Do I Put It Out Its Misery ?

[Spooky76]

Hey peeps,

I know this isnt tropical, but just wanted some thoughts really. I have a black moor which I have to keep inside Dec - May as it gets too cold for him. About a week ago, he developed white cotton wool around his eyes, which I treated as a fungal infection. It didnt clear up, so kept going with treatments. Last night I went to feed him and saw something floating in the tank....and when I pulled it out IT WAS HIS EYE !!!!

Poor little guy, ive had him ages and very attached to him. He is still eating and acting normal, but his other eye looks to be going the same way.

I really dont want to kill him, but am I being unfair keeping him alive ? he is obviously blind, but somehow still feeds very well....

Any advice ? I dont even know how to kill a fish that big

 

[shroob]

Hmm, its always a tough descision to make, in the end I think it boils down to the animals quality of life. I know if I was suffering and theres no way of recovery I would like someone/something to end it.

On the topic of euthanising a larger fish (how big is it?), theres a number of ways. Clove oil is one thats reccommended alot, where you put the fish in a container (maybe even the tank though obviously not if theres other fish if you want to keep, then you would have to clean the tank afterwards, but thats the least stressful way I would have thought). You put a certain amount of clove oil in with water and mix it around well, and it basically puts the fish to sleep.

Another way, if you're up to it is to take the fish out of the tank and give it a good wack on a hard surface or use something solid (alot like fishermen do with a trunchon of somekind), again this may be easier said than done depending on the size of the fish.

 

[Spooky76]

I dont know if he is suffering though

as for his size, hes a large black moor. Hes about 6 inches long and very fat

Will clove oil knock him out or kill him ?

I have knocked them on the head, but usually smaller fish. Its hard because im so attached to him

 

[TylerFerretLord]

So he's fine other than missing an eye, with one possibly going the same way?

The only think to do is wait and see. If he does lose both, but can still eat and find food, don't kill him. If he begins to wither away, you should.

 

[Spooky76]

yeh one eye literally came out The other is going the same way.

I will watch out for any other infections etc. Shame though, as he used to love the 1500L pond to swim around in, but I cant really ever put him back in there now he cant see.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

It sounds a lot more like an internal and external bacterial infection to me rather than fungal, columnaris causes white/grey fungus-like growths on fish (and often also sores as well as it becomes more progressed) except the growths are not very fiberous looking like they are on fungus infected fish, and is a lot more common on the whole (fungus is not that common in the hobby these days, and is usually only seen in fish which are already weak/injured) and is a primarily bacterial disease.
Fish can live without eye's though, i've seen quite a few blind or one-eyed betta over the years before and they seem to do fine, however the decision to euthanise the fish should be based primarily on how likely it is to recover based on what it is suffering from and to what degree. What have you been treating the fish with exactly and how long for? What size tank is he in and is it filtered and heated and what is your tank cleaning regime like too? Have you tested the tanks water quality for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and ph recently? Is the fish still eating well and swimming about?