How To Humanely Put Down A Dwarf Gourami?

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Jazziecatz

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My dwarf gourami is dying.  He started dying last night but I didnt see him so I went to bed.  This morning hes just lying on his side occasionally twitching.  How can I put him down?  I heard put him in a bowl with some clove oil and the clove oil will put him to sleep and then kill him.  Should I do this?
 
Im not sure if this will work with fish but when i kept geckos the best way to put on down was to stick it in a plastic bag and put it in the fridge. Im not sure if this will work with fish however im hoping some one can verify. The clove oil sounds like a good idea to me
 
Putting fish (or any animal, for that matter) in the fridge or freezer is not considered to be a humane method of euthanasia these days.
 
Clove oil is the best method and is recognised by vets.
 
You need to put the fish an a container that you won't want to use again (the smell of clove oil lingers). You'll need to know how much water is in there. I use an old 1kg margarine tub, as I know that holds 1l of water.
 
Use a small screw topped jar with a little of the fish's water in it and add 25 or 30 drops of clove oil per litre of water in the container (20 drops per litre is the lethal dose, but I like to make sure). Shake it to an emulsion (it'll go white and cloudy) and then add that to the fish's container.
 
The fish will stop breathing and be gone within a minute or two.
 
It's not a nice thing to be thinking about, but a 'euthanasia kit' with your margarine/ice cream tub, a jar and the clove oil is a useful thing to have about. Better than letting the fish suffer.
 
The fastest dispatch method and I think as a result far more humane is to net fish and while in the net give the fish a blow to the head, (small fish like a Gourami a flick of the finger will suffice) all done in seconds not minutes,  but not one for the faint hearted.
 
KirkyArcher said:
The fastest dispatch method and I think as a result far more humane is to net fish and while in the net give the fish a blow to the head, (small fish like a Gourami a flick of the finger will suffice) all done in seconds not minutes,  but not one for the faint hearted.
I had to proceed with this method on my red finned shark and my wife saw and got p 'oed
 
I have heard that putting them on the freeser makes them suffer too much. So i wouldn't go with that...
 
i always wondered about this and thought one could always drop it into the disposal?  i know it sounds awfully brutish but it would surely be instantaneous no?  Have only put down a couple fish and not to this method, but correct me if I am wrong in thinking it would be pretty quick.
 
Stunning or decapitation isn't considered humane unless followed by pithing (destroying the brain).  Fish remain alive and conscious for quite a while even after being decapitated.  
 
Ice water baths are considered acceptable for small tropical fish (under two inches).  A container of water is placed in a freezer until the surface begins to freeze.  Remove any ice and immediately place the fish in it.  The temperature shock is believed to render the fish unconscious almost instantly.  Gill movement ceases in less than a minute.  I can attest to this, I have used the method frequently. (This is not the same as placing a fish in the fridge or freezer, those are considered inhumane.)
 
Anesthesia overdose is another accepted method.  MS222 can be purchased in the USA, I don't know the availability elsewhere.  
 
Clove oil works, but in my experience is irritating and stressful to the fish before losing consciousness.  It is not water soluble, keeping the proper dose dispersed and maintained can be tricky.  
 
Garbage disposal euthanasia is indeed probably quick and humane,,,,,,, though it seems undignified and has a major ewww factor.
fish.gif
 
For the quickest way to send a fish to meet it's maker, refer to my avatar........
 
SarahR said:
For the quickest way to send a fish to meet it's maker, refer to my avatar........
or one of these guys sarah, lol
 
2006-11-24_213657_teeth.jpg
 
Holy mother of god that puffer is TERRIFYING.
I would go with the clove oil :)
 
I feel I ought to point out that feeding fish to other fish/turtles is illegal in the UK.

There would also be a risk of cross infection.
 
Really!! DEFRA is the only place I've looked into this with regard to live-baiting for freshwater Pike fishing but this was a few years ago, and while they don't condone causing any suffering to any live animals from what I can understand no legal action has ever been taken against anyone for doing it, Nor do specific laws prohibiting it exist (other than localised by-laws in angling communities) .
 

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