Help, my Dwarf Red Gourami is about to die

[Alia]

he doesn't seem to be progressing in either direction. How long would you suggest leaving it?

Gosh, it's really hard to say, not knowing what it is he suffers from.

I remember reading somewhere that by the time a fish shows symptoms of disease, it is often too late to save them -- but I always try. When my krib was in really rough shape, and I had exhausted the medicinal possibilities, I did euthanize him. At that point he was swimming upside down and clearly not going to recover. It broke my heart -- just like when I had to have the vet euthanize a kitten dying from feline leukemia.

It's really your call. If at some point you're thinking "no way is he going to get better", it may be time. Hth.

 

[Tenko]

I'm not sure I could do the cutting the head off method. I've heard that putting him in a bowl with salty water in the freezer would work, but I'm not sure how cruel that would be.

I've done water changes in both tanks as a precaution though.

"just like when I had to have the vet euthanize a kitten dying from feline leukemia."
That's horrible. I lost 2 black kittens 6 months apart a long time ago, both run over. They managed to crawl home but couldn't be saved. Luckily my cat now is 13 years old and doesn't go far. If she goes outside it's just to lay in the sun in the garden for a few hours.

 

[Alia]

Aaaak! Don't do the freezer thing! It's much more humane, if seemingly barbaric, to sever the spine with a sharp knife. But if you can't bring yourself to do that, there are other ways. There is in fact a pinned topic somewhere here about it. Try a search on euthanasia. Barring success with that, look here:
Fish FAQ
Scroll down to the euthanasia part.

 

[Tenko]

Didn't have to in the end. Got up this morning and he'd dies during the night. Shame he had to suffer for the last day of his life.

 

[Mesome]

Sorry to hear that he didn't make it.

 

[Alia]

Sry