Euthanizing Fish

I'll let someone address if your fish can be helped, but as to euthanizing, I prefer to put them in a small container of water in the freezer. Of course, no one knows for sure what the fish is experiencing, but it is believed that they become anesthetized using this method before they die.

You don't have to freeze the water solid. The fish will succumb long before that. Bury the fish in the garden.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37740
Read that. As for dainios and "cichlids" I would say thats not a good mix. But cichlids is such a broad category that my statement is not entirely accurate. What kind of cichlids are you thinking? I would definatly try to find why the other fish are having issues and fix the problem before getting more fish

Sinced you asked.........it's true that until fish can come back to life and talk, no one really knows what fish feel during various meathods of euthanization.

I prefer the quick and most guaranteed painless method mself.

**Note** the text below is not for the faint of heart or stomach...

**read on at your own risk*****

I place the fish into a small bag with a very small bit of tank water, then into two progressively larger bags, the last being a large black garbage bag, all of them sealed/tied. I have two very heavey and very flat surfaced patio blocks outside. I set the fish on the bottom brick and drop the other brick on top.
I suspect the fish doesn't feel a thing, it's over quickly, and I simply disregard the bag in the trash, not being able to see the fish. My last memory is NOT of a fish slowly dying or walking in front of the freezer wondering what's going on inside.

No one likes euthanizing a pet fish, but if it has to be done, I reccomend this method.

I just put the fish(if its small) in a 5 gallon hospital tank and hope for the best. I had a balloon molly who had its tail and fins picked at to the point where it could barely swim (only the cartilage was showing). I didn't have the heart to kill it, so I took care of it in a small aquarium, and it finnally healed after a month or so. But even if it was something a lot more serious, I would simply take more care of it in hopes it could survive!

Freezing

I use the freeze method, but I sometimes wonder if they feel anything..I don't think so.

Clove oil thoroughly mixed with water.

Put the fish in and he will go to sleep and then die. It's very quick.

IMHO the most humane.

Roan