Fish euthanasia decision?

[joec]

I have a tail spot blenny in a QT. I've had him for 9 months and he went through full prophylactic treatment before DT

He had Prazi resistant flukes. I gave him a freshwater bath on March 14 and then a fenbendazole bath and then into sterile QT. I have not seen him eat since prior to the freshwater bath despite every effort. I think the 5 minute freshwater bath did't go well for him, I regret doing that now.

Its now almost 3o days later, and he's still alive. He's pretty much stays hunkered down in one spot and is not looking very good. I've wondered if he has been picking at food at night and that's why he hasn't succumbed, but I have no idea.

I also added some epson salt twice at the suggestion of one of members here.

Is it plausible he could go this long without eating?

I'm wondering if it might be time to euthanize him, or should I just wait more?. He appears to to be pretty clearly degrading rather than showing any signs of improvement

Any advice?

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

That’s tough, I have only euthanized one fish and I waited until I knew there was no hope for recovery. Sorry.

 

[Mariette]

When in doubt, I do not euthanize. Best of luck

 

[joec]

When in doubt, I do not euthanize. Best of luck

I think this will be the plan

 

[Hermie]

I have mollies that reproduce far faster than even fish stores will accept them, and since I am not willing to indefintely increase my tanks, I've euthanized whole batches probably 8 times or more.
To be frank, it's never easy for me personally.

But I have also seen an entire tank get wiped out in slow progression by gill-eating flukes and the slow waste-away of my prized betta fish, my prized pleco and other fish that I now realize a peaceful death is a gift for many pets in this world. It's far better than starving to death or slowly asphyxiating, even though it is painful for me to do.

It sounds like you've given this fish as much help as humanly possible for it to recover, and if you can come to to terms with that, knowing you did what you could, it's slightly less painful for you pesonally to euthanize the fish, and it's magnitudes less painful for the fish in the long run.

 

[ngoodermuth]

Was he ever de-wormed with medicated food? Have you seen white-stringy poop? Are you positive there is no ammonia in the QT tank? Adequate aeration? Any unusual marks or behaviors besides the lethargy and loss of appetite?

Just trying to make sure we’ve ruled out any other disease-related or environmental stressors before giving up on the poor little guy...

Maybe trying some of the “good stuff” live worms, baby brine, etc to try to elicit a feeding response?

I’m terrible about this, I usually end up letting nature take its course or trying some kind of hail-mary... I’m sorry you are dealing with this

 

[Big G]

This may help you. It's a list of suggestions from Humblefish for final steps to help save a fish. Some may help the fish:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/alprazos-salvage-protocol.213599/#post-2445885

 

[Mastiffsrule]

I was in the same spot like 6 years ago with my Vlamingi, he made it and so can yours.

Don’t give up on him. He’s not giving up on you. Like @ngoodermuth said, get him some good food. Black worms are great, freeze a clam and slice it up and throw it in, LRS. Get him eating. He eats good maybe it will give him some energy to start fighting . I’m pulling for him.

 

[tnc112105]

I had a swissguard basslet who went on a hunger strike in QT for three weeks. The thing that finally got him eating was LRS fish eggs. They freeze the eggs in the egg sac and you cut chunks from it.

Expensive as hell (~$35) but it worked. See if any of your LFS carry it.

 

[joec]

Thanks all. He was dewormed. No white stingy poop. I don’t think he’ pooping at all. I made him move a little today. He seems hunched over a bit and moves slowly. I’ll get some black worms tomorrow but tried to feed him those when he was healthy at one point and he was not overly excited about them

No issues with ammonia etc

I think the freshwater bath messed him up

 

[ngoodermuth]

I had a swissguard basslet who went on a hunger strike in QT for three weeks. The thing that finally got him eating was LRS fish eggs. They freeze the eggs in the egg sac and you cut chunks from it.

Expensive as hell (~$35) but it worked. See if any of your LFS carry it.

If you call your local seafood market, they might sell ROE. The season is probably coming close to an end by now, but you might be lucky and find some. The one near me sells a “jumbo” sac of shad roe for $12.

