Goldfish who can't keep his mouth open gets tiny goldfish braces

Just weeks after photos ofaMichigandog with braces went viral, veterinary orthodontics are in the news(feed) once again.

This time, though, the patient is a goldfish. Astandardorange goldfish. The kindwho livesin a bowl, retails for roughly 27 cents, and sort of resembles a Buffalo chicken wing when you squint andreally think about it.

His name is Mr. Hot Wing,and he's thefirst-ever pet of his kind to make headlines with acorrective dental appliance.

Philadelphia's6abcAction News reports thatMr. Hot Wing, who lives in Allentown, Pa., was born without a lower jaw bone, which makes it impossible for him to hold his mouth open.

• WatchPets, Vets and Debtson the Nature of Things on Thursday March 31 at 8pm on CBC TV

Because of this, the fish suffers from breathing and eating difficulties. Rather, he did before his owner brought him toDr. BrianPalmeiroatLehighValley Veterinary Dermatology.

Palmeiro,described by Action News as"the fish doctor," reportedly performed surgery on Mr. Hot Wing to open his mouth.

Then, after conducting "a lot of research" on the topic, he fashioned some custom braces out of a plastic credit card to correct Mr. Hot Wing'sbite or lack thereof.

"Fish Braces!!??" wrote the veterinary clinic on Facebooklast weekundera post-op photo of itslittle patient. "Mr. Hot Wing came in today for trouble breathing and inability to eat. He was born without a lower jaw bone and his mouth could not stay open.Brian Palmeirodid surgery to open his mouth and created this brace to help his mouth stay open."

Mr. Hot Wing may be the first fish to get braces, in a matter of speaking, buthe's not the first to benefit fromPalmeiro's plastic cardveterinary devices.

The Lehigh Valley clinic shared a photo of a largerfish, who appears to have a makeshift splint on his fin, in November.

All in all, Mr. Hot Wing's braces were said to have cost about $150.

That may sound like anexpensive vet bill for a fish that likely cost less than a dollar,but you can't put a price on family.And hey it's still way cheaper than human braces.

Or dog braces, for that matter.