Euthanizing a goldfish
<Hi -- Ananda here tonight...>
Hi, I have a 2 year old bug eyed goldfish (Mr. Wiggles) that has had some sort of swim bladder problem for about 4 months now. He is always upside down and now rarely moves. Also somehow he has gotten some sort of parasite and has very red streaks on his tail and large white bumps on his fins and he looks like he's constantly gasping to breath.
Could you please recommend a painless way I could put him out of his misery? It doesn't look like he'll pull through even with the medication I'm giving him and I just want to put him out of his misery.  Thanks in advance.
-Richard
<Sorry to hear your goldfish is doing poorly, but I commend you for writing in about a painless authorization method. I had to euthanize a pet molly recently, and I found a very, very fast way to do it. Get a bowl or container big enough to hold the fish. Fill it with enough tank water to cover the fish completely. Then add some clove essential oil. It's a natural anesthetic. I'm not sure how much you will need to add, as it will depend partly on the size of your fish. Once you add the essential oil to the water, mix it well to disperse the oil. Then put your fish into the container. He should stop moving fairly quickly. If he doesn't, add more clove oil and swish the container again. When I did this with a full-grown molly, he was gone in less than 30 seconds after I put him into the container with the clove oil. Do be careful to avoid getting the clove oil on your skin, as it can numb an area it comes into contact with.  A few more details here: http://wetwebfotos.com/talk/thread.jsp?forum=24&thread=10498 --Ananda>

Painless euthanasia
I had to euthanize one of my favorite mollies yesterday. I had recently read about a fish-tagging operation where they used clove oil to anesthetize the fish before they inserted a data recorder into the fish. (My apologies for not being able to find the link right now.) Clove oil has a long history as an anesthetic. It's an old folk remedy for toothache. I found out that works very well as a method for fish euthanasia. I used about a half-teaspoon, perhaps more, perhaps less, in about a cup or two of tank water. (Sorry I don't have more specific information, but I was a bit stressed.) When I put the molly in and swished the stuff around, he was anesthetized and paralyzed almost instantly, and gone within seconds -- literally. And painlessly. The whole thing took less than a minute. <not the case with many techniques! Good to know> The clove oil I used is clove essential oil. It's inexpensive as far as essential oils go; I bought an ounce several years ago for under $3. I would seriously recommend this method to anyone who needs to euthanize a fish.
--Ananda
<Thank you for sharing with us! Many ways to do this sad act, but none are easy. -Ryan>

Euthanasia
Hi Crew- I'm beginning to think fishkeeping is not for me. Righting my wrongs, learning about something AFTER I've lost a fish is pretty painful. I've been reading about the freezing method of euthanasia which WWM seems to support. I read elsewhere that ice crystals forming in the body are painful to the fish and Alka-seltzer was suggested to remove the oxygen in the water. I had a stressed zebra Danio last night, darting, crashing, one fin out one in, laying sideways on bottom. I couldn't watch it anymore and decided to try the Alka-seltzer method. By the time I netted the poor guy he was really in bad shape. (because of stress avoiding the net). Would I have been better to leave him alone? It took 8 minutes in the Alka-seltzer for him to die. I just wonder if I'm doing the right thing by these guys. Please help so I can at least know I'm giving them the best I can. Marty
<I am still a much bigger "fan" of freezing... way before the sensation of pain from ice crystal formation, the cold removes sensation of any pain. Bob Fenner>

Re: Euthanasia
Thank you Bob,  I read so many different things, but I'm just a short time
into fishkeeping and I respect you guys and your site so much I will follow
your advice. Many many thanks, Marty
<You are welcome my friend. Bob Fenner>

Euthanasia
Hello again.  
<Hi!>
Well, I killed the loach.  
<Egads!>
He was just hanging at the surface, only to move with my attempts to net him.  He is at the bottom of an ice water bath right now.  I have killed fish with this method before, though smaller ones, and it had worked quickly. But this 8" loach took probably 7-8 minutes to succumb to the freezing temp.
<For this size fish, that's not really surprising. I'm sorry to hear of your loss...>
I know these are durable fish - but it got me to wondering; What is the Best Way to Euthanize a Big Fish?  
<Many authors suggest putting the fish in the freezer and that's practically what you have done. IMO there is no easy way. Under the circumstances, I think you did the best thing available>
Their larger body mass makes for a longer "resistance period" or whatever.  I have heard of sailors killing Dorados with booze dumped into the gills, though I have never caught a dorado.  
<No!! There's no way damaging their gills would be faster than ice cold water>
Maybe I should have beheaded him instead.  
<You would do that to an "old friend?" Yikes!!>
Thanks, one sad Erik
<You're welcome...David Dowless>

