fish euthanasia

Alright, I've pretty much given up hope on one of my pond goldfish on ever
getting better, so I moved him into an indoor tank (after acclimating him to
the temp change) and waited a week for what I assume to be a severe slim
bladder disorder to heal. He was laying either on the top or bottom of the
pond, moving only when prodded and gasping for breath while the rest of his
pond mates seemed fine. I figured it would be easier to treat him inside,
in my hospital tank, but so far no luck. All my past experience for what I
assume to be dropsy (bulging scales, inability to swim rightside up or
maintain balance) the fish has either healed under treatment within a week
or died. This fish just won't do either though...

I've also fed him a thawed out pea just in case as well.

I feel that his options are pretty much gone and I'm not really interested
in seeing how long he can prolong his suffering, so my main question is the
best way to go about "ending" it for him. I realize how stupid this might
sound, but I rather liked this fish and have had him in my pond for three
years so I want to do this as quickly as I can. Any opinions? Or have
there been personally experienced cases where your own fish survived over a
week in this conditition to make a recovery?

I'll cross-post since this is a pond fish too, thanks in advance!

--Ryan

"HK_Newbie" wrote in news:J7Rtd.343$P14.77
@trndny05:

Any opinions?

Depending on the size, either a big kitchen knife or an axe... :/
I had to use an axe on the last fish I had to put down.

--
http://www.neopets.com/refer.phtml?username=moosespet

On Thu, 09 Dec 2004 05:11:05 +0000, HK_Newbie wrote:

Alright, I've pretty much given up hope on one of my pond goldfish on ever
getting better, so I moved him into an indoor tank (after acclimating him to
the temp change) and waited a week for what I assume to be a severe slim
bladder disorder to heal. He was laying either on the top or bottom of the
pond, moving only when prodded and gasping for breath while the rest of his
pond mates seemed fine. I figured it would be easier to treat him inside,
in my hospital tank, but so far no luck. All my past experience for what I
assume to be dropsy (bulging scales, inability to swim rightside up or
maintain balance) the fish has either healed under treatment within a week
or died. This fish just won't do either though...

I've also fed him a thawed out pea just in case as well.

I feel that his options are pretty much gone and I'm not really interested
in seeing how long he can prolong his suffering, so my main question is the
best way to go about "ending" it for him. I realize how stupid this might
sound, but I rather liked this fish and have had him in my pond for three
years so I want to do this as quickly as I can. Any opinions? Or have
there been personally experienced cases where your own fish survived over a
week in this conditition to make a recovery?

I'll cross-post since this is a pond fish too, thanks in advance!

--Ryan


Well this is highly debated in fish cicles. Some say clove oil, some say
freezing, some say off with the head is the fastest way.

Thankfully I haven't had to do it yet...

How about peeling out on him with the car?

Flushing down the commode?

Drop in a bucket of bleach?

just some ideas off the top.


s


"HK_Newbie" wrote in message
news:J7Rtd.343$P14.77@trndny05...
.. I realize how stupid this might
sound, but I rather liked this fish and have had him in my pond for three
years so I want to do this as quickly as I can. Any opinions? Or have
there been personally experienced cases where your own fish survived over
a
week in this conditition to make a recovery?

I'll cross-post since this is a pond fish too, thanks in advance!

--Ryan

Steve Barker wrote:

How about peeling out on him with the car?
Flushing down the commode?
Drop in a bucket of bleach?
just some ideas off the top.

None of which were any good.


--
Eric Schreiber
www.ericschreiber.com

It really is a problem because fish tend to die so terribly slowly. I
know the best way to end it, but no way would I be able to do that.
Usually I don't have the courage to do anything and that's the cruelest
non-solution of all. I've seen a fish take more than a week to slowly
die and of course I read all sorts of silly accusatory messages in their
pathetic little clouded eyes. If I were braver and more considerate of
the fish than I am of my own selfish feelings, I would remove them with
a little tank water and perhaps add a little alcohol to the water
and/or the freezer. Just typing this makes me squirm. I know, I know,
the guillotine is kinder, but I can't.

