Euthanasia

[handsomeboy]

I read on one of these posts to use Ice cubes. Put them in a little bowl of water and put in Ice cubes for 20 minutes.

i thought that was for coldwater fish

like it slows down their system or something, so they hybernate, then die.

 

[NinjaSmurf]

I had to do the hammer trick on a guppy, it was all mangled from the filter intake pipe, and would breathe for a little, stop for fifteen seconds or so, then start up again. So I let it take in some air then when it stopped I pulled it out with my hand, wrapped it really fast in a square of tp then bopped it on the head with the hammer. Fastest way I could think of.


Handsomeboy, the problem with doing that to coldwater fish is that some of them will actually look dead but they won't be.

 

[JustinSane]

Clove oil is a good and a rather humane method, just increase the dosage slowly and remember, this is crucial, after the fish has stopped moving and gills obviously aren't pumping any more, finish it off with a knife.
This is absolutely essential, since the clove oil works as a sedative (many puffer keepers use it to sedate their fish while maintaining their teeth) so it is possible that even if the fish isn't moving and gills seem to have stopped, it might just be in a deeply sedated condition.

Freezing or boiling are not proper methods to euthanise a fish, especially with bigger species. I've heard enough stories of danios without any skin left jumping out of boiling cauldrons and keeping on squirming on the floor. It is painful and cruel do not use it.

Like mentioned, clove oil is a good method especially for those faint of heart. Those who feel that they can handle it, a forceful blow in the head is also a very efficent method causing instant death if performed correctly.
Use preferably a blunt weapon, aim just a bit behind the eyes, the goal is to crush the brain with a single blow. Get a good grip of the fish so it won't be able to squirm much causing you to miss your aim and use enough force so that the cranial bones are crushed for certain, like mentioned, the goal is to succeed with a single blow.
The fish will twitch a couple of times (unless then the fish is so small that nothing much remains) but this is only the central nervous system shutting down, no pain should inflicted any more since if the blow was successful, there shouldn't be no brain activity left (since there shouldn't be any brain left).

Always make sure the fish is dead, no matter what method you use. This is achieved the easiest with a knife. There are two easy methods.
The first one: flip the fish over so you can see it's underside, look at between the gill covers, there should be a slender strip of skin in between them, cut it off completely, a central vein runs within.
I didn't find any proper images of the part I mean but this image should show the part which I mean, it's right where this mans left hand (looking from him) is positioned.

The second method is even easier (though a bit more brutal) method is to simply decapitate the fish completely.

Now I know this must all sound pretty rough but I find it important that fish are properly euthanised, many fish have to suffer almost throughout their whole lifes, there is no need to furthen this suffering with a painful death.