Re: seeking advice on sick Betta
Thanks for the response, Anthony. You have a way of
making me feel a lot better about the situation. At
any rate, I observed O'toole last night. He still
wasn't eating and I noticed his belly is bloated. The
scales on his gills were sticking out. 
<Not good signs... dropsical condition>
This morning,
it seemed the scales on his sides were starting to
stick out, too. I'm thinking he may have developed
dropsy or something. If (when) the time comes that I
need to euthanize, what is a good method? 
<I still favor the freezing method for fishes like Bettas>
I have
heard so many conflicting reports of what causes pain
and what's good to use including vodka/water,
freezing, clove oil (I'm not sure where I'd buy
this...one site said drug store or health food store).
What do you recommend? As always, I thank you dearly
for your help.
Meg
<Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/euthanasiafaqs.htm
Bob Fenner>

Euthanasia
What is the best way to euthanize a freshwater fish?
<If it is small, slow-moving, to place it in a small volume of water and freeze it>
Someone suggested the following and I wanted to know
what you guys would recommend so I know what I need to
do when the tumor on Morgana gets too big and she is
in distress.
"the clove oil & vodka method: mix 2 ml clove oil with
8 ml.s vodka to make a 10 ml stock solution. Place the
fish in a container with one gallon of water and add
the 10 ml.s of clove oil and vodka to the one gallon of
water, and the fish will just go to sleep quietly with
no struggle. Clove oil (eugenol) is used as an
anesthetic in fish for surgery, and the vodka is
necessary so that the clove oil will dissolve in the
water."
Also, would I need to euthanize Morgana when the
tumor interferes with her being able to open her
operculum or?
<For me, when the animal is apparently in distress, and hope is lost for its improvement. Bob Fenner>
Many thanks for all the help.
Anthea
PS My friend's Betta did not make it. He died while
she was at work this morning.
<Sorry to read of this loss>

Re: euthanasia for fish
Bob,
Thank you for your kind words, it sure made me feel better. It is never easy to say good bye to an animal friend. It is amazing how attached you can get to an animal, even a fish. I especially like Bettas as they seem to interact with you. Jupiter our red Betta who just died used to swim back and forth eagerly when you approached his tank. We sure will miss him.
<Yes, and enjoy reminiscing about your experiences>
Still have Bozo my clown, my starfish who is getting pretty big, the horseshoe crab, and my cleaner shrimp in my salt water tank. Will have to get a bigger one soon this little ten gallon tank is getting a bit crowded for my gang! I am thinking about getting another Percula clown fish and maybe a few other interesting fish that will get along with my current gang. 
<Wait till you have the new, larger quarters up and going>
Any recommendations on filters and protein skimmers etc? I am looking to get a tank that is about 50 gallons or so. Not any bigger anyway.
<All sorts... these are posted "in spades", along with some very qualified friends' input on http://www.wetwebmedia.com/>
Hope all is well with you. Thank you again for your help!
Kathy
<We'll be chatting, Bob Fenner>

Euthanasia for Fish
Hi Robert,
<Steven Pro in this evening.>
This is Kathy again. It has been a while since I wrote you. I have a question that I need to ask you. I have a Betta (Siamese Fighting fish) I have had him for about a year now. Unfortunately, he came
down with Dropsy, swollen belly with protruding scales. I have treated him with antibiotics two courses now. I have tried everything that I could think of to help this poor little guy. Nothing helped
and his belly is getting so big. He barely moves in the tank now, except when I come home from work and he wiggles a bit to say 'hello'. He is barely eating. I can't believe how long this little fish has been fighting to live, he is a tough little guy!
I have heard from a few people on the reef central site that putting your fish in the freezer is an effective and not too traumatic way to euthanize your fish. I sure hope so because my husband could not bear to see this little guy suffer any more and has put the fish in our freezer in his little tank and all. We felt that he should at least have his familiar little home to be in during his last hours.
I guess what I am asking you is that I hope he would not have suffered much dying this way. Is there another way to euthanize your fish that is relatively painless for the fish and a way that I don't have to do something gruesome like decapitation.
<The freezer method is my preference. If you have done all you can do, many times it is the kindest ending.>
Thank you again, Kathy
<You are welcome. -Steven Pro>

