet fish and we do anything to keep it well. They live more than 10 years, some can reach the age of 30 or 40. It end iPhone making part of the family. 😊
It end up and not (iphone)making part of the family.
Load More Replies...Why did it cost that much? When my hamster had cancer and had to be euthanized to relieve him of his pain, the vet office charged me $34 for anesthesia, euthanasia, and a box nested with a fluffy towel to bury him in. A fish is far smaller, and only anesthesia and forceps were needed. I'm so very proud that this pet owner did everything in her power to save her little baby, but charging her $500 is a shameful overkill.
I'm going to be of the "It's just a fish!" sort of thinking. Fish don't evidently form emotional connections with people like a smarter animal such as a dog or cat.
We've spent over 500€ on our little chinese dwarf quail (if that's the right name in english for it) as she had eggbound again and again. The vets kept going on to say that she's too weak and probably will die, but the little birdy was so strong and is still alive here with me and shows me her love and gratitude every day. Now she has 10 sweet babys and is healthy :) Never give up on animals, otherwise don't have them!! No money on the world can buy you the bound to an animal.
She lives that fish that's all that matters when you get a pet you don't just let it die this makes my heart happy
I spent 1000$ on my 15$ budgie when he got sick. Now he's better and I have no regrets.
ALL vets are crooks, they are like doctors they all want to be millionaires before they retire.
Not sure how to feel. On the one hand, I hate goldfish and they die all the time. Note, that I don't have this prejudice with other fish, just pet goldfish. On the other hand it's not MY money, so whatever.
It's easier to help a choking human than a pet, so what's your point?
Load More Replies...And if the fish is her everything ... dude - that is just so sad. And so wrong.
Load More Replies...Wait...can fish choke on things? We choke because something blocks our airways...fish breathe through their gills sooo....
It would actually starve to death and I think that's what they meant but they said it somewhere ;)
Load More Replies...Why should she feed hungry children with that amount of money if she hadn't needed the vet?
Load More Replies...
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