Everyone deserves a second chance at life — even a teeny-tiny fish.
This tiny molly fish weighs less than one gram. After its owners noticed a large lump on its belly, they rushed it to the veterinarian. Highscoft Vets in Bristol, U.K. diagnosed the lump as a tumor right away, and soon after, the fish became the UK’s smallest-ever surgery patient.
In the emergency procedure, vets catheterized the fish’s mouth, anesthetized it, and removed the mass. The surgery took about 40 minutes, and it cost the owners less than £100 (or about $123).
The vets say that the fish is the smallest patient they’ve ever worked on, as they usually operate on animals like snakes, rabbits and iguanas.
“It’s not common across the UK to bring your fish to the vets but it is here. We are seeing more and more fish which is great,” exotic species vet Sonya Miles told The Daily Mail. “It was definitely the smallest animal we’ve seen here. It barely registered on our scales.”
She added that the operation required “steady hands and good eyesight.”
Luckily, the surgery was a success. The tiny fish made a full recovery and went home the same day, with no clue that it had just made national history.
Since it’s a fish.
“The little one is now back to normal and eating well,” Highcroft Vets wrote on Facebook.
“We’re glad to have been able to help the fish before the tumor started to upset its balance.”
