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Home      Reply		Viewed: 2779 -- Replies: 42
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Posted	How to despatch a sick fish
25-07-2005 22:09 by fish dude	so what do you think is the most humane and manageable way to despatch a terminally ill or suffering fish
25-07-2005 22:10 by tony	the WORST way is to flush it down the loo whilst still alive - that is so cruel.
25-07-2005 22:12 by debbie	Some say the quickest way is to slip it in polybag and slam it into a hard object. I couldn't do that though, too violent and harsh.
25-07-2005 22:14 by fish dude	yes, same here debbie, i wonder what the least painful way for the fish is best. these are sometimes pets kept for years.
25-07-2005 22:44 by tom	put it in a bag in the fridge [ freezer] this is painless compared 2 the other methods
25-07-2005 22:44 by tom	put it in a bag in the fridge [ freezer] this is painless compared 2 the other methods
26-07-2005 00:13 by rob	the freezer method is not painless it causes the cells to expand upon freezing therore splitting them open and causing death the quickest way it to give it a sharp swift blow to the back of the head as long as the blow is hard enough it causes instant death
26-07-2005 00:38 by Damien	ive found the best way to despacth a sick fish is to cut its spinal cord with a sharp knife just behind the gill cover, death is insantanious
26-07-2005 01:39 by cimiteir	ya, rob is right, i accidently froze my baby guppy by flopping in an ice cube in their little tank, (advice from teacher so water duznt heat up too much) one of my guppies stood next to the ice cube unaware his/her heart wuz dieng out slowly, then he/she peacfully slowly started going down to the bottam up the tank head first
26-07-2005 07:59 by yanton	persoanlly i favour the freezer approach. as fish are cold blooded, their whole awareness quickly slows down to zero as the temp goes down.
26-07-2005 08:06 by Alan	I don't like any of the above approaches there is a method of putting the fish to sleep by giving an overdose of anaesthetic I'm not sure of the exact dose but this initially puts the fish to sleep and causes organ failure after that. I believe asprin can do it but I have no idea of the dosage it would need to be discussed with a vet it can also be found in some of the better fish health books that are about. Decapitation, hitting with a brick, and the bog are not humane by comparison and sticking in a fridge is awful how would you like being frozen to death I know I wouldn't.
26-07-2005 08:24 by FaysieUK	considering the alternative is most likely having it pecked to death by its tank mates, I favour getting my husband to give it a quick bash on the head with a brick. What is that, half a second or less of impact? Very quick can hardly be bad. There is no good way to kill something, but fast as possible is best imo....
26-07-2005 08:48 by kevin	i chuck em in with a big nasty predator fish and watch the buggers get eaten.....not really....i find that a sharp flich at the back of the head does it
26-07-2005 09:25 by Alan	One thing to bare in mind with the sharp flick to the back of the head it normally only stuns the fish it is likely to come around after a while possibly once it has been flushed down the loo I have experienced this first hand with fishing in particular with a congor eel that I caught it came round after a couple of hours in the back of the car whilst driving down the motorway not a nice experience fortunately I managed to pull over before it moved to the front and I dispatched it a bit more brutally. Equally I had an Oscar that regularly stunned himself on the condensation cover of my tank on one occasion smashing it I very much doubt people hit fish over the head as hard as this but after a few minutes enough time to flush a fish down the loo he would come round after appearing to be dead no breathing etc. Decapitation is probably the only gauranteed method although it doesn't guarantee instant brain death. My cat bought the remains of a koi he had eaten from my neighbours pond the head was the only part left and it was still moving. The above points have led me to believe the only humane method of euthanasing fish is to o.d. them on anaesthetics such as aspirin although I have never needed to euthanase any of my fish thankfully.
26-07-2005 10:24 by ian	the best way is to put 10 drops of clove oil the stuff you use for you teeth.. you can buy it anywhere, in a small container of water and the fish will just go to sleep after 2 mins and never wake up. i wont give to right amount because too many people will miss use it.
26-07-2005 11:50 by sss	Just leave it die of its own accord - thats what happens in the wild.
26-07-2005 13:14 by tony	sss, why would you want to see a fish suffering over many days? another issue with your suggestion is that as it finally dies, it may locate a quite place in the tank, often behind a rock, then before you know it you have a polluted tank because of a rotting fish.
