Avma Report On Euthanasia

[Synirr]

Just to provide some backing for the opinion that freezing is not a humane euthanasia method for fish...
http/www.avma.org/issues/animal_welfare/euthanasia.pdf

# There is no evidence that whole body cooling reduces pain or is clinically efficacious when used as an adjunct to physical methods of euthanasia in ectothermic animals.
# Freezing of unanesthetized animals is not acceptable as a method of euthanasia.

Formation of ice crystals on the skin and in tissues of an animal may cause pain and distress.

 

[Jozlyn]

Hmmm I was under the impression that clove oil was best for euthenaising fish, then once asleep a large dose of vodka or some time in the freezer to ensure that they're gone.

BTW I didn't actually read your linked document, just too big for me to wade through at the moment.

 

[InaneCathode]

Its actually pretty interesting. It says that clove oil is inapropriate due to the lack of study. It also said that MS-222 is best if it's under 500g/ml as it becomes acidic and might distress the fish.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Note that freezing is not the same as the method advocated by steelhealr in a topic on this forum; the latter involves immersion in cold water= death from hypothermia, but with no danger of ice crystals forming. Other than this method, I still think there is nothing to beat a sharp knife, you can't go quicker than that.

 

[MojoDex]

i just couldnt bring myself to euthanise my fish i know its better for them if there suffering but i look at it from what id want and id want every minute of life i could get!

 

[Majjie]

It's page 20 you need - that's the one on fish and reptiles.

It actually says that MS-222 needs to be buffered over 500mg/litre - not that you can't use it. But have you ever tried going into Boots and asking for MS-222? (Tricaine methane sulphonate - for those of you who - like me - hadn't a clue what it was)

They don't recommend the cold water treatment (4 degrees C) or decapitation with a sharp knife - although complete mashing of the head after decapitation is probably ok.

I'm far too sqeamish for that!

I'm afraid I'm going to carry on using clove oil - just because they haven't carried out any clinical trials doesn't mean that it is painful for the fish (the two fish I've used it on seemed to slip away very peacefully) - and they do say that quick freezing of deeply anaesthatised animals is acceptable.

 

[Bignose]

The report did endorse the use of CO2. A cheap easy to find source of very carbonated water is Alka-Seltzer tablets, or their generic equivalents.

 

[lilmolly]

I rarely, rarely have to anaesthetize a fish. I think I'd done it maybe 6 times total. That may seem like a lot but it is nothing when you think of the total amount of fish you have ever bought. Anyway, I only anaesthetize when its clear the fish is very sick and not going to recover but is passing very very slowly and is clearly under much distress. I had an oscar with a fungus that just kept getting worse and worse. He was that way for 3 weeks. Nothing I tried helped. I think I submerged him into a zip lock bag of sunflower seed oil. He died quickly. The fastest any of the fish died that I had to put to sleep was a goldfish with a disease I never found out what it was. It was a lone fancy goldie in a 20gal long. The fins became ragged and the scales looked scrappy. He wouldn't move. He just stayed at the bottom of the tank breathing heavily. They he started laying on his side still breathing heavily. I read that the preferred method of anaesthetize was to submerge the fish in cold club soda. or something with bubbles. I submerged him in diet coke because I didn't have club soda. As soon as he hit the water he died.

 

[Synirr]

The report did endorse the use of CO2. A cheap easy to find source of very carbonated water is Alka-Seltzer tablets, or their generic equivalents.

That's an excellent idea. Even in humans, death by CO2 causes a little nausea and disorientation at worst.
I wouldn't recommend submerging them in flavoured soda, death by CO2 shouldn't be instant and soda is so unlike water I'm sure it would be like you or me entering a room full of noxious smoke. It's probably unpleasant at best. Club soda would be acceptible in some cases, as some brands are just carbonated water, but some brands contain small amounts of table salt or other substances meant to give them a slightly salty flavour that I would be cautious of. The seltzer tablet idea seems best to me, if you're going to use CO2.

 

[InaneCathode]

Its not just CO2, its a specific concentration of CO2, a concentration thats not found unless you have access to compressed co2.
(and for the record, submerging fish in beverages sounds pretty cruel, but thats my opinion)

 

[funkyhoney]

i really must find a way to humanely euthanise a large ammount of fish, working in an aquarium i see a large ammount of sick fish, we have a set of 12 2ft quarantine tanks, and watching them in there slowly dying isn't very pretty.
another thing that gets me worked up is when people simply throw a still living fish in the bin, happens a lot unfortunately.

 

[screamingdonkey]

The report did endorse the use of CO2. A cheap easy to find source of very carbonated water is Alka-Seltzer tablets, or their generic equivalents.

This is useful to know. I may try this in future, if I have to euthanise.
I did have a case recently of a peppered cory clearly in a lot of pain/distress, being harrassed by other tank members.
It was like vultures waiting for their turn to tuck into a carcass.
In the end, I euthanised with a sharp knife. It was clinical, sudden & effective but a horrible experience and I wouldn't want to go through that again.

Edit: Forgot to ask, how is the alka-seltezer technique effectively administered? I mean, how many tablets, how much water etc?

 

[finchfarm]

We euthanized my Pacu by using the same eutahasia injection they use to put dogs and cats to sleep. You just have to be careful because of the scales, they can and will bend the needle. We ended up having to inject it into her belly where they scales were softer. She was gone immediately after the injection.

 

[screamingdonkey]

We euthanized my Pacu by using the same eutahasia injection they use to put dogs and cats to sleep. You just have to be careful because of the scales, they can and will bend the needle. We ended up having to inject it into her belly where they scales were softer. She was gone immediately after the injection.

I think maybe if I had the money & if i had a particularly expensive specimen that I had cared for over several years, then I'd be tempted to go down the veterinary route.... but I'm pretty sure most people could not justify (for want of a better word) spending approx £30 ($50) on say a platy/guppy etc.
I think the general consensus is most people in the hobby want a "quick end" with as little pain/suffering as is possible

 

[lilmolly]

(and for the record, submerging fish in beverages sounds pretty cruel, but thats my opinion)

Death was instant. If I would have let him die naturally at the rate he was going it would have been days, or a week, longer before he died (all the while in horrid pain). I agree, it is by no means ideal but it was better than the alternative.