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Is there a perfect way to euthanise

The most humane method to euthanize is rapid destruction of the brain. This doesn't have to be gruesome. A toothpick can be used with a small fish, for large fish a paring knife will do. Because of the rapid death, very little blood is released. There is a slight spasm, but that is to be expected with any euthanasia that doesn't cause paralysis.

I do understand the child angle, but compassion toward another's pain, suffering, and fear will sometimes require a person to step out of their comfort zone. The right decision is not always the easiest to do.

The otherside of it, rapid destruction of the brain is likely the only legal method a hobbyist will have availble. Often the only other legal methods are with highly controlled and restricted drugs, such as MS-222. Your local laws may vary.

Interesting. I did not know about this. Thanks.
 
I think it has already been shown in animal slaughter that co2 poisoning is a horrible way to die! And while I'm sure clove oil can be used by an experienced hand to gently sedate a fish I have heard plenty of reports of fish seemingly becoming distressed before succumbing to it. If fish are intelligent enough to contemplate an afterlife then wow.
Would you let a fish starve to death rather than give it a quick death?

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Unfortunately I did lost some difficult species, which is chaca chaca catfish, true jaguar catfish and frog fish, which refused to eat at start, bought freshly from fish stores, not all species will do well, there no right or wrong way, do what you guys deem best to euthanized.
 
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As long as it's quick.= O.K. IMHO
Off with the head is quickest, but in my younger year's I placed the fish in bag 1/2 full of water and froze them.
Didn't have to see any struggling that way.
 
Please don't use a blunt object such as a "toothpick" to pith a fish (destruction of brain stem - btw placement is important) - this is NOT humane death "euthanasia"

I was resolutely not replying to this topic but the toothpick notion is too awful to ignore

CO2 "euthanasia " of animals such as dogs, cats, livestock is not comparable to the process in fish - which has been studied as a method of euthanasia with published reports in veterinary & "fish" journals
 
I found an interesting article in practical fish keeping on this very subject. I'd encourage anyone to read to full article but I screen shot a couple of clips.
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The article covers several other methods and is worth a read.

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Not a nice subject. There is no perfect way to euthanise IMO, it should always be an unpleasant thing for us to do and only used as a last resort to end incurable suffering.

Blunt trauma (or the brick method) is the fastest and most acceptable in my opinion. It should be done as fast as possible with no deliberating and will not be a nice experience for yourself. It should never be easy to do IMO...

All other methods have too much margin for error or just make it easy for us without considering all the possibilities of what the fish could be perceiving.

Luckily it is very rare I have to euthanise anything nowadays...different story when I worked at an LFS :(.
 
Small fish (Tetra size) simply quick squeeze to the head between thumb and finger, instant and you can even do it in the tank if the fish is that far gone. Bigger fish sharp blow again to the head. Not a pleasant task but a kindness if the fish is suffering and I feel is part of the responsibility of anyone keeping a creature in captivity to avoid suffering.

Pity we can't apply it to ourselves if requested but that's just my personal opinion.
 
it doesnt show any signs of laboured breathing. not eating at all.
this is how it looks..
how to catch it is another challenge as its a densly planted tank

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I started feeding fine powder tetra food, this little fella managing to scoop through the falling bits and swallowing I believe. Still surviving and everything is nornal except its suspected broken jaw. It doesnt show any signs of stress.

I know how stressful it is for the fish, now the question is shall I or shall I not?

My decision is to wait until it shows some stress before I take my big net and knife.

Any thoughts?

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I started feeding fine powder tetra food, this little fella managing to scoop through the falling bits and swallowing I believe. Still surviving and everything is nornal except its suspected broken jaw. It doesnt show any signs of stress.

I know how stressful it is for the fish, now the question is shall I or shall I not?

My decision is to wait until it shows some stress before I take my big net and knife.

Any thoughts?

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I would agree. My betta couldn't open her mouth so couldn't even get food by scoop. She was extremely thin and week.

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Please don't use a blunt object such as a "toothpick" to pith a fish (destruction of brain stem - btw placement is important) - this is NOT humane death "euthanasia"

I was resolutely not replying to this topic but the toothpick notion is too awful to ignore

CO2 "euthanasia " of animals such as dogs, cats, livestock is not comparable to the process in fish - which has been studied as a method of euthanasia with published reports in veterinary & "fish" journals
I'm not sure why you think it is awful. A toothpick is plenty large to cause total brain destruction in a small fish like a neon. Their brains are not that big.