26-07-2005 14:09 by Rachael	I agree with ian, clove oil works well and is painless. Works like an overdose of anaesthetic.
26-07-2005 18:15 by tony	wonder who will be the first retailer to start selling clove oil especially for this purpose? probably with aloe juice in it to make the fish feel serene
27-07-2005 10:08 by rob	yes using clove oil works but how many people actually have clove oil in the house and fish will still move after brain death its just the nerves causing the boby to jump allan the only sure way to kill a conger is to cut its head off as they have a very thick skull the main reason people suggest giving fish a blow to the head including me is its quick and if done correctly never fails ok sometimes with large fish it may be easier to use a knife and cut the head off after a blow to stun it the freezer method is used to ease peoples minds as they think the fish goes to sleep they dont they freeze to death
27-07-2005 11:33 by Harker	I recently found out about the clove oil treatment and applied it to one of my favourite bettas, it had a bad case of dropsy and did not seem to be reacting to the treatments that i was prescrining. In the end I applied clove oil, It was pretty wuick and the fish didnt show any signs of distress. The cutting off of the head is meant to be the best way to do it, but I cant do that not to something you get atatched to.
27-07-2005 18:38 by ian	trust me clove oil work i use it to work on fish when they need treament out of the water mosty koi.put them back in fresh water and around they come, but dont try this unless you know what you are doing......
27-07-2005 22:52 by jim barry	In the past i have used the tablets that are disolved in water and used to keep false teeth in. It takes all the oxygen out of the water. I was advised this years ago and had to use it. Done it once, it worked but it was not nice and i would not use it again. Brick over the head next time !
12-08-2005 13:52 by sarah	How long do you think they actually live if you flush them?
12-08-2005 19:13 by rob	they can live for quite a while if you flush them and if there coldwater fish they can quite easily survive being flushed you should never flush a fish down the drain alive or dead as this could lead to the spread of disease into the local waterways and therefore wipe out native fish any dead fish should be bagged up and put out to be incinerated also it is illegal to flush fish down the drain
14-08-2005 06:40 by tiger	I favor the freezer method.
14-08-2005 08:00 by tony	tiger, yes, as fish are cold blooded, their metabolism gradually slows down unitl they cease to be alive.
15-08-2005 18:11 by wolfie	The method I have used seems to be instant, and that is the freeze method advocated by Bob Fenner's crew on Wetwebmedia, and that is to freeze the water first, but only enough to just freeze the top level of water. You then break up the top layer of ice, and drop the fish in, and in less than a second the fish has expired. Wolfie
08-09-2005 19:34 by Barry	IMO there's no nice way to do it so, if its small it goes in a bag and hits a wall quite hard if it big it goes in a bag a gets a swift blow to the back of the head (like the salmon people have for dinner).
08-09-2005 20:01 by Whatever	I prefer the freezer method, why do you flush your fish down the toilet?, i bury mine about 1ft deep, wait a year or so, and then dig them up, wash thier bones and have them as a house ornament, it's a nice way to remember them, it's helpful to put some G4 pond sealer on the bones so they dont decapitate
09-09-2005 16:57 by Danny's dad	dont decapitate???
09-09-2005 17:50 by Whatever	Whoops sorry, wrong term. I meant decompose.
09-09-2005 17:57 by Linda	Ah, now it makes sense!
09-09-2005 20:37 by Whatever	Decapitate, Decompose, Same Difference!
09-09-2005 22:28 by rob	im sure i would rather be left to decompose than be decapitated
09-09-2005 22:36 by What........ever	Meh, either choice is good whatever floats your boat really.
09-09-2005 22:53 by rob	saying that if i was already dead i wouldnt care what happened
10-09-2005 07:15 by Whatever	Exactly, either way your gonna be germ food, decaying very slowly, infact, yes, that the word i should of used, decaying! God why did'nt i think of that sooner
10-09-2005 11:12 by Linda	Wouldn't a photo look better!?
10-09-2005 14:59 by Whatever	It would tell 1000 words, the camera issue will be sorted as it's gettin a bit old now, just keep a list of the "I.O.U pictures required".
18-09-2005 00:50 by Archerfish12....um, 12	Infact, i'd freeze it.
18-10-2005 15:10 by Kay	I think the clove oil sounds the best you can get it at most any drug store or health food.
31-12-2005 00:38 by elliot	the best method to dispatch a sick fish is to give it a blow to the head its an instentanious death

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