A goldfish named Star had surgery to remove a tumor from his eye.
Facebook/Inglis Veterinary Hospital
Biofluorescent Fish Light Up the Deep: Photos
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Nearly 180 species of fish that glow have been identified in a new study led by scientists from the American Museum of Natural History . The study, published in Thursday's PLOS ONE , shows how the fish absorb light and eject it as a different color for varied reasons including communicating and mating. Above, a biofluorescent surgeonfish ( Acanthurus coeruleus , larval)
©AMNH
View Caption + #2: A biofluorescent lined seahorse (
Hippocampus erectus )
©AMNH
View Caption + #3: A green biofluorescent chain catshark (
Scyliorhinus retifer )
©AMNH/J. Sparks, D. Gruber, and V. Pieribone
View Caption + #4: A biofluorescent ray (
Urobatis jamaicensis )
©AMNH
View Caption + #5: A sole (
Soleichthys heterorhinos )
©AMNH
View Caption + #6: A stonefish (
Synanceia verrucosa )
©AMNH
View Caption + #7: A false moray eel (
Kaupichthys brachychirus )
©AMNH
View Caption + #8: A biofluorescent goby (
Eviota sp.)
©AMNH
View Caption + #9: A lizardfish (
Saurida gracilis )
©AMNH
View Caption + #10: A red fluorescing scorpionfish (
Scorpaenopsis papuensis ) perched on red fluorescing algae at night in the Solomon Islands.
©AMNH
View Caption + #11: A triplefin blennie (
Enneapterygius sp .) under white light (above) and blue light (below).
©AMNH/J. Sparks and D. Gruber
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Researcher David Gruber searching for new biofluorescent organisms off Hele Island, Solomon Islands, with a 5K EPIC camera system and blue lights.
Ken Corben
A lucky Scottish goldfish, blind in one eye thanks to a tumor, had an owner who went the extra mile when she paid to have the cancerous eye removed in a tricky surgical procedure.
Fife's Inglis Veterinary Hospital handled the dicey operation, successfully removing the eye of Star the goldfish. Exotic animal specialist Brigitte Lord performed the operation on the 6-inch fish.
"This is a highly specialist field," Lord said on the Inglis Vets Facebook page. "Using anesthetic on a goldfish carries a very high risk, and I'm delighted for the owner that everything went okay and the owners are happy."
Star is owned by Janie Gordon, of Dollar, and her daughter Abby, now a student living in Glasgow. The younger Gordon won Star at a fair 12 years ago.
So dedicated was the elder Gordon to hers and her daughter's fish that she also arranged surgery for their other goldfish, Star's tank mate Nemo, who received surgery to remove a lump on the day Star's cancer was removed. The two surgeries together cost Ms. Gordon nearly 500 pounds (about US $755).
In addition to Lord, the procedure was attended by a veterinarian keeping Star under sedation and a nurse monitoring the fish's heart rate.
The team used Doppler ultrasound through a set of earphones to gauge Star's pulse rate and also keep tabs on its blood flow. They got Star sedated by giving it a syringe full of oxygenated water containing an anesthetic.
Star swims in a holding container prior to surgery to remove a tumor from its eye.
Facebook/Inglis Veterinary Hospital
Post-operatively, Star was held for eight minutes, mouth kept open, in oxygenated water while being gently moved to get water flowing over its gills. Soon after, she was back to life and swimming in the water on her own.
"I know it seems like a lot of money to spend on an operation for a goldfish," Janie Gordon said. "But what was the alternative? I think we've a social responsibility to look after our pets and I know my daughter would have been distraught if anything had happened to the goldfish."