Do you bury your fish when they pass away?

[CrystalStars]

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?

 

[Ichthys]

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.

 

[Fishies4Ever]

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.

I would recommend not doing that It just doesn’t seem right in my opinion. You should get your larger animals like your cats cremated or at least buried. It just shows that you loved them and remember them but if you just want to throw them away I guess you can but I wouldn’t.

 

[Ichthys]

I would recommend not doing that It just doesn’t seem right in my opinion. You should get your larger animals like your cats cremated or at least buried. It just shows that you loved them and remember them but if you just want to throw them away I guess you can but I wouldn’t.

I would recommend that you do what’s right for you, and let everyone else do what’s right for them instead of being intolerant of others’ beliefs and telling them to do what you would do.

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

I would recommend not doing that It just doesn’t seem right in my opinion. You should get your larger animals like your cats cremated or at least buried. It just shows that you loved them and remember them but if you just want to throw them away I guess you can but I wouldn’t.

Says you who flushes live fish down the toilet?!

 

[Essjay]

I just flushed a fish this morning he wasn’t dead but he was not doing very well.

Do you mean you flushed a sick but alive fish down the toilet?

If a fish is still alive it should be euthanised before disposing of the body. Either blunt trauma (wrap in a paper towel and hit it with something hard, big enough to kill it with the first blow) or use clove oil. Never ever flush a live fish down the toilet however sick it is.


Like Ichthys, my dead fish also go in the rubbish to be incinerated.

 

[gwand]

I cremated my dog and her ashes are on the mantle next to a paw print impression and a photo. I bury dead fish. All life is prescious and a blessing.

 

[anewbie]

When i was a kid around 9 - we (me and my younger sister) each buried our gold fishes in the cement my father was pouring for a basketball post; these were fishes we had caught at the state fair and neither lived very long. These days i don't bury fishes - when a favorite dies like my 6 year old nanannacara amolae i'm not happy about it but what's the point burying it? It is dead and that certainly won't bring it back to life. I suppose it might be useful fertilizer for a plant but whatever. To me death is death and there is nothing that will bring the dead back to life and that is just how it goes. As long as my memory is sharp i will remember it just as well buried, flush or trashed - it makes no difference.

 

[CrystalStars]

Gee... I wasn't expecting there to be an argument on here. Please, don't argue. I never meant for this to turn into a controversial thing.

It seems not a lot of people bury their pets. Which is fine. It's something I'm going to continue to do because it's something I feel strongly about.

 

[seangee]

I'm with @Ichthys - a dead fish is just dead body. If it big or I suspect disease its in the bin. If its small and died of old age I leave it in the tank to complete the cycle of life.

 

[NearMeBettas]

It depends. I buried my gecko, chickens, and ducks when they passed. Some fish I buried as they were really important to me (such as strider which I had for years) but some I just trashed or dumped in my flower bed. If fry die they get left in the tank. They decompose pretty quickly.

I cried when my gecko had to be euthanized. I cried when my flock of chickens was dismembered by a skunk. When I was little I cried about my fish dying.

There is nothing wrong with burying or dumping, crying or not. It all depends on the person, their age, and how they handle their emotions.

 

[BettaFishGirl]

You are NOT silly for burying your fish. I did it with my Betta fish, and my snake. I will continue to do it with my fish, or snake, or really any animal.

 

[otterblue]

You are absolutely not silly for thinking that way. I actually love that idea it just seems so much nicer. I usually flush my fish down the toilet but I like your idea a lot better lol. I just flushed a fish this morning he wasn’t dead but he was not doing very well. It made me so sad though I feel really bad but I wasn’t sure what else to do. He had been swimming bad for a few weeks and may have had swim bladder or dropsy. Anyway I love your idea of burying your fish like you would your other pets because they absolutely deserve the honor.

You should NEVER flush a live fish down the toilet. Easy for you & increases the fish's suffering. Euthanize it first.

 

[Rocky998]

I buried my betta...

 

[NearMeBettas]

I would recommend not doing that It just doesn’t seem right in my opinion. You should get your larger animals like your cats cremated or at least buried. It just shows that you loved them and remember them but if you just want to throw them away I guess you can but I wouldn’t.

You flush your LIVE fish down the toilet but you are getting mad at someone for trashing their DEAD animal?