 

[ngoodermuth]

Freshwater dips are not overly stressful, especially days after the fact. I think there is more going on here unfortunately

I agree though, first concern is going to be getting him eating.

Do you have any acriflavine (like ruby reef rally) on hand? He might have something bacterial going on following the fluke infestation, you could try an acriflavine bath and see if that gets him to perk up at all? I’ve seen some pretty significant turn-arounds doing this.... it’s one of my best hail-Mary’s lol

 

[Haroldeez]

Most fish do go nuts over fish eggs. Good luck man If LFS doesn’t have any or the super market, a sushi shop definitely will if there’s one in your area.

 

[jrill]

People seem content with letting a pet suffer so we don't go through the discomfort of euthanizeing. While we have an obligation to provide the best care possible we also have the obligation to end the suffering when the quality of life is lousy.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

People seem content with letting a pet suffer so we don't go through the discomfort of euthanizeing. While we have an obligation to provide the best care possible we also have the obligation to end the suffering when the quality of life is lousy.

Personally I disagree.

Then we would have newer people tossing fish out at the first sign of disease. Fish can, and have been saved close to the end with care.

My tank had a velvet outbreak long time ago. Took out most of my fish quickly as velvet does. I had a Vlamingi and yellow tang that were struggling. Got them into qts. 2 days in i was about to put them in the freezer they looked so bad. another reefer told me hang on. I Kept feeding and medication

Today at least 6 years later my Vlamingi is huge and yellow happy as can be. If I didn’t talk to my freind 10 minutes later they would be gone.

 

[Shufflepig]

People seem content with letting a pet suffer so we don't go through the discomfort of euthanizeing. While we have an obligation to provide the best care possible we also have the obligation to end the suffering when the quality of life is lousy.

I’m not sure “content” is accurate. People agonize over their own feelings and what is best for the animal. If the pet has to suffer for a short period of time but the outcome is recovery and a normal life then their suffering was worthwhile. Certainly if a pet’s quality of life is poor and they are suffering with no hope of recovery it is our responsibility to no longer allow that animal to suffer. If there is reasonable hope that the animal can recover, then there is nothing wrong with exhausting our attempts to make it better.

 

[jrill]

I’m not sure “content” is accurate. People agonize over their own feelings and what is best for the animal. If the pet has to suffer for a short period of time but the outcome is recovery and a normal life then their suffering was worthwhile. Certainly if a pet’s quality of life is poor and they are suffering with no hope of recovery it is our responsibility to no longer allow that animal to suffer. If there is reasonable hope that the animal can recover, then there is nothing wrong with exhausting our attempts to make it better.

Making a pet suffer so we don't have to feel bad is wrong. We need to stop Anthropomorphiseing our pets. And like I said provide the best care possible.

 

[BadFish619]

I know I'll catch some grief on this but garlic is an appetite enhancer. Whatever you feed try soaking in garlic. I don't think it has any medical benefit but may make him want to eat, which in turn would help strengthen immune system

 

[Shufflepig]

Making a pet suffer so we don't have to feel bad is wrong. We need to stop Anthropomorphiseing our pets. And like I said provide the best care possible.

Personally, a pet suffering makes me feel terrible. But if an animal suffers for 10 days then recovers from its ailment I would sure be happy I didn’t euthanize the animal. Now if the animal is suffering with no hope of recovery, I would not hesitate to end that suffering as difficult as that decision would be. Not sure many people would feel better allowing an animal to suffer rather than euthanizing as you opine.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Making a pet suffer so we don't have to feel bad is wrong. We need to stop Anthropomorphiseing our pets. And like I said provide the best care possible.

I totally agree but how do you determine when it is time. Day 1 when he is sick . Day 3 cause he isn’t cured yet? What if day 5 or day 7 he shows signs of recovery

I do agree with not letting them suffer, but there needs to be a point that needs to be reached. The op has not seen any identifiable issues other than not eating. Would you recommend he do that.

I would say he may be fine. Get some black worms if available or buy a clam freeze it and the slice it. Almost guaranteed he will eat,

Let’s hope for the best and see what happens