Euthenizing a fish humanely….

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I prefer clove oil where possible, but a quick heavy bash to the head is preferrable to me if the fish is suffering and not going to recover. The fish doesn't know what's coming, after all, and if clove oil isn't on hand, that would be my second choice.

Euthanasia is never a pleasant topic, but keeping an animal means it's sometimes a part of it. I've had to have a cat and a dog put down too, not an easy decision to make, ever, but in both cases it was in the animals best interest.

With fish, we don't really have the luxury of having the vet push the needle, or advise on when it's time, so we have to rely on our own judgement and advice from places like this on when it might be time. Having to do it ourselves makes it tougher in some ways.

I try to let a fish pass naturally if possible, but sometimes, the suffering can drag on, and it seems more cruel to me to leave them like that.

In this case, if the fish is eating, and swimming normally, I'd probably leave it to live out its life. If it's not acting stressed, fin clamped, struggling to swim, then it's not showing signs of pain and distress that we can see, and plenty of tumours are painless in other animals.

 

[seangee]

For a tumour I would probably let it be as long as its eating and swimming comfortably. When it is suffering I use either bash it on the head or clove oil. When faced with a similar situation to @Wills with a highly contagious, incurable disease that would have wiped the entire tank I opted for a bucket and clove oil.

I really hope someone shows me the same courtesy when my time comes.

 

[FishGuest5123]

For a tumour I would probably let it be as long as its eating and swimming comfortably. When it is suffering I use either bash it on the head or clove oil. When faced with a similar situation to @Wills with a highly contagious, incurable disease that would have wiped the entire tank I opted for a bucket and clove oil.

I really hope someone shows me the same courtesy when my time comes.

Promise not to bash your head in. ?

 

[Neleono]

I prefer clove oil where possible, but a quick heavy bash to the head is preferrable to me if the fish is suffering and not going to recover. The fish doesn't know what's coming, after all, and if clove oil isn't on hand, that would be my second choice.

Euthanasia is never a pleasant topic, but keeping an animal means it's sometimes a part of it. I've had to have a cat and a dog put down too, not an easy decision to make, ever, but in both cases it was in the animals best interest.

With fish, we don't really have the luxury of having the vet push the needle, or advise on when it's time, so we have to rely on our own judgement and advice from places like this on when it might be time. Having to do it ourselves makes it tougher in some ways.

I try to let a fish pass naturally if possible, but sometimes, the suffering can drag on, and it seems more cruel to me to leave them like that.

In this case, if the fish is eating, and swimming normally, I'd probably leave it to live out its life. If it's not acting stressed, fin clamped, struggling to swim, then it's not showing signs of pain and distress that we can see, and plenty of tumours are painless in other animals.

I like how you put that, so genuine. Like you said, its never easy to talk about euthanasia, much less decide when its time and then do it yourself. We can't have the luxury of the vet doing it. At some time or another, most fish keepers will have to make that call weather they are prepared for it or not. In your case, if the fish isn't suffering, in might not be necessary but at some point it might be. But until then, I hope your fish does well and you do too. Best wishes, Nele.

 

[Colin_T]

As Seangee has said, if the fish is still eating well and swimming around, then let it live. When the fish stops eating, or has trouble moving around, then it is time to euthanise.

A quick blow to the top of the head is the quickest way and if done properly, knocks the fish out and kills it in a single blow. However, it can get messy and a lot of people have trouble doing that, especially if they have had the fish a long time.

Clove Oil is meant to be the next best thing. The LumpFish Guy recommends mixing clove oil with a bit of alcohol so the oil can actually mix in with the water. However, a lot of people simply add the oil to a container of water with the fish in.

Post #16 at the following link has some links about mixing clove oil with ethanol.

Sick Black Moor

Clove Oil as mentioned is relatively easy once you have the clove oil. You put the fish into a small container of tank water and add 1 drop of clove oil and stir it up. Wait a minute and add another drop. Continue to add 1 drop at a time and stir it up until the fish stops breathing. The fish is...

www.fishforums.net

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As for dropping them in boiling or freezing water, yeeks, NO. Not acceptable.

 

[Snagrio]

I had to put a fish down late last year. It had swim bladder issues for some time and had finally stopped actively swimming altogether, and the other fish were circling it like vultures (clown loaches, pleco and rainbow shark). At the rate things were going they were going to eat it alive so I had to do it myself, and to make matters worse it was the holidays so there were young kids in the house.

So I quietly took it out to somewhere secluded and gave a quick bash to the head with a brick. Was done in one clean blow. I always bury any fish that pass away next to the trees in the yard as well, as a final gift to give back to the earth instead of wastefully tossing the body in the trash or down the toilet.