EMERGENCY: Need to euthanize fish!

^as she said, alcohol to the gills kills fish fast. the higher the alcohol %, the quicker it is...try isopropyl alcohol
 
bradlgt21 said:
Don't bleach, think about drowing in bleach and lighting yourself on fire, bleach burns fish's scales.

I have read up on a bunch of articles on here on stuff like this and while it sounds gross blunt force trama is quick and effective.

But the easiest way I found and my prefered method is freezing. But there is a right way to do it. Puting the fish in water in the freezer is painful to the fish and inhumane this is probably the one you read about. As the water freezes the ice forms crystals and is very painful to the fish.

The humane freezing method is take a glass or container and fill it with water, float a lot of ice cubes in it for a while or put it in the freezer. Pretty much get it as cold as possible even to the point of the surface freezing over. Break the frost off the top to expose the freezing water. Putting the fish in the water you are going from 70 degree water temps to 30's in a split second. It puts the fish in immediate shock, think jumping in cold water times 50. The fish doesn't suffer at all and has no pain. It's literally over in less then a second. Let the fish sit in the water for a while to be sure the fish's heart has completely stopped and dispose of him.

Just remember slow cold is what is painful, immediate cold leads to shock and immediate death.
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This only works for small tropical fish. Large fish will struggle, same goes for cold water fish - such as goldfish.

Easiest way is to use clover oil.
 
uhhmm..bigger fish? thats what i have done with my sisters white clouds as they slowly dropped. my barramundi loved them..
 
I would vote for clove oil if at all possible. It isn't hard to find in a pharmacy-- usually must be asked for, however. There is also a product called "finquel" that is available, depending on where you are. It is actually an anesthetic, but it will "put a fish to sleep."

I believe, although it is somewhat off topic, that the use of "humane" refers to the treatment of the animal by the human, therefore, it is grammatically correct to say "the humane treatment of species" and one need not fear the anthropomorphic soapbox, however tongue and cheek it might be.
 
clove oil, expensive and hard to find? really? its in every pharmacy over here in the uk, around £3 for a bottle which lasts seemingly forever. its just a toothache medication. i always have a bottle in just incase of emergencies such as this. if you cant do it then i would put the fish back in and let the other fish finish off his killing spree, it sounds awful but i couldnt leave him suffering with chunks missing from his body!
 
I do not recommend bleach. I had to put down a rainbow once, and it was really very disturbing. I'll never try it again.

If I try again it will be clove oil, or icy water, probably.
 
Here is a link to an article on euthanasia for fish that I have found very helpful: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148361

I am very sorry you are in this situation. I know from experience it is a hard thing to do but in the end it is probably best to go through with this final act of love and compassion towards your fishy friend.
 
Do you have or a buddy have a large piscivourus fish? I just throw all my damaged(not diseased) fish into my main tank. The bigger fish just eat em up and all is done. Very humane as you are doing what nature would do(killing off the weakest specimen) it's quick, natural, and your bigger fish gets a treat.

But make sure it's big enough to eat it, not chew on it for 30 min.
 
I managed to find a bottle of clove oil at a GNC store near my house (thanks for the tip Rbishop). I am happy that he seemed to go peacefully. Also, does anyone no why my Jack Dempsey suddenly went on a rampage? Before this, he never interacted with the convict. I didn't even know he was capable of beating a fish to death. On another note, I realized how big my Jack Dempsey has gotten. Before, the convict made him look small, but now he has gotten quite a bit larger than him.
 
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