# Safe, Humane way to euthanize fish



## Cory (May 2, 2008)

Well, I just thought I would share with you all a new discovery I made entirely by accident and without any desire to do so. I don't know how many of you know of bag buddies the jungle labs product used in fish bags to dechlorinate, detoxify and oxygenate the water as well as to sedate fish. Anyways, they are quite common and readily available at the fish stores for a low price. 

I had never bothered to check the ingredients but I discovered today that the tablets contain clove oil, presumably the fish-calming agent in the tabs. I discovered this after a tank with some very young yellow labs started to die en-masse all of a sudden in one of my tanks. I tested the water, checked for any sort of parasite and tried to think of any virus that might act in this fashion and couldn't find any so I tried to think of what might be in my water that could kill a fish. The only thing that came to mind was that I had used some of the tabs after a water change as a substitute for dechlorinator when I ran out unexpectedly. I hadn't known the tablets contained clove oil and just assumed the ingredients would filter out over time having caused no harm. 

Apparently, no such luck as last night I came down to find 15 yellow lab fry dead and 5 more barely alive. Reasoning that it was something in the tank and not some condition with the fish or the normal water toxins (ammonia etc) I transfered the labs including the dying fish to a brand new tank that had just finished cycling. By this afternoon all of the fish were alive and well. It seems the yellow labs in particular were sensitive to the clove oil as the ruby green juvies in the tank were unharmed. 

At any rate, it would seem that a high concentration of the tabs or prolonged exposure to water that has tabs in it will eventually put your fish to sleep from which they wont wake and at around $15 the bottle of tablets is cheaper than a tiny bottle of clove oil and much easier to use as a euthanizing agent than clove oil which requires mixing and ethanol. 

Hopefully none of you will need this information, but if you do it is a handy thing to know. 

I would also advise that no one ever use bag buddies in an aquarium setting, if I had read the bottle I would have known that assuredly but if you're like me and don't always read the bottle you may not have known. 

All the best,


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## Guest (Jun 4, 2009)

Cory said:


> Well, I just thought I would share with you all a new discovery I made entirely by accident and without any desire to do so. I don't know how many of you know of bag buddies the jungle labs product used in fish bags to dechlorinate, detoxify and oxygenate the water as well as to sedate fish. Anyways, they are quite common and readily available at the fish stores for a low price.
> 
> I had never bothered to check the ingredients but I discovered today that the tablets contain clove oil, presumably the fish-calming agent in the tabs. I discovered this after a tank with some very young yellow labs started to die en-masse all of a sudden in one of my tanks. I tested the water, checked for any sort of parasite and tried to think of any virus that might act in this fashion and couldn't find any so I tried to think of what might be in my water that could kill a fish. The only thing that came to mind was that I had used some of the tabs after a water change as a substitute for dechlorinator when I ran out unexpectedly. I hadn't known the tablets contained clove oil and just assumed the ingredients would filter out over time having caused no harm.
> 
> ...


Clove Oil is $3.99 at Shoppers Drug Mart


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## Cory (May 2, 2008)

Well, assuming that's true which I don't think it is since the tiny vial of it I found was $14.99 it doesn't take into account the cost of the ethanol that is required to properly dissolve the oil (oil doesn't mix with water) into the water and make it an effective agent. It's more time consuming and leaves room for error in that you could just end up poisoning the fish with the ethanol meaning it is no longer humane. 

At any rate, this is just another humane method for the unfortunate times when someone has to put a fish down. Thanks though for your... helpful insight.


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## Guest (Jun 4, 2009)

Cory said:


> Well, assuming that's true which I don't think it is since the tiny vial of it I found was $14.99 it doesn't take into account the cost of the ethanol that is required to properly dissolve the oil (oil doesn't mix with water) into the water and make it an effective agent. It's more time consuming and leaves room for error in that you could just end up poisoning the fish with the ethanol meaning it is no longer humane.
> 
> At any rate, this is just another humane method for the unfortunate times when someone has to put a fish down. Thanks though for your... helpful insight.


I wasn't trying to rain on your post. It's always a good thing to point out alternative methods of euthanasia.

I was wrong, clove oil is now $4.99 at Shoppers

http://gtaaquaria.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=3395&stc=1&d=1244128077

Ethanol isn't really that necessary, helpful, but not necessary. It's also pretty cheap if you buy overproofed Vodka or Rum. I was using Wray and Nephew white rum which is 180 proof (90% ethanol) I have been using clove oil for a while and have always bought it at Shopper's.

We used to use a product called Hypno from Jungle Labs. I think it's only available in gallon jugs for store use and probably not possible to legally import now. It is a fish tranquilizer but was lethal in an overdose. It was Methyl Ketone based and was quite potent and effective! Small amounts could safely and humanely kill fish.

Clove oil isn't so effective for very big fish unless you take the fish out and physically wash it into the gill cavity.


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## Cory (May 2, 2008)

> I wasn't trying to rain on your post. It's always a good thing to point out alternative methods of euthanasia.


I understand that. Sometimes when it's just a short comment like that it's intended to make the other person feel stupid, if that was not your intention then I apologize.

And yea, clove oil definitely affects fish differently as my yellow labs proved vulnerable to it whilst rosy barbs and ruby greens didnt seem to be bothered in the same tanks. I don't usually have to euthanize fish so I can't speak to its overall effectiveness but I believe the humane society or some other similar organization lists it as the only humane way to euthanize a fish outside of chopping off the head. A common misconception is that freezing is painless but apparently it is not.

I guess another thing folks can take away from this is not to repeat my mistakes and kill fish needlessly by dumping bag buddied water into the tank fish are being released into.

It seems like you've had to euthanize lots of fish though based on your post, what is it you're doing that necessitates that? Some sort of import operation or just a fish room that dwarfs mine? lol


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## Guest (Jun 4, 2009)

Just many, many years of keeping fish and thinking about every single fish as living entities needing our compassion. It has been very hard over the years to stay in the fish hobby sometimes thinking about needless loss of life.

... 25 years in the business and 38 years in the hobby brings about lots of reflection on fish lives and deaths. I have only one small aquarium with some shrimps and dwarf rasboras.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

I'm still an advocate of "the rock" method.

Works everytime and is quick and painless.


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## Tropicana (Feb 15, 2009)

if the fish is small i go with the natural D.compressiceps method. cycle of life right?...


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## Cory (May 2, 2008)

Yes, with small enough fish, feeding to a larger fish is always an option, provided you have a larger fish capable of swallowing it. But in some cases that isn't an option either if for example the fish is diseased in some way and you wouldn't want to risk transmission by feeding it to another fish.


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## Platypus (Jun 2, 2009)

Thank you for this info. This will come in handy since everyone has a sick fish once in a while.


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## Platypus (Jun 2, 2009)

Thank you for this info. This will come in handy since everyone has a sick fish once in a while.


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

I'm with ChrisS. I bag and bash. Very quick, no long drawn out wait and watch.


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## Cory (May 2, 2008)

Riceburner said:


> I'm with ChrisS. I bag and bash. Very quick, no long drawn out wait and watch.


You are braver than I am! I can't hardly yell at my dog, let alone bash a fish over the head.


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