euthanasia for fish
Hi Robert,
<Hello Kathy>
This is Kathy again. It has been a while since I wrote you. I have a question that I need to ask you. I have a Betta (Siamese Fighting fish) I have had him for about a year now. Unfortunately, he came down with Dropsy, swollen belly with protruding scales. I have treated him with antibiotics two courses now. I have tried everything that I could think of to help this poor little guy. Nothing helped and his belly is getting so big. He barely moves in the tank now, except when I come home from work and he wiggles a bit to say 'hello'. He is barely eating. I can't believe how long this little fish has been fighting to live, he is a tough little guy!
<Yes>
I have heard from a few people on the reef central site that putting your fish in the freezer is an effective and not too traumatic way to euthanize your fish. I sure hope so because my husband could not bear to see this little guy suffer any more and has put the fish in our freezer in his little tank and all. We felt that he should at least have his familiar little home to be in during his last hours.
<This is the best method>
I guess what I am asking you is that I hope he would not have suffered much dying this way. Is there another way to euthanize your fish that is relatively painless for the fish and a way that I don't have to do something gruesome like decapitation.
<A small amount of water, the fish will feel nothing. Bob Fenner>
Thank you again,
Kathy
<You are welcome my friend.>

Re: euthanasia for fish
Thank you for you quick reply. We put the fish in the freezer about an hour and a half ago and he just died. It seemed a pretty peaceful way to go.
<Yes>
Thank you again for your help.
<Life to you my friend. Bob Fenner>
Kathy

Euthanasia
Well this is the first time I am perusing your website trying to get knowledgeable on treatments for the *new* Velvet problem in my tank (which I caused due to what you would describe on your site as my own "lunacy!").
Your Website is great. Something compelled me to write to you after reading the FAQs in your Euthanasia section.
Just have to tell you my fish youth-in-Asia technique; hope you will add it to the FAQs in that lightly populated area (only one FAQ entry I think).
It takes less than a minute to execute (pardon the pun) if you have everything already setup for it, which takes no more than a few minuses.
The fish is caught in a net - usually the most horrific and time consuming part of it all (for the fish).
I bring the net to the surface of the water with the fish still submerged, and joined by whoever is around, thank it for the pleasure it has given us, and tell it that its suffering will soon be over. (If the fish struggles and appears to come to life again - I give it another day to try and recover), but if, as usually happens, they are so sick that they no longer care, I then lift the net and shake as much water as possible from it, and then lie the fish on about four sheets thick of paper towels. These I then fold over and over the fish, making a nice warm little rectangle, which I then place on the cement in the back yard. Wearing my large hard molded rubber soled hiking boots, I aim my heal for the fishes head, and stomp, stomp, stomp their brains flat. This has to be much faster than either the vodka, the toilet, or the freezer techniques presently spoken about in your FAQ site on this topic. The stomping area is cleaned up, and the bloodied paper towels are now either thrown into the trash, or buried under a cross in our backyard fish cemetery (the later only when the children are home).
<Pretty brutal my friend.>
I've been keeping saltwater fish for 30 years (recently started a reef tank - which is by the way 100 times more resistant to disease than a fish only tank - IMHO) and I always "knew" quarantining new fish was the way to go. But I was just too lazy (and looking back - just too lucky). However, the expense of buying new land for the fish cemetery here in California has now convinced me. As has the first real "communicable?" outbreak of any disease in my fish-only tank in over 3 years. (Due to my own lunacy in just dumping a new fish into the tank - water and all - last week!) Sure I had singular fish die before, but never a whole tank of fish all showing the same symptoms of death.
Thanks for all the information on your site. I am going to treat my tank now with elevated temp and hyposalinity to try to get rid of the Velvet so I won't have to stomp stomp stomp any more. I am also going to invest in a new quarantine tank and procedure. And I just may flame-throw my old tank clean (or just use sodium hypochlorite if the family is around). -Steve
<Yes, do get the quarantine/hospital tank so that we can keep the stomping to a minimum. -Steven Pro>

Disturbed by posting (Livestock euthanasia)
Mr. Fenner,
I used your book and the advice of as many experienced aquarists as I could get to talk to me to start and support my in my marine hobby. I have had some bad luck and some good luck too, thankfully. Anyway, the reason I am writing is because I just stumbled upon your website with postings about puffers, and read something disturbing. Someone euthanized a sick puffer by freezing. 
<Yes... not an uncommon practice>
I was waiting to reading some outcry from you about this form of "euthanasia." Wouldn't a last dip in a mix of vodka and water be a little more humane than freezing ?
<Mmm, think they'd be about the same in terms of pain, duration... freezing apparently greatly reduces fishes capacity to sense.>
I can imagine that even among aquarists there more sensitive individuals, but I almost punched out one of my friends for suggesting I flush an obviously doomed Naso Tang.
<Agreed there. No flushing... the toilet assumption, "out of sight/mind"... Inaccurate>
Love your site.
<Be chatting, Bob Fenner>