View Full Version : if you know a fish is dying
goldfries
12-10-2002, 9:33 PM
this is an 'IF' question.
say if you know that your fish is dying. and is beyond cure.....
1. will you kill it? if yes, how?
2. or will you let it continue living it's final days (suffering) until it dies on it's own.
Darkangel
12-10-2002, 11:18 PM
Letting anything suffer is not very nice IMO. Personally if I know it is doomed I will do it in. Usually, all you squemish folks should skip this part, I just throw them at a concrete floor. It is over in an instant. As far as an easier way you just place the fish in a bag or other water container and place it in the freezer. As the water cools the fishes metabolic rate slows down till all functions cease. An easy alternative for folks who can not bring themselves to do it. Another alternative, should you have access to a fish tranqualizer is to OD the fish on that.
goldfries
12-11-2002, 1:22 AM
hehe. how about the flush?
Flushing a fish is not acceptable unless dead. Fish can live for hours after. So for the fishes last hours it is not only sick but terrified too.
I put the fish in a glass of vodka, the fish will almost instantly be euthanized.
goldfries
12-11-2002, 3:30 AM
haha. i've heard of the vodka thingy too.
really works eh. what about washing detergent (soap/liquid based)?
undertow
12-11-2002, 3:56 AM
Alka-Seltzer,or Vodka and clove oil...
It is a touchy situation,but when there are no other options....
goldfries
12-11-2002, 5:34 AM
haha. i might as well just throw them into some burning cooking oil.
"As far as an easier way you just place the fish in a bag or other water container and place it in the freezer." - Darkangel
i think it's equivalent to putting them into the freezer, a slow death. less suffering maybe.
Tyler718
12-11-2002, 7:22 AM
I had to put one of my discus down last week. I did the vodka and freezer combo. It went pretty quick.
You should have seen my wife though when she came home. She went to the freezer to get something and found it. She didn't know it was in there. I thought she was going to cry. :( By the look on her face I swear that she lost one of her kids. She asked me not to take care of it if she was around.
oscar andy
12-11-2002, 11:28 AM
put the fish in a bag the pour in some backing soda. Suposedly they when they breath it in it prevents there gills from geting oxgen. Then you put them in the freazer, this combo kills them pretty quick
goldfries
12-11-2002, 1:13 PM
just out of curiousity, why did you kill the discus? it's such a nice fish. rather expensive one too.
Tyler718
12-11-2002, 9:14 PM
Originally posted by goldfries
just out of curiousity, why did you kill the discus? it's such a nice fish. rather expensive one too.
For some reason the other discus turned on him. Why I never figured out. They beat him up pretty good. So I took him out and put him in a hospital tank. He never recovered so I did what I thought was best. He was just suffering.
The freezer alone takes too long. The straight vodka only takes about 60 seconds.
goldfries
12-12-2002, 5:21 AM
:( poor discus of yours. this post of yours will be relevant to another thread concerning Discus being peaceful.
they are nice fish. so anyone has other ways of killing a "sick or injured beyond redemption" fish?
I've only had to put down 3 fish and they were all small so I had my husband use a sharp knife and chop off their heads. No quicker way than that. Not sure what I'll do if a big fish gets terminally ill. Maybe confer with a vet on that one.
goldfries
12-12-2002, 8:20 PM
hehe, there's no vet here that handles fish i think.
anyway, i wonder how do you get rid of big cichlids or sharks or arowanas........
spartyblaze
12-13-2002, 5:48 PM
I normally make mine into a nice mixed drink like our friend Rob Schnieder in Deuce Bigelow...................