should we euthanize?

F

fin-atic

AC Members
Apr 21, 2005
29
0
0
Canada
:confused:

I have a couple of med. sized loaches. When we first got them two of them (the largest and med. sized were fighting over status) The next day the big one had obviously won as he was strutting the tank while the other one stayed in the cave. Well, it appearst that the big one was hurt alot. He has several bite marks on him and I noticed tonight a slash right below his eye ball. There is one more (the smallest one, we have 5 in a 38g long tank) has a slash below his eye too but no other wounds. They are not doing well. They are laying on there sides and only moving when they need to. They are not socializing at all. I am on our second day of treating with Melafix. Should I wait and see if they make it past this or euthanize now. What are the chances they will make a good recovery?
 
I would Euthanize now.... either put them in a container with water and freeze them or put them in a bag and drop something on them, or clove oil works whatever you choose will be best for them i think i would euthanize with the freezer so i dont actually have to watch it happining...
 
Do not euthanize at this point. Much more information is needed to determine what is going on here. Many loaches rest on the bottom in odd positions, and may not be seriously injured.

So, a few questions. First, what kind of loaches are these? If they are clown loaches, the comment I made above goes double

Second, how long has this tank been set up and what are the water parameters? If you have no serious problems with cycling or water quality, all the more reason to wait and see what happens.

Third, what are the other tankmates?

Fourth, what kind of caves, etc. do you have for the loaches to hide in? If you can provide more, the conflicts that you have seen thus far may go away.

Other important questions: filtration, water change routines, other decor, etc..

If your fish are not showing obvious signs of infection (fungus, etc.), you should definitely give them a chance to revcover. If you want more helpful suggestions from this board, additional information would be in order.

Thanks.
 
We ended having to euthanize. The big one was so bitten up that he had more bite marks than healthy skin. The other one had what looked to be a hole on his side. It wasn't opened but almost like just a piece of skin over it. He was sunken in at that spot too. Neither one of them moved at all. When we tried to get them they kind of floated into the net. It was time. Looking at what we have left, I think those were the two that were fighting. The other three are very healthy and gaining weight.
 
We didn't q-tank them, because when I woke up that morning I thought they were dead. I went to go get them but they swam away. So all day they were just hanging on. And when you can see through a hole in a fish you kind of don't think of making them better. The hole was about the size of a capital O, maybe a little bigger. Neither one were eating. The other three are looking good so far, but I am going to still continue to treat them for the seven days, just in case.
 
The slash under the eye is part of a defense mechanism. A bone will lash out from there like a spike and the fish will flail around stabbing everything near by. The skin would have healed and the smaller one would've survived.
 
if its not a disease dont euthanize, it does nothing but give the fish no chance to live.
 
if its not a disease dont euthanize, it does nothing but give the fish no chance to live.
Click to expand...


There is an article on euthanization in the article forum. One of the things I always hate to see is when someone asks if they should euthanize. There are so many moral and personal aspects of this decision, it is really not fair to ask someone who can't see your fish, and doesn't know your fish. Every time I have ever seen this question hit the boards, it ends up with someone trying to defend their actions or comments, and doesn't usually make things easier or better for the person posting. Even in the case of known fatal diseases, diagnosis is seldom a sure thing, and therefore we have that to question as well.
Each and every time we have to euthanize an animal we also have to wonder if it was the right choice. Once it is done we cannot ever know for sure. if we don't do it and our fish suffers and dies then we always wish we had gone ahead and done it. It is a tough thing to do and understand and will always be just that. Asking for other to help make the decision will get you nothing but additional pain no matter haw well intentioned the responses are. Good luck with you remaining fish, and sorry you went through this.
Dave
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom