Used Clove Oil For The First Time Last Night

[pete0403]

My male Betta had suffered long enough. I had a previous post about him bloating up and floating on his side until he saw me approach the tank, then he'd clumbsily swim around trying to act okay.

I did more water changes and added some salt and the bloating went away but the other behavior didn't so I Kept at maintaining the clean water. Then the bloating came back so I got some medicine from my LFS to try.

Last night I noticed that a particular area just behind his fin where the bloating was most severe had ruptured and there was a circle of white with a hole in the middle of it. He had stopped eating altogether and I thought enough is enough.

I went to the drug store and bought some clove oil from the first aid isle. I followed the directions I found on here only I didn't have a dropper so I just trickled a little bit in. I shook the water so it was cloudy (clove oil stinks). I caught him with one swoop of the net (unusual) and put him in. What happened next I didn't expect,

He tried to jump out of the water and was thrashing about and gulping at the surface, it only took about 10 - 15 seconds for him to die but it didn't look peaceful at all, I thought clove oil was supposed to be painless to the fish, I have a hard time believing that he wasn't feeling pain.

It's over now but I feel pretty bad, I've never had to euthanize a fish before...

Any thoughts on what went wrong with the clove oil? Did I use too much?

 

[Fella]

I would have thought more likely you didn't use enough. Was the water you added the clove oil to the same temperature as the water in your tank?

 

[pete0403]

The water temp was similar (as per the finger test) but I didn't use a thermometer

The water was very cloudy and it was a small container about the size of a drinking glass with about 3 inches of water in it.

 

[BigIan]

Betas can breate air from thr surface and so don`t need to "inhail" the watter thusly passing less of the clove oil over there gills. taking longer to sucombe to the effects


Or atleast thats my theory

 

[Bloo]

This whole topic was quite controversial, but if you ever have to euthanize a fish again, perhaps try the method steelhealr mentions in this thread

 

[lmcarlton]

I don't use any chemical at all, I do something else and it's quick and easy (after you do in once or twice).

I get saran wrap and I layer it about two or three times. I make sure that it's big enough to fit the fish on it and flip the wrap over to cover the fish. I take another piece of wrap and fold it twice and make sure it's big enough to completely go around the whole other piece. I put the fish in wrap it up and take the back end of a knife and hit it hard in the head.

I know it sounds terrible, but I like this method, I find it fast efficient. I also have small fish so hitting them to kill is not hard. The saran wrap may be overkill but at least the fish won't go everywhere and make a mess.

It is hard the first couple of times you do it, but I know that this is the best way, also like I said it's fast so you don't see them struggling and trying to jump out. It's done and over with.

Lea-Andra

 

[blitztidus]

I will never use clove oil. I have always used boiling water/ VERY VERY HOT WATER. They die SUPER fast so it is not so painful. Does anyone else do this?

 

[mark7616]

How about flushing them down the toilet the cold water just about kills them instantly anyway.

 

[catxx]

flushing them is bad for the environment, and no, the cold water doesn't kill them instantly.
boiling water, would be the same as any animal getting boiled to death, OW!

if i ever have to do it i'll have to use the clove oil method
i'm too attached to my fish to mash them
i find it difficult enough to squash bugs, let alone my pets!

 

[lmcarlton]

IMO - I personally wouldn't use the hot water idea, I would think that the fish would feel burning pain before it dies.

Also flushing down the toilet, if the cold water doesn't kill them and the pipes don't kill them then they would sit in the septic bed and die there.

It's only my opinion we all have our ways though.

Lea-Andra

 

[Graeme Edwards]

I cant believe that someone would kill their fish with boiling water,that is the worst method thats been mentioned, its brutal and cruel.

It worries me that people have euthanised more than once Why?.


Don't keep fish if you don't have respect for the animal.

Don't breed fish if you don't have someone to give them to or don't have the space.

And don't flush 'em down the loo!

If you need to euthanise it should be as quick and as painless as possible.

I sympathies with you pete, you did the best you could in your situation, learn from it.

Graeme.

 

[Bloo]

It worries me that people have euthanised more than once Why?.

In the 20 odd years that I've kept fish, I think I'm extremely fortunate It's not nice, but such is life.

 

[Dorkhedeos]

my method would just to get one of those flat metal sticks and hit the fish in the head. or just shoot it in the head(kind of a waste of money though and very dangerous)

 

[ArcticLancer]

Since it hasn't been mentioned, I think I have to bring it up - It has occured, where euthanisation with liquids does not kill the fish. Instead, it enters more of a comatose state, from which it can sometimes awaken.

The suggestion I've heard, is to first attempt to euthanise the fish, but since you don't actually know if it's dead, proceed with similar fashion to outrageousprincess:
Put it in a bag, and hit it very, very hard, to ensure that it dies.

However, I know that the man who told me this, my girlfriend, and myself cannot do this to their own fish. It's reccommended that when it comes to euthanizing, you have an greement with a friend or other fishkeeper, to do it for you. This is because, most obviously, you won't want to smash your own fish's head in, and the experience can be difficult at best, traumatizing at worst.


If anyone disagrees with this, I'll understand, but it's much less cruel than many an other method mentioned, and it insures that your fish won't wake up in a place that isn't underwater.

 

[lmcarlton]

For those who have a hard time hitting their fish. The way I see it is I have other pets, one dog and a cat and if they are sick and to the point where they would be in more pain living I would take them to the vet to euthenize them and I would stay every minute until they were gone so they knew I was there. I see hitting the fish as the same way, it's fast, efficient and done. It is very hard I also realize this, but when you have a fish that is suffering and putting them out of their misery is what you have to do... this is how I see it when I do it. I am allowing them to not be suffering anymore.

I have had fish for 7 or 8 years and I have had many diseases in my tank in that time and when you treat and treat and treat and don't get anywhere (and didn't have this forum at the time for help) you decide that to keep trying to treat them is just gonna be worse.

I feel that I have been extremely forunate with my fish, I had some black skirted tetras live to 7 years old, one of the two in my tank right now is about 6 years old (from the time I got it at the pet store).

Lea-Andra