William H Wildgoose MRCVS
Pet fish vet
Hamartoma in a goldfish
This elderly goldfish developed a large, irregular mass at the top of the opening to the gill cavity. It had become enormous over the previous year and was now causing problems with its swimming. The fish was given an anaesthetic and removed from the water for examination and successful surgical removal. There was no regrowth of the mass, which laboratory tests suggested was a hamartoma. These are uncommon and generally considered to be non-cancerous malformations that can arise in any part of the body.
This large tissue mass had become enormous in size over the last year. Clinically, the fish swam and ate normally, but occasionally leaned to the left side due to the size of the mass
An anaesthetic was used to remove the fish from the water and allow a detailed examination of the mass. This revealed that, despite its size, it had a small fibrous attachment to the top part of the opercular opening
An electron microscope was used to examine some structures inside the cells of the tissue © Cefas
This large tissue mass had become enormous in size over the last year. Clinically, the fish swam and ate normally, but occasionally leaned to the left side due to the size of the mass