Goldfish (wen) Surgery

[remme]

Anyone know of someone, in the Ocean/Monmouth county (NJ) area, that would cut my goldfish’s wen? It is overgrowing his eyes and frankly, I shake too much to do it successfully.

 

[Deadeye]

I would check for a nearby aquatic vet. There aren’t too many specialized for fish, but an exotics vet may see goldfish.

 

[DMD123]

I have thankfully not had an issue yet with this problem with any of my goldies but have watched videos of the process. I would not feel comfortable doing the procedure and like Deadeye said to look for an aquatic vet.

I think this is a reason too, Ive avoided certain fish. I would love a lionhead but most have huge wen that I know would become an issue. So Ive stuck with ones with the smaller wen when purchasing my fish.

 

[jjohnwm]

Is the wen composed of living tissue complete with nerve endings, or is it just a mass of dead tissue like hair, nails or antlers in animals? If the latter, then wen "surgery" would be no more traumatic...at least to the fish...than a haircut or manicure for a human.

But if it's living flesh...it's mind-boggling to think that people breed these animals specifically for their ability to grow these weird structures on their heads, and then start carving on them when they grow! Wouldn't this require anaesthesia, followed by a lengthy and slow...and painful...healing process?

I'm a bit traumatized when I trim my dog's nails if I happen to cut a bit too close and hit the quick, causing a sharp pain to the animal and producing bleeding. Don't even want to think about unnecessary cosmetic surgery.