Euthanasia

[angelfishguy]

In my 12yrs of fishkeeping i have never had to do this to a fish but the time has come and whats the best way to do this?

I am squirmish so please consider this with your options lol

 

[mike455555]

small plastic bag with some water in it... brick to the head. its quick (works on small fish)

 

[iantaylor]

small bag of water then place in the freezer that works

 

[raptorrex]

on a more practical note. lol.

place the fish in a container with enough cold water and ice to cover the fish. then place it in the freeze draw of your fridge.
the cold water and ice, should send the fish catatonic. and they will die, peacefully, as the temp drops.

 

[fishprotector]

Clove oil to put them to sleep, then vodka and clove oil to kill them.

 

[Nightstar99]

This is a sensitive and informative video about the subject:

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK47u_9Ko3M

 

[Bugdozer]

small bag of water then place in the freezer that works

Many vets and biologists consider this inhumane, as ice crystals could form in the fish while it is conscious and hurt it.
It's not really any different to killing a mammal by slowly freezing it to death, except the mammal will die quicker because its body temperature is more critical. A cold blooded fish will survive longer. You'd consider it inhumane to do this to a mouse, cat or bird, wouldn't you?

 

[angelfishguy]

Guess im on the lookout for clove oil then.

Can clove oil kill the fish itself or do you have to use vodka? The video wasnt too clear on this part.

 

[Livewire88]

Intill recently I have used the double bag and smack against the wall method.

TFF Mod WILDER has brought me round to the method where you fill a pot with water and ice cubes, wait till the water is freezing cold then tip the fish in.

WILDER has more experiance than me so I take her advice and follow it

 

[MBOU]

Clove Oil can be used to kill the fish, personally, this is how I do it, I seriously dislike the idea of a painfull death by freezing (or at very least if the fish has to be frozen, I will have to have knocked it out first).

Clove Oil is used as an anaesthetic for fish and like any anaesthetic, when overdosed... it will slow everything down until they die.

Start off with as little water as you can get away with for the fish, add a couple of drops and add the fish, wait a few minutes until the fish starts listing to one side (this is when its asleep from the anaesthtic) then add a load more clove oil and cover the pot (the more oxygen there is, the slower it works plus less stress when covered).

 

[raptorrex]

I seriously dislike the idea of a painfull death by freezing (or at very least if the fish has to be frozen, I will have to have knocked it out first).

that's a totally unfair description of using cold water, ice and freezing.
i accept you may not, personally, like the idea.
but there is no veracity to you claim its "painful".
the ice cold water does knock out the fish.
probably faster than clove oil does, come to think of it.

one of the reasons i like the cold water and freezing method is.
everything you need is readily available to every fishkeeper, at any time.

lol, its been so long. I'd forgotten Wilder had put me on to this method

 

[Bugdozer]

I seriously dislike the idea of a painfull death by freezing (or at very least if the fish has to be frozen, I will have to have knocked it out first).

that's a totally unfair description of using cold water, ice and freezing.
i accept you may not, personally, like the idea.
but there is no veracity to you claim its "painful".
the ice cold water does knock out the fish.
probably faster than clove oil does, come to think of it.

one of the reasons i like the cold water and freezing method is.
everything you need is readily available to every fishkeeper, at any time.

lol, its been so long. I'd forgotten Wilder had put me on to this method

Raptorrex, can I ask if you were to be euthanised, would you prefer it to be by gradually being made colder and colder until you went unconscious, or would you rather be gradually overdosed with general anaesthetic? I think I can guess the answer. Why not apply the same principle to fish?
As to there being no veracity that it's painful - stick your hand in a bucket of iced water. See how long you can tolerate it for.

 

[fluttermoth]

I have used the clove oil method and, done properly, it's very quick; much quicker than the freezer method would be, which is frowned upon by vets nowadays and they do think it's probably painful.

The lethal dose is 30 drops per litre.

What you do is take a litre of water out of the tank, into a container that you won't want to use for anything else (the smell of clove oil really lingers) and put your fish in it.

Remove a small amount of the water into a screw top jar, add your 30 drops of clove oil and shake until it becomes a white emulsion. Then just pour that slowly into the container. The fish will be unconscious in a few seconds, and be dead, I'm sure, in a minute or two.

If you use enough clove oil there;s no need for vodka or anything like that (I'd drink the vodka myself; you need a stiff drink afterwards; it's not a nice thing to have to do )

 

[gforce17]

I use clove oil in the way that fluttermoth describes and I leave the fish in it for an extended period to make sure the fish has died. I've never used vodka. It really is a pleasant way to do it for both the fish and you. Take care with the clove oil because it is very strong and the smell is very difficult to remove if you get it on hands, clothes etc. I have now got a dedicated container and plastic pipette which I keep away from anything else in the garage because of the potency of the oil's smell. Fortunately I have only used it a couple of times. Please don't freeze or flush!

 

[angelfishguy]

I have used the clove oil method and, done properly, it's very quick; much quicker than the freezer method would be, which is frowned upon by vets nowadays and they do think it's probably painful.

The lethal dose is 30 drops per litre.

What you do is take a litre of water out of the tank, into a container that you won't want to use for anything else (the smell of clove oil really lingers) and put your fish in it.

Remove a small amount of the water into a screw top jar, add your 30 drops of clove oil and shake until it becomes a white emulsion. Then just pour that slowly into the container. The fish will be unconscious in a few seconds, and be dead, I'm sure, in a minute or two.

If you use enough clove oil there;s no need for vodka or anything like that (I'd drink the vodka myself; you need a stiff drink afterwards; it's not a nice thing to have to do )

Thank you,

This seems the best method for the fish, and myself.