Angel Fish Suffering-what Type Of Euthanisa To Use?

[esjlong]

Hi, it been abotu 2 weeks since I last visited the site.

Ref- my lumpy angel fish.

unfortunately no cure has worked, tryed cloat and bacterial treatment but to no avial.

For the last week or my fish has been dying- it is now upside down and struggling to balance so its belly if floating up- see link for photos

http/s100.photobucket.com/albums/m24/esj...p;addtype=local

The fish has been upside down for the last three days and I've being hoping it woudl die by it self, but its seems to be fighting. Now however I cant watch it get worse and dont want it to suffer further.

Please can I have advice on how to put it out if its misery. I have looked on the forum and think the following 2 options will be more humane

*Emerse the fish in water contaning Alka-seltser
*use clove oil.

I am defiantly not going to cut it up, bang it, freeze it, as I will not be able to do this, and will not ask anyone to do it for me.

Has anyone any tips or ideas on the above methods and how much should I use? as it is quite a large angel fish.

D'day will be tomorrow morning- but hopefully it will die over night.

Many thanks

Emma

 

[WILDER]

Yes he bad.
Get a jug of cold water the colder the better add some ice cubes to make it even colder, add the fish it dosn't take long, but leave the fish in a whole to make sure it has passed on sorry.




This is what I choose to do with my fish and my comments are only placed here as opinion. This is a heated topic. I choose based on my knowledge from my training:

Oil of cloves is a topical anethestic and was used in the past to treat toothaches. Lidocaine (like at the dentist's office is a topical anesthetic as well). When we operate on people we really want to achieve 2 things, analgesia and anesthesia, that is, relief of pain and unconsciousness. IMO, when a fish is immersed in oil of cloves, it is essentially 'topically anesthetized', paralyzed, but, I am NOT convinced that the fish is unconscious.....none of us will really know for sure. We don't know if the oil of cloves causes stinging to the mucus membranes, eyes, etc on initial contact nor if the fish is motionless, painless but aware.

Extreme cold is an anesthetic. When applied to skin, you can actually cut the skin and feel no pain. Cold also can cause rapid unconsciousness. In fact, hypothermia is reported to cause a state of euphoria and clouding of consciousness. Fish, at least most of the types that we keep (tropical), are extremely small and rapid immersion in extreme cold water, in my opinion, causes rapid pain relief and rapid unconsciousness. I have never seen any of my fish shows signs of what I consider suffering. They stop moving immediately and appear lifeless. Some have stated that since fish are ectothermic, this doesn't apply....perhaps in cold water fish I would agree.

I choose to euthanize my fish this way, rather than oil of cloves. One must either make an educated decision for themselves, or, choose what is currently accepted by the masses as what is humane.

Added: although I would never use blunt force to euthanize my fish, nor advocate it, one fact is for sure: death is instantaneous

SH

 

[esjlong]

Wilder.

Thanks for the advice- but wont this cause suffering and pain to the fish, not to mention causing stress? I know angels hate temp fluctuations and dont often with stand it?

Kind regards

Emma

 

[WILDER]

That article is writen by steelhearl he's a mod.

I've done it and it is fast, but not on an angel fish.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...30845&st=16

 

[AngelPen]

Our Angelfish recently decided to start attacking the neons, I think he's just got to the size where he can, so he will!

But I too was posed with the question of how to put the neons out of their misery, as some were just floating around, yet still alive and I couldn't leave them!

I used the very cold water thing, and they were gone almost instantly. Once you put them in the cold water they go unconscious, so I dont think it would hurt them. Plus if they are suffering already surely it's kinder to help them on. Your poor fish doesn't look very well at all, its a shame as he looks like a lovely fish.

 

[DarkEntity]

freezing is a terrible method of killing a fish imo, how would u feel slowly freezing to death. If you want to kill your fish quickly then catch it in a net then hit it hard against a solid surface, one sharp blow is instant death.

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

Well if the fish is already week its going to give up after cold water. thats like you beening in a forest with nothing to eat for lik four days, so week you can only crwal and even thats a struggle, then just fallin into freezing cold river with ice, you wouldnt last long and you would be so cold your body would be numb with no feeling.

I have done this method with a rummynose that had Columnaris and didn't do well in a salt bath. I put him i n and immediatly his gills stopped moving and he sank dead. I let him sit for 15 minutes till his eyes turned cloudy. Then I put him in the toliet (didn't understand about spreading disease) You are not allowed to flush fish as thats how disease can spread.

 

[WILDER]

There a big difference in this method it quick, not like putting a fish in the freezer for a long slow death.
It instant.

 

[LiveLifeGoJump]

Don't know how much this will help you decide.

As a game fisherman I have often dispatched trout in the normally accepted way of hitting the on the head with a 'priest'. I use a priest that is much heavier than the normal ones sold and can give the fish a good hard blow because of it's longer length. I have noticed that even with smaller fish (11" plus) that there is often twitching from the fish even after 2 or 3 strongs blows. Sometimes a female will release eggs at this point.

Now I know that they say this is just a nerve reaction & the fish is dead & feels no pain but it makes you think.

I have had to put one of my tropical fish to sleep due to continuing health problem. I had read the various methods & decided on ice cold water. I put a jug in the freezer till a ice layer formed on top, broke the ice & lowered the fish in quickly. There was absolutley no movement (twitching etc.) and the fish stopped breathing almost instantly.

Now I know that size does matter and that a large fish may take longer to die by this method but provided the water was cold & deep enough this would be my prefered method.

May have to rethink method if I was keeping fish that grew much over 6".

 

[Thuggerz]

Hi, i havnt read any of the replys on your topic, but i would say to either squash the head (brain) or cut the head off quickly. I know it would be hard for someone who is attached to there loved one, but i think it's the quickist way.

I disagree with DarkEntity since the fish might take more than one blow to die.

 

[Torrean]

I vote for either blunt trauma to the head or deep cold immersion as explained above. Do your research and decide which you approve of. I had to put down a WCMM It's about the size of a neon so I'm not sure how it goes with larger fish but the little guy went out like a light.

My sister uses yucca tea

 

[esjlong]

Many thanks for everybodys comments and suggestions, I decided to use the freezing cold water method and am pleased to say that the angel fish passed away very quickly, without further suffering, no twitching/rapid movements.


Sad outcome, but sometime you have to be cruel to be kind

regards

emma

 

[WILDER]

R.I.P. Little angel.