Ruth Kazez

Tom Randy wrote:

Well this is highly debated in fish cicles. Some say clove oil, some say
freezing, some say off with the head is the fastest way.

Thankfully I haven't had to do it yet...

It's hard to understand how "off with the head" could be fast or humane.
I've seen fish heads gasping for what seemed like hours (but I was a kid at
the time, so might have been just a few minutes).

Now, a completely untested method I was told about last summer was "vodka in
the gills, then off with the head". Seems like a waste of alcohol to me.
--
derek

"HK_Newbie" wrote:
... my main question is the
best way to go about "ending" it for him. I realize how stupid this might
sound, but I rather liked this fish and have had him in my pond for three
years so I want to do this as quickly as I can. Any opinions?

Years ago, I bought a small bottle of MS-222 / Finquel / Tricaine
Methanesulfonate (a fish anesthetic) for this purpose. Knock the fish out
using the "sleep" dose, then add a large overdose to finish the job. Kind of
expensive up front (around $50, IIRC), but I figure I'm going to be dead and
gone before I use up the one bottle I have, and I like to know I'm not botching
the job.

"HK_Newbie" wrote in message
news:J7Rtd.343$P14.77@trndny05...
Alright, I've pretty much given up hope on one of my pond goldfish on ever
getting better, so I moved him into an indoor tank (after acclimating him
to
the temp change) and waited a week for what I assume to be a severe slim
bladder disorder to heal. He was laying either on the top or bottom of
the
pond, moving only when prodded and gasping for breath while the rest of
his
pond mates seemed fine. I figured it would be easier to treat him inside,
in my hospital tank, but so far no luck. All my past experience for what
I
assume to be dropsy (bulging scales, inability to swim rightside up or
maintain balance) the fish has either healed under treatment within a week
or died. This fish just won't do either though...

I've also fed him a thawed out pea just in case as well.

I feel that his options are pretty much gone and I'm not really interested
in seeing how long he can prolong his suffering, so my main question is
the
best way to go about "ending" it for him. I realize how stupid this might
sound, but I rather liked this fish and have had him in my pond for three
years so I want to do this as quickly as I can. Any opinions? Or have
there been personally experienced cases where your own fish survived over
a
week in this conditition to make a recovery?

I'll cross-post since this is a pond fish too, thanks in advance!

--Ryan

In a back issue of TFH magazine there was an article on how best to
euthanasia fish and depending on the size of the fish it was suggested that
"crushing or decapitating" was the quickest way. It also mentioned clove
oil.

Rick

"HK_Newbie" wrote in message
news:J7Rtd.343$P14.77@trndny05...
Alright, I've pretty much given up hope on one of my pond goldfish on ever
getting better, so I moved him into an indoor tank (after acclimating him to
the temp change) and waited a week for what I assume to be a severe slim
bladder disorder to heal. He was laying either on the top or bottom of the
pond, moving only when prodded and gasping for breath while the rest of his
pond mates seemed fine. I figured it would be easier to treat him inside,
in my hospital tank, but so far no luck. All my past experience for what I
assume to be dropsy (bulging scales, inability to swim rightside up or
maintain balance) the fish has either healed under treatment within a week
or died. This fish just won't do either though...

I've also fed him a thawed out pea just in case as well.

I feel that his options are pretty much gone and I'm not really interested
in seeing how long he can prolong his suffering, so my main question is the
best way to go about "ending" it for him. I realize how stupid this might
sound, but I rather liked this fish and have had him in my pond for three
years so I want to do this as quickly as I can. Any opinions? Or have
there been personally experienced cases where your own fish survived over a
week in this conditition to make a recovery?

I'll cross-post since this is a pond fish too, thanks in advance!

--Ryan


This may sound insensitive to some, but he will die within a few minutes if you
just pull him out of the water, and place him in a proper recepticle. If you
believe in "waste not, want not, you can always lay him on the ground until he
dies, and then add him to your compost pile.