Operating on our angelfish with Lip Fibroma..

The patient before we operated

This blog is a summary of what I did when our poor angel needed surgery to remove his lip fibroma (pictured). Unfortunately we had to act as his lips were so swollen that he was unable to eat. The choice was either operate or watch him starve. Please note that this IS only advice for anyone who may have to do the same. Any actions you take based on this advice is your own responsibility.

Lay out your equipment before attempting

You will need(See picture):

Clove oil(Available from Boots chemist in the toothache section)
Scalpel or craft knife to cut the affected area off
The bottom of a spring cake tin
A container in which to sedate the fish
Tea towel or pillow case







 
Ensure you Set up your work area and make sure everything is very clean. I sterilized everything prior to doing anything. Before you start it is also a good plan to have a good look at a healthy fish so that you have a good idea what is a growth and what their regular lips look like

Lay out you towel or pillowcase on the cake tray. a pillowcase works well as it's smoother than the towel. Make sure you lay out your other materials within easy reach Fill the bowl with water and add the clove oil. Use water from the tank so that it matches the temperature and causes less stress for the fish. An airstone would also be suefull at this point to ensure the clove oil is dispersed. I used 5 drops of clove oil for every 4 litres needed having seen various amounts listed online this was the lowest that had reported success and it worked for me. Stir the water well.

 Place the fish in the solution to sedate it. When it turns over on its side and gill movements slow its sedated and ready for the procedure. With our angel this took around  6 minutes. Based on the advice I had, if your fish doesn't roll over in 5 minutes, then add another drop per 4 liters. Whilst the fish is being sedated, take some more tank water and wet the cake tin and towel that the fish will lie on.

Take the fish out and place him on the cake tray. To minimise stress on the fish bring the cloth/pillowcase over the fish so that just the affected area is visible.

Perform the procedure. Take care when cutting that you are focused on the growth areas.. Make sure you will want to work efficiently and finish the procedure you're performing as quickly as possible to minimise the time he is out of water. Make sure you keep one hand on the fish at all times in case he starts flopping around. You don't want any falls off the table!

In all we had the fish out of the water for no more than 20 seconds.

After you're done place the fish in your hospital tank if possible or some sort of birthing container back in your tank. He will need time to recouperate away from the other fish. We kept our fish in the hospital tank for 2 weeks after giving him daily Melafix to help healing and recovery.

The angel 20 mins after procedure

NOTE: You may need to hold the fish for a little while in an area where fresh water is moving through its gills (e.g. by the outflow of the filter) until he gets less groggy. As with anything that has been sedated he will need a little time to come round and swim normally.








A month on and our angel is doing well and munching through our new foliage as if nothing had ever happened! If anyone else has to do anthing similar I wish you well. This was one of the most stomach churning things Ive ever done but with the result of the fish still being alive I believe it was well worth it.