Nearly $500 for constipated goldfish surgery

NORTH WALSHAM, England, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- A British man splashed out nearly $500 on life-saving surgery for his constipated pet -- a goldfish.

Veterinarians at Toll Barn Veterinary Center in North Walsham, England, said the fish owner originally balked at the $463 price tag of the procedure, but returned just a few minutes after rejecting the surgery to say he had changed his mind.

Faye Bethell, a veterinary surgeon at the clinic, told the BBC she knocked out the goldfish using anesthetized water and operated on the fish to remove "a lump blocking his bottom."

Bethell told The Telegraph the goldfish surgery was a first for her, but she previously carried out similar procedures on "more valuable fish like a carp."

"There was nothing special about the fish. He just liked it a lot. People love their pets -- but that was an expensive little goldfish," she said,

The fish was about two years old at the time of the surgery and could now live for up to 10 years, veterinarians said.