A worried pet owner spent $500 on veterinary procedures to save her goldfish after it swallowed a pebble in Brisbane, Australia.

Emma Marsh bought her goldfish Conquer one year ago for just $12.

But when she noticed he was struggling after choking on a piece of shingle in his tank, money became no object in her bid to save his life.

The 21-year-old from Kuraby, Australia rushed Conquer to the Brisbane Bird and Exotics Veterinary Service in Greenslopes.

Vet Emma McMillan and her team had to drip anaesthetic into Conquer’s water until the fish fell asleep.

Then they tilted his mouth out of the water to use forceps to extract the lodged stone.

Dr McMillan told Brisbane's Courier Mail: “He is 13g and only 5cm long.

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“The pebble was about eight or nine millimetres long and was stuck lengthways across the side of his mouth, which is why he couldn’t spit it out.

“He was making excessive mouth movements trying to dislodge it … if we did nothing he would have starved to death.”

The entire procedure saved Conquer’s life but it Ms Marsh with a $100 bill for the emergency consultation plus $400 for the anaesthetic and an overnight stay in hospital.

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At a total of $500 (£284.00), that's around the same cost as 13g in 18-carat gold.