Euthanizing a fish

Jwils27 · Jun 25, 2018

Please read before jumping to any conclusions.

I have a clown pair that I have had for 6 years and the female started laying on the bottom of the tank about three months ago. I let her be for a couple weeks just thinking that maybe she was spawning or being a weird clown. But after a couple weeks I started to suspected an internal parasite(white stringy poop) I treated her twice for parasites by setting up a QT tank and treating with metro. Both times she seemed to get better and I would reintroduce her to the display (that was also treated with metro/focus). All was good for a day or two but then she would start to rapidly decline with times.

I don't know what to do with this girl. I hate to watch her suffer but she just won't let go. Usually when fish die its quick and over. This girl has been struggling for three months and now she is not eating and looks worse than ever. My options see to be to 1) Let nature take its course but I don't know how long that will be and it sucks to watch her struggle. 2) Humanly euthanize her 3) Run her through another QT and see if she gets better. I am leaning toward #3 it seems futile at this point.

So my question is if I have to euthanize this fish that I am emotionally attached to what is the most humane way possible? Thanks in advance for any advice and please no one be a butt head that will not help the situation.

joec · Jun 25, 2018

I don't know, but I think it's an important question and the proper answer should be posted as a sticky on this site

Brew12 · Jun 25, 2018

Jwils27 said:
Please read before jumping to any conclusions.

I have a clown pair that I have had for 6 years and the female started laying on the bottom of the tank about three months ago. I let her be for a couple weeks just thinking that maybe she was spawning or being a weird clown. But after a couple weeks I started to suspected an internal parasite(white stringy poop) I treated her twice for parasites by setting up a QT tank and treating with metro. Both times she seemed to get better and I would reintroduce her to the display (that was also treated with metro/focus). All was good for a day or two but then she would start to rapidly decline with times.

I don't know what to do with this girl. I hate to watch her suffer but she just won't let go. Usually when fish die its quick and over. This girl has been struggling for three months and now she is not eating and looks worse than ever. My options see to be to 1) Let nature take its course but I don't know how long that will be and it sucks to watch her struggle. 2) Humanly euthanize her 3) Run her through another QT and see if she gets better. I am leaning toward #3 it seems futile at this point.

So my question is if I have to euthanize this fish that I am emotionally attached to what is the most humane way possible? Thanks in advance for any advice and please no one be a butt head that will not help the situation.

I'm not going to advocate that this fish needs to be euthanized but I would recommend reading this. I would likely do number 3, but I don't know all of the details.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-to-euthanize-a-fish.266222/

JBKReef · Jun 25, 2018

The above information is a great resource...

I would follow up and say that my fiance who is a veterinarian, with an additional degree in Marine Biology, recommended to follow the AVMA guidelines of using MS-222 to anestitise (euthanize) the fish. The proper dosage I believe is 300-400 PPM.

For our own purposes, and the one euthanasia we had to perform, we used the MS-222 followed by decapitation.

lion king · Jun 25, 2018

I've had to do it, and 2 days ago I thought I was going to do it again, but yesterday I have hope he was starting to recover, so I'm going to give him a chance a little longer.

It's a negative emotional experience and this is how I do it. I use clove oil, do a search "using clove oil to euthanize fish". You can get it from Whole Foods or Sprouts, or a natural market with essential oils. It's easy and humane to use. Clove oil is also used for anesthesia, so they slowly go to sleep, then with the final dosing amount it ends. I then freeze them in a bag of clove water to make sure.

HouseofstoriedTails · Jun 25, 2018

I use clove oil to euthanize my fish. I net them and put them in a cup of saltwater, then dump a pretty hefty amount of clove oil into the water (I put a lot in the water because I don't want them to suffer for long). I think it works well, but the only bad part is that if you don't wear gloves the smell -of the clove oil- will stick around.