Do you bury your fish when they pass away?

[CaptainBarnicles]

Are those those fish that sing...?

Yup can you imagine walking into that room? No teenager could ever sneak in past curfew undetected by those crazy bass!

 

[JuiceBox52]

I usually compost my dead fish

 

[GaryE]

Day 42.
The pyramid is slightly angled. The burial chambers are aligned with the solstice, but I need more snail shells under the southeast corner. The moss ball to stop grave robbers has proven more messy than a deterrent, although it runs down the corridor well enough and directs thieves into the kuhli loach pit. It is true no one wants to touch it.
I have to wait for Gary to finish mummifying that fish. It's a slow process. By the time he's done, this place will be a desert.

 

[_Pineapple4popsicle]

three days ago I had the difficult decision to euthanize my betta Pineapple. I tried everything to help him and nothing worked well for him. He had dropsy. I used clove oil and it was the right thing to do for Pineapple. I really loved the little guy . He was a rescued betta so I think he was not in the best of health when I got him. He lived 18 months with me. He was 2ish. Anyway, we buried him because we respected him and his life. I will never flush my pet fish alive or dead. Thanks for being here for me and everyone that have a love for keeping fish as pets

 

[O2Breather]

It's what's in your heart. Personally, I would feel it disrespectful to the little life-form (fish, bird, whatever) that I once knew and whose presence brightened my days if I were to just trash it. I always bury them, usually under the bushes outside so their bodies can serve as food for others. Except for my dogs; I have them cremated.

 

[sharkweek178]

I bury or cremate dogs or cats. For my fish, there's a hillside by my house I leave them on. I think of it as returning them to nature. Something eats them or they decompose. Either way, they become part of nature again.

 

[Sgooosh]

Each to his/her own. I put my dead cats in the trash. They’re family, every bit as much as yours, but the dead body is just a dead body, and the cat has moved on. I put fish in the trash also.

would the cat stink up the trash can if just left in there? because a dead large animal could compost for days and smell like death...

A grim discussion, I know. But something I have thought about since my little Buddy has passed. He was my friend during the pandemic and passed away in January. Since it was winter and I'm from Ontario, I sealed him up and put him in the freezer until the snow melted. Once it did I dug a hole and buried him. And I think I will do the same for any of my other fish.

My way of thinking is my fish are still family, just like a dog or cat would be. I wouldn't throw my dog in the trash after they pass, so why would I do that to my fish? Just because they're dead does not mean I can treat them like garbage. I can still treat them with respect and give them a burial.

Am I silly for thinking this way?

If I had a connection or if I kept it for a while i would. like if I just got it from pet store and it died in quarantine, no

 

[TheLavenderBadger]

I usually bury my fish. Not for any particular reason, per se. Although when I was little I made a mini graveyard in the garden containing my dead fish and all the dead insects I found in my kiddie pool..... I was a weird kindergartener.

 

[Ellie Potts]

I'm not very spiritual and tend to lean hard on 'the facts'. To me, flushing can be dangerous and throwing them away isn't taking full advantage of the available nutrients. Burying them in a house plant or garden is what makes the most sense to my brain. But judging what other people do also doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

 

[Ichthys]

would the cat stink up the trash can if just left in there? because a dead large animal could compost for days and smell like death...

I haven’t actually disposed of many animals, but the few that I have put in the bin have all been inside a plastic bin bag, and I’ve never noticed a smell.

 

[sharkweek178]

I was disposing of a dead neon tetra recently. Now I don't believe in an afterlife for fish. But I had a what if thought. What if when a fish dies, it joins a school of every other fish that died and they just swim with no hunger or fear of predators?

 

[Boundava]

Depends...
A tetra would be flushed or trashed if dead.
A Betta would be buried, pleco buried, eel, cichlid, other larger more personable fish that have been with me long enough to have interaction or relationship.

Don't recommend flushing any sick fish. should make sure the fish is dead and bag and toss them. You can introduce pathogens to water that way.

 

[gwand]

I was disposing of a dead neon tetra recently. Now I don't believe in an afterlife for fish. But I had a what if thought. What if when a fish dies, it joins a school of every other fish that died and they just swim with no hunger or fear of predators?

Sounds like fish heaven to me.

 

[Ram419]

I'm not very spiritual and tend to lean hard on 'the facts'. To me, flushing can be dangerous and throwing them away isn't taking full advantage of the available nutrients. Burying them in a house plant or garden is what makes the most sense to my brain. But judging what other people do also doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

I was flushing but this post made me start burying. It does make more sense.