Euthanasia, and Have you ever gotten your fish drunk?

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HungryGoldfish

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Dec 11, 2002
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I have been discussing euthanasia methods with someone, and one of the methods he proposed was adding drinking alcohol to the water. He has not tried this method, and considering how clean he keeps his tanks I doubt very much is he has much need for euthanasia methods.

Anyway, it got me thinking about fish intoxication. We humans get a fair buzz at 0.10%. You can give that gift to your fish by pouring 390mls pure alcohol, or about 1000mls of hardened spirist (40% or 80 proof) into a 10-gallon tank.

It seems to me that if you chose an alcohol-based euthanasia method, you might want to treat your fish to a last fling. Show your suffering fish a good time before you complete the euthanasia, which my friend suggested as being twice what would kill a human, or 1% alcohol by volume in the fish tank.

Considering the amounts of alcohol required, euthanasia probably would be best in a small, 1 gallon tank, unless you have a big fish.
 
Um...?

Why not take the fish out and put it in a bowl of vodka or Everclear with some clove oil if we're worried about euthanizing it?
 
In order for a fish to get "drunk" the alcohol would somehow have to enter the fishes bloodstream. I'm sure sure about whether or not alcohol could cross through a fishes gill membrane on a molecular level, the way dissolved oxygen does. I suppose that it would be possible for the alcohol to enter through the fish's stomach, but the fish would somehow have to eat the alcohol. Either way, this doesn't really seem like a plausible idea.

If you want to euthanize a fish, place it in a small amount of 80 degree plus temperature water, with no surface agitation. The fish will use up the dissolved oxygen quickly, and then it will literally drown in the oxygen depleted water. This occurs faster than leaving the fish out of the water, believe it or not.

Not to be callous, but you could always just flush the soon to be dead fish.
 
Not to be callous, but you could always just flush the soon to be dead fish.
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Out of sight out of mind?

Nah. You have a responsibility to ensure a minimal suffering death. I might remind you that the "eu" bit of euthanasia means "good".
 
Originally posted by kreblak
Not to be callous, but you could always just flush the soon to be dead fish.
Click to expand...

Um, drowning a sack of kittens is a good way to get rid of unwanted cats, too...:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

(The two are essentially the same.
 
ok this thread is going down hill very fast weeeeeee!:D
 
if you want to put the fish out quick put him in a glass with bacardi 151 or any tequila, they seem to work best for me when i have to do it, on the rare opportunity.
 
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