Euthanizing Tropical Fish
July 24, 2015 1:56 PM Subscribe
What is the easiest, most humane, and least gross way to kill dying fish in our office fish tank?
We just went to do the Friday afternoon fish tank cleaning and found one of our convict cichlids up-side down in a relatively protected spot. It was clearly dying, pecked and hiding in that spot to avoid the other fish pecking at it. We're leaving soon for the weekend, so gauging how near death this fish was, it seemed more humane to dispose of it than let it be slowly pecked to death.
Flushing is considered cruel. So we tried doing what I remember my mom doing with sport fish in my youth: quickly sever the spinal chord with a knife. However, the fish was still actively moving, including gill movement. We tried completely decapitating it and then rapidly flushing it, but the whole process seemed a) cruel, b) kind of gross, and c) kind of traumatizing for us.
Looking around the web, most advice is that we should have stunned it first (these aren't big fish, that might be challenging) and then pithed the fish after we severed its spinal chord, which seems... challenging, too, given we were working with mostly office supplies and a lunch knife.
So, given that we're unlikely to buy a fish macerator or have an ice bath or vodka on hand, what's our best bet in the future? One fish-savvy colleague stunned one once by hitting it against a wall, but really - the clean up was a bit horrifying. If that's our most humane tactic, I guess we could bring ourselves to do something like that. But if someone had a solution that was humane and easier, that would be much appreciated.
We just went to do the Friday afternoon fish tank cleaning and found one of our convict cichlids up-side down in a relatively protected spot. It was clearly dying, pecked and hiding in that spot to avoid the other fish pecking at it. We're leaving soon for the weekend, so gauging how near death this fish was, it seemed more humane to dispose of it than let it be slowly pecked to death.
Flushing is considered cruel. So we tried doing what I remember my mom doing with sport fish in my youth: quickly sever the spinal chord with a knife. However, the fish was still actively moving, including gill movement. We tried completely decapitating it and then rapidly flushing it, but the whole process seemed a) cruel, b) kind of gross, and c) kind of traumatizing for us.
Looking around the web, most advice is that we should have stunned it first (these aren't big fish, that might be challenging) and then pithed the fish after we severed its spinal chord, which seems... challenging, too, given we were working with mostly office supplies and a lunch knife.
So, given that we're unlikely to buy a fish macerator or have an ice bath or vodka on hand, what's our best bet in the future? One fish-savvy colleague stunned one once by hitting it against a wall, but really - the clean up was a bit horrifying. If that's our most humane tactic, I guess we could bring ourselves to do something like that. But if someone had a solution that was humane and easier, that would be much appreciated.
If your goal is to keep the fish from being pecked to death, could you remove it to a separate fish bowl to spend its dying hours in relative peace?
posted by phunniemee at 1:59 PM on July 24, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by phunniemee at 1:59 PM on July 24, 2015 [4 favorites]
From ethidda's link: PLEASE NOTE Freezing fish, or putting them in very cold water is often thought to be a humane way of despatching fish. This is not the case, this is purely done to preserve the quality of the flesh for eating.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 2:08 PM on July 24, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 2:08 PM on July 24, 2015 [4 favorites]
Best answer: I tried to login as fast as I could to say not a freezer not a freezer not a freezer but I see I was too late.
Honestly, stunning small animals for killing is never pleasant. Typically old-school rodent eliminators (for purposes of feeding to reptiles) would place the animal in a sack and whang it hard against a desktop. Not terribly humane.
Clove oil is your best bet. As humane as you will get in an office.
posted by Nyx at 2:08 PM on July 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
Honestly, stunning small animals for killing is never pleasant. Typically old-school rodent eliminators (for purposes of feeding to reptiles) would place the animal in a sack and whang it hard against a desktop. Not terribly humane.
Clove oil is your best bet. As humane as you will get in an office.
posted by Nyx at 2:08 PM on July 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Clove oil. It's what vets use.
