Another Moral Thread

You have to remeber that this has become a recognized field of vetranarian medicine, therefore Illegal for an untrained Vet to perform. I know this becasue my father is a vet. If it is a moral issue, I'd say no, becasue you are breaking a federal law.

Vato, is it just illegal in Canada, or is that pretty typical among developed countries?

I really don't think it'd be a good idea whether it's legal or not. Anesthesia is a complicated thing, and I would think it would be very difficult to keep an open wound from getting infected. Really though, how many ailements of a typical aquarium fish can be helped at all by surgery? Intestinal blockages maybe? I think surgery is more of an option for larger fish most of us would never dream of keeping in a tank at home.

Besides, understanding surgery (or any complicated task) and actually being able to do it well are two very different things.

Well I'm not sure what the perameters are(what type of fish, wild or captive breed) but on certain fish it is illegal in Canada, becasue that is where my father is practicing. But I also know for a fact that it is more strict in the USA than Canada

I just remember reading an article a while back about fish surgeons being a rapidly growing field of veterinary medicine.

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exactly! its a field of veterinary med, they are SURGEONS. they are not everyday people who just happen to have a sick fish.
if you think your fish needs surgery, then call one of the fish surgeons and get them to do it for you, unless you're a fish surgeon.

Even if you, "diagnosed a disease, had a veterinary guide book, and properly anesthetized the fish," it would still be experimental until you had done it several times. This is why people go to medical school, for people and animals. I mean, what would you say if you had to have surgery and a friend came up and said, "you know, I really care about you, and we know what's wrong with you and I checked this book out from the library, so how about letting me open you up and see what I can do?"

Anything that you buy from a pet store, in not a controled substance, either it is not classified as a madicinal product (by human standards) or it is watered down enough that it is considered safe in the case that a human consumed it (if it is a controled drug of some sort that is.) There are actually fish medications that are only avalible from Vetrianarians, but I do not think there is any substance that can't be administered by the fish owner. There my be some substances that can only be administered by a licensed professional, but I don't know about them. For example, you can only buy some worm medicines from a vet, but you can administer them yourself. Kind of like a perscription, you need the doctors permission, but you take the medicine yourself.

I was asking because I have a goldfish book with a section devoted to the subject.

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Are you speaking about the Hess/Johnson book?
Personally I would have no qualms about attempting a procedure on a fish who would die otherwise.
And Doc Johnson would not have provided such helpful books, videos, and a website detailing the procedures if he himself did not think an educated layman could be successful in such an attempt.

I attempted taking a fish to a veterinarian at one point- almost got myself laughed out of the office. I called our Fish & Game people and was told that they only deal in wildlife and would not treat an ornamental.
Fortunately I have a close relationship with my veterinarian and she provided me all I needed to treat the fish myself from directions in theHess/Johnson book- and he is still swimming happily today. I know my fish would have died otherwise.

I will add that I have been in the animal business for 30+ years, and my vet has taught me how to do many things myself, so she has a measure of confidence in my abilities. I come from a long line of farming/animal folk who have been vetting our own animals for generations- I was helping in a local veterinary hospital since I was in grade school. This works only when you are good at observing and handling- and know your limitations i.e. when to call the pros.

It is a very interesting topic, and one that could ethically be argued in either direction.
It boils down to your understanding your own abilities and having objective judgement in how and when to use them.

What sort of ailment did your fish have that you were able to cure via surgery? The only thing I can really imagine is a bad cut, having swallowed something it can't digest, or intestinal blockages or something..