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Post by friedegg45 on Dec 26, 2009 17:49:11 GMT -5
was reading wikipedia about euthanasia for fish they has writing about various ways to do this. wondering what way is the best. IE clove oil solution 20% vodka solution? alka seltzer decapitation personally i think clove oil would be more humane but these options are on pages of wikipedia. this is just general chit chat from a novice to experienced keepers like yourselves. cheers.
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Post by kagome on Dec 26, 2009 22:16:31 GMT -5
This is a really touchy subject with a lot of people. I have had to euthanize a few fish. I think that using the clove oil to numb them up a bit is not a bad idea. When I have had to do this for fish that were obviously suffering and beyond help I have put them in as small a container as could be managed and dropped in alka seltzer. It is very quick as long as they are not a labyrinth fish. The problem with using just clove oil and/or vodka is that they take a really long time and since they essentially anesthetize the fish you can't tell if they are dead or justs unconscious. I think if you want to start with the clove oil and then drop the alka seltzer in to make sure that would be the best option. In the past I have used way more alka seltzer than is recommended because if you use too little it can take up to an hour for them to actually die. It is not a pleasant prospect any way you go but I would just rather make sure that they are dead and dead quickly so that any potential suffering is avoided.
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Post by bikeguy33 on Dec 26, 2009 22:29:11 GMT -5
according to the canadian humane society....the only humane way to put down a fish is with alka seltzer or clove oil, or clove oil/alcohol combination. basically this is a painless way to put down a fish. it is just like a dog getting a needle. people think this is uncomfy because the animal does a death thrawl...and in larger fish you can really see this by the volume of water on the floor. but in fact....once that death thrawl occurs, the brain is dead. it DOES take awhile for the organs to stop tho. i had to put down the largest and oldest pacu i have ever seen. he was in his 30`s. it was tough to watch, but it was painless for him....
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Post by goldenpuon on Dec 26, 2009 22:30:50 GMT -5
I second that. I have put sick/suffering fish down with alka selzer. I also use more than needed. The faster the better. Also, alka selzer is less expensive than clove oil although I have not used clove oil so I don't know which works better.
I wait an hour after they seem dead/are barely breathing to make sure they are dead. If you take them out too fast, they can "wake up."
I have tried decapitation before I got a hold of alka selzer and it was an awful experience. I find alka selzer a little less emotionally scarring and it also causes the fish much less pain.
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Post by fishfever on Dec 28, 2009 18:54:47 GMT -5
I have used baking soda as well which I believe is even cheaper than alka seltzer. I believe the main ingredient in alka seltzer is really just sodium bicarbonate if I'm not mistaken. I use as little tank water as possible in the bath container and stir it up a bit with the baking soda.
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Post by goldenpuon on Dec 28, 2009 19:51:21 GMT -5
Are you sure baking soda works for euthanization? In my experience, baking soda is added to aquariums with live fish to help raise the PH.
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Post by fishfever on Dec 28, 2009 20:52:28 GMT -5
Yes, except for euthanization the ratio of baking soda to water is much, much higher. Unfortunately a few months ago when I was battling what was probably nothing more than mouth scars on two of my tetras, I blew away my beneficial bacteria and was simultaneously trying to "cure" the scars in a hospital tank while recycling my main tank. I had my hands full so in the mean time I kind of let my fry tank go by missing some cleanings and also not taking time to adopt out the bigger ones like I was doing previously. To make a long story longer, I ended up getting overstocked with the rapidly growing fry plus not enough cleanings making it even worse. That ended up getting a good number of baby mollies in the fry tank really sick so I ended up having to euthanize a number of them and ran out of Alka Seltzer. But I read the ingredients and it was pretty much sodium bicarbonate and it worked just like the Alka Seltzer.
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Post by bikeguy33 on Dec 29, 2009 2:41:52 GMT -5
you are right...all in the right volumes are benificial or deadly...
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Post by Carl on Dec 29, 2009 10:48:33 GMT -5
I will jump in and add that another main ingredient of Alka-Seltzer is acetylsalicylic acid (Aspirin). This ingredient is generally not lethal exept in Chronic overdose (meaning continued overdose use).
The ingredient; sodium bicarbonate in pure form might actually be more effective based on this, alhough the other active ingredient citric acid (which reacts with sodium bicarbonate when the tablet is exposed to water) may play a roll. I do not know this for a fact, just throwing out "food for thought"
Carl
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