Ethical Question: What To Do With "runts" Of The Litter?

[Deepatlantis]

Hi, I have about 20 guppy fry now two months old. I can now see a few which have bent spines or are not developing quite properly. My question is what should I do with them? What do others do? It seems awful to euthanise them when they are 'healthy' and could go on to live their lives, but I don't want them taking up space in my tanks if I can have stronger fish, and obviously I don't want them to breed. What to do? I normally keep one or two and take the extras to my LFS but I've always kept the fry in the main tank before so most got eaten...this is the first time I've used a nursery tank and encountered this problem. I certainly don't want to take them to the LFS.

Any thoughts?

 

[Alasse]

I would euthanise them.

 

[Chad]

It all depends on your purpose. Those who breed fish for quality of trait will do just what Alasse suggests and cull them. Those with limited room will do the same or try to share them. If the fish is deformed or otherwise in a condition that would make it unable to compete with the fish in the tank and you can't put it in a tank where it can survive due to no completion for resources it's actually better to euthanize it rather than let it slowly starve to death or get picked on by other fish while it has a reduced ability to escape.
 
I've had to do this in the past. I never enjoy it. However, I do realize there is sometimes a necessity that makes it the best option available.
 
Based on just what you have posted I think it's your best option in this case.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

If you can keep them separated so they do not breed then keep them, otherwise I'd euthanize them.  When I had guppies I euthanized nearly all with deformities, I did keep the very last guppy I had with a deformity as I was able to keep her in an all female tank and she was rather endearing in her determination (she had no "snout"... or instead of a guppy snout it was more like a neon tetra type short rounded snout).

 

[lrhodes]

One of my rescue guppies is quite deformed... and he is getting pretty elderly in age I would say. He has no problem competing for food. So... most deformities won't cause the fish to suffer... so....,.........

 

[Novembro]

Could you rehome a few of them?

 

[Deepatlantis]

Hmm, thanks everyone. I'm still undecided what to do...I might just wait to see how the guy (or gal) develops as I don't know the extent of the weaknesses. Rehousing could be an option. But I'll definitely make sure they don't breed.

 

[ficklefins]

This may sound awful but I've "donated" some of my deformed Endlers as feeder fish to friends with bigger cichlids and such.  Always felt bad doing it but at least they aren't dying for no reason.

 

[Jamowens]

Any deformed fish I have go into a Community Tank compatibility with whats already in there , any fry born don't survive so bad genes arn't passed on & the fish has a chance to live its life out .

 

[RRaquariums]

I have raised platy and guppy fry for a few years and what I have is a 40 gallon breeder tank that is hevaly planted and has lots of flow the strong fry survive and the week don't usaly make it which is exactly what happens in the wild and that's how Mother Nature keeps the strains of fish and animals strong.
However once in a while I have one or two that make it to a good size and I have to dispose of them I don't have the chemicals needed to euthanize them so what I usaly do is flush them it sounds kinda cold and I don't like doing it but it is a lot better then the fish suffering through a life time of the other fish nipping at them and struggling to get food.

 

[henningc]

I would find someone who has cichlids or other fish that will eat them.  I have Belonasox and raise Endlers and Least Killies.  The Belonasox eat all the deformed fry I can supply.

 

[FishLover4+1]

Don't kill the poor little things. Would you kill a human child with autism or another disability? No, so why would you do it to a fish? Put them in a nice tank where they can't breed, and they can live out their lives like a healthy fish.

 

[Alasse]

Make that 2 nice tanks, one for the girls and one for the boys

 
Use them as feeders or cull them and concentrate on the healthy ones, And if you are getting many disabled fry then honestly, the parent stock should not be breeding anyway. Most fry with a severe disability wouldnt survive naturally in the wild anyway. I would far prefer to give a quick death to them than a slow struggling death, or limited quality of life.
 
There is no comparison between a human child and a guppy fry!

 

[fluttermoth]

And if you are getting many disabled fry then honestly, the parent stock should not be breeding anyway.

Totally agree. Good choice of breeding stock will prevent this issue from occurring more than once in a blue moon.
 

There is no comparison between a human child and a guppy fry!

Agreed!

Of course, none of us want to cull anything, but you have to think of their quality of life, if their deformities are very bad. Humane euthanasia is perfectly acceptable in those cases.

 

[caju12831]

[SIZE=medium]If you keep your fish to enjoy them, then as long as they can feed themselves, it is ok to leave deformed fish to live their life out.  If you want to breed them for color or whatever, soon you will have an entire tank full of deformed fish and need to decide what to do with deformed or ‘average’ fish anyway!  [/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]I have Class N-Endlers and occasionally get a deformed fish.  I cull them by using a bowl of ice water; place them in it, instantly killing them.  Any type of guppy will produce a lot of young, and at some point, you will reach tank capacity and need to make a decision either way.[/SIZE]