do i kill it

[midcuk]

had a bad case of ich recently but all fish recovered except a large tinfoil it now has a huge ulcer on its side, a few years ago i had the same problem and it was a rainbow fish that was left in a similar way, i didnt have the heart to kill him so i left him and he lived (with huge sore) for another year or so and it did get smaller but when he died suddenly the rest of the tank got poisoned and i lost a lot of fish, do i remove the tinfoil now (in a very bad way) and euthinise him (if so how) or do i try and put him in a quarantine tank (not really an option) or do i just leave and hope, he is in with a lot of expensive fish and i do not want them contaminated, so far they are ok.
ps the ich only ever infected the tinfoils in the first place all the rest of the fish just appeared to be "carriers" over the last 6 month i have lost 2 tinfoils in similar ways.

tank is heavily planted 150g (at present has bgk, black arrowana,2 large tinfoils, 3 silver dollars) water conditions are tip top at mo

 

[MasterBlaster]

I would send him on to Fish Heaven. Net it, wrap it in a towel, and put it in the freezer.

 

[heat]

It sounds like it ended up with a secondary infection after the ich took hold. If you really can't Q tank it and treat it, then yeah, euthanizing it would be a good plan.
I prefer a zip lock of tank water with fish into the freezer.
Some will suggest clove oil, it acts as an anaesthesia, which sounds the most humane but hard to get around here.
http://www.cc.jyu.fi/~jpirhon/clove oil.htm

Hope this helps.

 

[Swimfins]

clove oil is usually available in the natural products section of any drug store, you'll find it near witch hazel, primrose oil, that sort of thing, in a small bottle.

 

[justinb013]

Read this thread, it outlines your euthanization options pretty well.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37740

I personally prefer the chopping method, its quicker and (I think) less painful than freezing.

Justin

 

[parrotfish100]

I would freeze it. Its not necessarily painful to the fish. It slows their metabolism until they die... I wold think it would be like falling asleep. At my work, we had to freeze a huge Lionfish that was in a similar situation to your fish. In fact, I think it was almost exactly the same; a massive ulcer on its side.

 

[Seaman]

Fish do suffer when being frozen. Whats the eaisest to do is dose 2 shots of vodka per gallon (in a bucket) and it will "go to sleep" and then you can freeze it without worrying that it suffered.


edited to correct information

 

[justinb013]

Vodka is also somewhat toxic to fish. If you can stomach it, I certainly recommend chopping.

 

[Blinky]

Fish aren't warm blooded - I know this isn't the point of the thread, but I just wanted to clarify this.
Vertibrates fall into five types: Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. The first three are cold blooded, and the last two are warm blooded.
Alcohol is poisonous to fish, so I personally don't feel comfortable using it to euthanise. Clove oil I would use, since it acts as an anaesthetic rather than a poison - I've read that it can be used to temporarily put a fish to 'sleep' so it can be treated for illness/wounds and the fish 'wake up' just as we would after a general anaesthetic in the hospital. Just like us, a little puts them to sleep, and an overdose will kill them.
I stunned a large oscar once (the same way you 'bonk' fish you catch on a line) and severed the spinal cord - I found it very upsetting, and have used freezing ever since.

 

[bluegopher]

Vodka is also somewhat toxic to fish. If you can stomach it, I certainly recommend chopping.

Or perhaps the 2 shots vodka for yourself, chop it, and then 2 more shots to help forget.