Mayo family's 17-year-old pet goldfish saved by hero vet with astonishing surgery

An Irish vet has dramatically saved a family’s goldfish after he was struck down by a tumour. Dublin-based Emer O’Reilly performed a “first of its kind” operation to remove the growth from the face of 17-year-old Merlin.

His owners became worried after he was unable to eat and a lump appeared near his left eye. They took the tiny three-inch fish to MyVet in Lucan, Co Dublin, for treatment last month. Merlin was given a general anaesthetic before vet Emer carefully cut out the tumour.

She said: “Merlin’s concerned owner feared he would have to be put to sleep but we mentioned the option of trying to remove the growth, which we suspected was a tumour.

“The surgery itself was quite simple but this was our first case of administering a general anaesthetic on a fish, which was certainly
challenging.

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“The tricky part was getting Merlin to the correct plane of anaesthesia by moving him into different water baths with different levels of anaesthetic added to the water. This careful approach finally helped Merlin fall asleep as the anaesthetised water passed over his gills.

“The other issue was that the tumour covered quite a large area of attachment to the skin, so we were not able to remove it entirely. This means it is likely to eventually grow back but his owners are delighted Merlin didn’t have to be put to sleep and is now able to eat normally again.”

Merlin lives with owner Eileen Lynch in Castlebar and is loved by her children and grandchildren. Granddaughter Siobhan Lynch said: “He has been our pet for so long it just wouldn’t feel right to not do anything to try to help him.

“We are all so thankful for their help and care. Merlin is much happier now that he can see properly again.”

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