Putting fish out of misery

[Halfbeaks1]

Here is a problem I am having with my Ann. Killies. Annual Killies do not just die, they linger on for weeks. They lay on the bottom of the tank blind and starving. Does anyone know of a quick way to put them down painlessly and fast. I have been told to put them in the freezer:(. I have also heard about clove oil. Has anyone used this, how do you use it and get it? :crayfish:

[xoomer]

I think putting them in the freezer in a jar of water is the most humane. As the water gets colder, their breathing rate will drop kind of putting them to sleep.

[Occidentalis]

Freezing isn't the most humane method but certainly the easiest. If you have access to a -80 freezer or anything like that, use it. There are a couple of other options though. Clove oil works well. I think I've seen it at Walgreen's or larger chain grocery stores.

Ideally you'll want to find some MS-222; unfortunately it's tough to find. If you know anyone in an ich lab, they can probably hook you up. Just be careful with it, use gloves and don't sniff it.

Now that I typed that up I remembered Cornell and the AVMA published guidelines:
http://www.research.cornell.edu/care/documents/SOPs/CARE306.pdf

If I remember correctly, you can get the benzocaine hydrochloride at the drugstore in the form of cold sore lip treatment. If you're only knocking out killies I imagine it wont take much of a tube, depending on concentration. It might look strange anyway if you were buying 10 tubes of cold sore treatment =P

[Halfbeaks1]

Going with the clove oil. I have talked to others who have used it and it worked well. Thanks:crayfish:

[rdebonis]

Here is a problem I am having with my Ann. Killies. Annual Killies do not just die, they linger on for weeks. They lay on the bottom of the tank blind and starving. Does anyone know of a quick way to put them down painlessly and fast. I have been told to put them in the freezer:(. I have also heard about clove oil. Has anyone used this, how do you use it and get it? :crayfish:

The best, most efficient and humane way to euthanize a fish is the way veterinarians euthanize animals; overdose them on an anesthetic. This puts the fish to sleep and induces death within 2 to 4 minutes. Fish anesthetics are used by Salmon and Koi breeders to immobilize the fish temporarily so they can be examined for diseases and injected if necessary.There are 3 anesthetics that can be used for fish, Clove Oil, 2-phenoxyethanol and Finquel ®(MS-222). Clove Oil can be purchased over the counter in higher end Drug Stores or health shops as well as on the Internet. Finquel ®(MS-222) and2-phenoxyethanol are not available in the US without a prescription, but you may be able to get them from a veterinarian. This leaves Clove Oil or Oil of Clove as the only anesthetic readily available.
The method for euthanizing a fish with Clove Oil is as follows:
Use 25 drops of Clove Oil per liter for Euthanasia (10 drops to anesthetize). Add the appropriate amount of water from the tank that the fish is in to the container it will be euthanized in.

Carefully measure the Clove Oil dosage and add it to a little warm water, shake or mix it vigorously before adding it to the container of water that you will place the fish in.


(Note: Clove Oil being an oil, does not mix well with water, therefore you must first add it to a little warm water and shake it vigorously to mix it. Do not use alcohol, this will severely irritate the fish and cause more stress)

After you prepare the container of water with Clove Oil, carefully net the fish and place it in the container and cover it. Set it in a low light area for 30 minutes to ensure the fish is dead before disposing of it.
The fish will become unconscious within 1 to 3 minutes and will die within 4 to 5 minutes hopefully rather peacefully.
I have used this method successfully for most fish that I had to euthanize, but occasionally you will find a fish that for one reason or another doesn’t succumb. In this case I recommend wrapping the fish in 3 layers of paper towels and quickly rapping it very hard and sharply against a hard surface. This will kill the fish very quickly, but is more stressful and traumatic for both the fish and the person.