How Can I Euthanize An Ailing And Dying Fish?

If I recall correctly he's about 3 years old. He's not going to make it and he seems really stressed and confused. Sometimes he swims UPSIDE down... other times he lays flat on the bottom of the aquarium... sometimes he'll swim near the filter intake tube and he'll get stuck to it. Then he'll wrestle away and bob along until he sinks to the bottom again.

Should I try to relieve him of his misery? Is he in misery at all? If so, how?

Or should I just let him die and wait to do anything until he's floating at the top?

~Allen

and turn it on high. He'll never know what hit him

He'll go relatively quickly due to the change in water temperature. And I don't think lethal injection is an option.

go get healthy in the wild w/ the other fish. I doubt the sewer hooks up with the bayou, but ya never know...

am talking about.

is to put him in some water in the freezer. I believe I read it on a koi site. They just go to sleep.

Now, SHOULD you... your call. Have you checked all of the water chem. levels in your tank and so on? Might be symptom of bigger problem.

I hear it's humane and they just fade off to sleep forever.

And you are talking to a person who has cleaned fish all his life.

cheeping through the freezer door, too gross for me. Fish are quiet though.

Freezing him is the preferred humane way!

After you do the "deed" you can take a little bit of each to numb the pain of losing your fish.

The mixture of cocaine and painkillers is to drive away the need, and desire to kill your fish.

Cheers
Drifter

Just flush the damn thing. It isn't like you are putting down a German Shepard.

You see, after "the deed" you just smoke the fish! (Warning: You'll probably need the X-Tra Long size Zig-Zag papers...)

But why waste your stash on a fish that's gonna die anyway?

1)plug in curling iron

2)oops!

Put him in a ziploc bag with some tank water and put it in the freezer. He'll basically just go to sleep before he expires.

My wife (a veterinarian) tells me this is the way to do it.

I think that might be the best way to go. Thanks.

You know, like a cycle of life or something?

coat in a light beer batter and deep fry at 350 for 6 mins.

Accompany with a side of fries and some peas. Yum.

The best way is to hit them really hard on the head, or penetrate the skull with a sharp object, because it's instantaneous, but most people don't want to do that to their pet fish. :(

The next best thing is freezing them, since the process of freezing to death is not as horrible as asphyxiation or being thrust into a foreign environment such as a sewer pipe.

sorry your little friend is going - I kept fish for years and it was always sad.

BTW, the preferred prayer as you flush is "Dear god, please take this fish. He was a good fish, but he's dead now. Amen."

I recall the episode on the Cosby show where they had the funeral for a goldfish. Funny!

My sister had a goldfish/koi outside that was acting really sick and she 'almost' helped the dying process along. Turns out the fish was preggers and had babies.

This guy is from the same "batch" of Rosy-Barbs that I purchased several years ago... and he's the last of the originals, so he lasted the longest.

I had to do this to a Goldfish we had a few years ago. The only humain thing is to put him in a plastic bag with some water and put him in the freezer. He'lljust go to sleep.

I hated doing it. :(

Sorry!

I just found this online:

The freezer method is OK, but I was informed of a better method by a veterinarian who specializes in fish. I am a third year vet student at U of Pennsylvania and unfortunately I have had some cause to use this method, so I know that it works and it works well. Eugenol is a compound that is used to anesthetize fish; it is better known as clove oil and can be purchased in a pharmacy. It needs to be dissolved in vodka before you add it to the water the fish is in. The proper dose is 1 cc of eugenol + 9 ccs vodka to one gallon of water. When I had to euthanize my rather large oranda I used 2 ccs of eugenol + 18 ccs of vodka added to the 2 gallons of water my fish was in; he just went to sleep very quietly and peacefully. The process takes about 10 minutes. Please post this if you think it could be of help to other goldfish owners; I think its better and certainly quicker than the freezer.

And:

I read your humane disposal of fish section. When cold blooded animals become chilled they cannot move so their death appears peaceful but there is some evidence (I cannot remember where I read this as it was 7 yrs ago when I was researching this subject in regards to humanely killing frogs). However, the animal can feel the pain of ice crystals forming in the body while it freezes. The eugenol method as written above is far more humane since I believe it is an overdose of anesthetic which stops nerve function thus eliminating pain. We switched from freezing to using an overdose of an anesthetic (the active ingredient in Anbesol) for frog euthanasia.

... the same way I fall in love with cats and dogs. My fish are just pretty (and fun to watch)... but still... no sense in making (letting) him suffer unnecessarily.

Yep... I hate to see him go too. Thanks!

You didn't give each one a name and teach them tricks - like me?

Never mind - I'm very co-dependant. :)

Its not like anyone has ever gotten any feedback or anything. Seems smashing em flat as a pancake with a brick or something is just as good --- so swift it doesn't feel anything.

Oh, wait. Never mind.

Seriously, I'm very sorry about your fish. Wish I could offer something beyond a smartass comment. :hug:

drop him gently into 3 fingers of tequila or something equally potent (brandy, whiskey, vodka, etc.).

:cry:

Thanks, Kim.

:toast:

The gold standard for assessment of euthanasia in animals is the American Veterinary Medical Association paper found here:

<http://www.avma.org/resources/euthanasia.pdf>

For non-technical methods for smaller fish stunning followed by decapitation is probably best.

... maybe I'll just let him die in his own time.

Stupid fish!

Source: http://www.yoe-inc.com/

Pretty big (just bragging) but the thing would not die. I hit him a few times with a paddle on the head and that did the trick.

SERIOUSLY! Freeze him for like 5 or 10 minutes, then pop him back in the tank. Sometimes this cures what ails 'em. Apparently you can sometimes freeze a goldfish overnight and they'll still be alive the next day.

that way you can be together

hilarious thing I have read all day!!:bounce:

Where else could you find such a discussion?
I love it. I needed a break after hanging out on the serious side all day. (Not that your poor fishy is less than serious, but you know what I mean.)
Good luck with the little fella!

MS-222
http://www.argent-labs.com/argentwebsite/ms-222.htm
Trust me on this-this is the stuff we all typically use for fish surgeries, and to humanely kill them.

Thanks for the advice and links and support and concern. By the time I had finished with dinner, he was already belly-up. Sigh... oh well... at least he didn't linger for too long.

-- Allen

Dreamed I killed them recently.

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