(I have to say, I don't even like fish or particularly care about fish, and I found this question really distressing to read. )
posted by taff at 2:22 PM on July 24, 2015 [6 favorites]
(I have to say, I don't even like fish or particularly care about fish, and I found this question really distressing to read. )
posted by taff at 2:22 PM on July 24, 2015 [6 favorites]
Best answer: I'm really sorry I had old information. Here's a specific description of using clove oil, recommended 400mg mixed with a little warm water and added slowly to the (I presume not aquarium but a sufficient container) fish and water over 5 minutes.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:30 PM on July 24, 2015
posted by Lyn Never at 2:30 PM on July 24, 2015
Tip: you can get clove oil/eugenol at most drugstores in the tooth care section.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:31 PM on July 24, 2015
posted by Lyn Never at 2:31 PM on July 24, 2015
Clove oil is what we used on large dying Discus fish. It's one of those things I ended up just keeping around along with other aquarium maintenance supplies back in the day.
posted by erratic meatsack at 3:17 PM on July 24, 2015
posted by erratic meatsack at 3:17 PM on July 24, 2015
The quickest way would be to sever the spine, right behind the head, with a good pair of scissors.
posted by porpoise at 3:19 PM on July 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by porpoise at 3:19 PM on July 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: We do have a little "nurse tank" that we've used for dosing medicine, so I will get some clove oil in the hopes that makes these infrequent necessities easier on all of us. Thank you for all your help!
posted by ldthomps at 7:59 AM on July 27, 2015
posted by ldthomps at 7:59 AM on July 27, 2015
Be really, really careful about traces of clove oil in the nurse tank. Maybe disposable cups would be better?
posted by Pallas Athena at 6:40 PM on July 27, 2015
posted by Pallas Athena at 6:40 PM on July 27, 2015
Disposable plastic containers with lids (like the ones Glad or Ziploc make for taking lunch stuff to work) are the way to go with this. When we were keeping fancy goldfish, the ball shaped ones were very prone to swim bladder issues, and once the swim bladder goes it's just a very upsetting downhill slide.
I would use cheap vodka (this was a long time ago, when it was harder to get good info), dose the fish, and then wrap the whole kit (box + fish + liquid) well (in several plastic bags and a trash bag) and dispose of the fish.
If we do fish again, I'll totally do the clove oil route, but would probably stick with the plastic container routine.
posted by RogueTech at 7:43 PM on August 10, 2015
I would use cheap vodka (this was a long time ago, when it was harder to get good info), dose the fish, and then wrap the whole kit (box + fish + liquid) well (in several plastic bags and a trash bag) and dispose of the fish.
If we do fish again, I'll totally do the clove oil route, but would probably stick with the plastic container routine.
posted by RogueTech at 7:43 PM on August 10, 2015
My mom used to kill lab animals including frogs and fish by pithing. This is immediate and if done correctly totally humane as you are destroying the animal's ability to feel pain. I don't understand why decapitation first would be required. It's a small fish, just hold it firmly and be quick and decisive with your knife.
Leaving a dying fish to die in a separate tank over hours (potentially) seemed inhumane to me...BUT I just spent some time reading about it, and it seems going "belly up" isn't necessarily a death sentence for fish. They can have air trapped in their swim bladder, which can rectify itself, or be helped by massage, diet changes, or even tank cleaning...
posted by mysterious_stranger at 3:42 AM on March 18, 2016
Leaving a dying fish to die in a separate tank over hours (potentially) seemed inhumane to me...BUT I just spent some time reading about it, and it seems going "belly up" isn't necessarily a death sentence for fish. They can have air trapped in their swim bladder, which can rectify itself, or be helped by massage, diet changes, or even tank cleaning...
posted by mysterious_stranger at 3:42 AM on March 18, 2016
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posted by ethidda at 1:59 PM on July 24, 2015 [1 favorite]