CO2 is definitely considered cruel in many countries, and as I and others have stated, is illegal in many cases. CO2 dissolved in water creates carbonic acid. Until the fish suffocates, it will be stressed and suffering from the drastic pH shift. Remember, it take 3 minutes for the brain to die without O2. That's along time to suffer.
 
Seems simple enough to use a sharp object rather than a blunt one :rolleyes:

I guess no knives or needles/pins available :confused:

Topic title is "euthanasia" not "how to kill a fish" ... though a significant proportion of contributors seem to consider these equal statements :wideyed:


Curious if you've read the veterinary studies on fish euthanasia?
 
Most of the fish I keep are less than 8cm long, the majority around 4-5 cm. The length of time and extra handling needed to immobilise a fish while I locate the right place to cut or poke would cause unnecessary stress. I haven't read veterinary papers on fish euthanasia but trust that using co2 was banned in the EU for good reasons ie causing pain.

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I started feeding fine powder tetra food, this little fella managing to scoop through the falling bits and swallowing I believe. Still surviving and everything is nornal except its suspected broken jaw. It doesnt show any signs of stress.

I know how stressful it is for the fish, now the question is shall I or shall I not?

My decision is to wait until it shows some stress before I take my big net and knife.

Any thoughts?

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If it's eating and seems to be enjoying life, let it live. If there comes a point it can't sustain itself and/or stops "normal", healthy rasbora behavior, then I'd think about euthanasia.

If that time comes, I highly recommend fast and complete destruction of the brain. Many people have given great suggestions. I'll give them my personal 'gore' rating for those who are squeamish or have young children. This can be done with your fingers in the net(minimal to moderate gore), a large heavy object(moderate to high gore level), an object can be inserted into the brain cavity large enough to cause COMPLETE destruction (minimal to slightly moderate gore), or a pharmaceutical, likely in the Caine drug family(no gore). The pharmaceuticals may be hard to obtain, best luck through an understanding veterinarian.

CO2 should not be used on fish. There are many legitimate reasons it is illegal in many modern countries. Using an overly small object to insert into the brain should also not be used either. If the fish is larger then say 7 cm, I wouldn't use a toothpick, a knife is better. Most aquarium fish will not require anything larger than a standard table knife. Please refrain from using a needle or pin. When I was going to school for veterinary medicine I was a TA for my biology profressor, and my job, once every semester, was to pith 1500 leopard frogs for dissection. This involves inserting a needle and scrambling the brain. I can tell you from experience, using a needle is a fine line between dead and paralyzed, expecially in a novices hands.

In your case, I'd wait a bit longer. You might be surprised with his resilience.
 
Hi all, That is one of the advantages of clove oil, it is widely obtainable as a treatment for tooth-ache etc.

cheers Darrel
As long as it is 85+% eugenol for proper dosage, according to the AVMA, clove oil is an acceptable method of euthanasia(dosed to 400 mg/L) for at least 10 minutes. The University of Texas recommends pithing afterwards to be sure the fish is not just anesthetized. So either way, you should be destroying the brain with an object.
 
Madhav I had the exact same issue with 1 of my harelquins years ago! Just 1 out of 15 of them ended up with this and sadly it started wasting away so I put it out its misery with blunt force trauma.
I have never used clove oil before though.. What exactly do you do with it?
 
Madhav I had the exact same issue with 1 of my harelquins years ago! Just 1 out of 15 of them ended up with this and sadly it started wasting away so I put it out its misery with blunt force trauma.
I have never used clove oil before though.. What exactly do you do with it?
What a coincidence!! It passed away lastnight, saw its belly up this morning when I opened the lid to feed them.
I didnt do any thing just feed him fine powdered food two three times a day for him to scoop. Very resilient, survived very long in my opinion. RIP

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Aw I'm sorry to hear that. I honestly thought it was a one off as I had never seen or heard about the same thing happening to any fish let alone the same species!
It would be interesting to find out more about it and if it is just a harlequin thing or not.
Hopefully this is the only one like it was in my case. I had those fish for years! And had previously got them shipped from newcastle and they came fully grown so I am not sure what age they actually were.
 
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