# Ways of terminating fish?



## AquaNekoMobile (Feb 26, 2010)

Argh... I just got home and my DP is sitting on the bottom of the tank. I got some snails off someone off Craigslist a while ago and thinking the DP would fatten up. Well after a while it did not seem to be fattening up and was still skinny. Like big head and skinny body. I come home and see the DP laying there not moving. I used a turkey baster to gently puff some water over to it but it did not seem to move. Thinking the worst I puffed a little stronger and the DP did move a bit. I immediately did a 50% water change (forgot to do a water test at the time as I panicked) with the same temp water to see if the DP would be better. I diverted the air pump splitter (inline regulators) to my 1gal sweetie tank by closing that airline and the air pump was at 100% to the DP tank. I was thinking possibly that because I've got the DP tank at ~78-79F that it was the low dissolved air that brought the DP down. I did a check online and it seems that a video I saw showed a DP in the same look as my DP. Big head with a skinny body doing a swirl/tail chase then not moving. My DP does from time to time move it's eyes if I move my fingers but not like it does when it was very active. I thought it wasjust thin from not eating enough but it seems I've read something about internal parasites now that looks like what my DP is succumbing to. 

Argh....I'm not sure if the DP will make it so I'd like to know what household items can be used for quick fish termination? Rubber mallet to concreate floor with fish in between and a fast strike? 

I'll be waiting it out to see if the DP will recover.  Man I feel crummy over this.


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## Cypher (Apr 15, 2006)

Not sure what a dp is... how big is it? If it's a relatively small fish, and since this is winter place it in a small container with just enough water to cover it and put it out side. Flash freeze - its fast when temperatures are this low.


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## Joeee (Apr 3, 2010)

Cypher said:


> Not sure what a dp is... how big is it? If it's a relatively small fish, and since this is winter place it in a small container with just enough water to cover it and put it out side. Flash freeze - its fast when temperatures are this low.


DP = Dwarf puffer I think

I've heard that there is evidence that death by freezing causes some pain. Although I have seen the opposite posted. There's also the clove oil method;
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-most-humane-way-to-euthanize-a-fish.htm

When was the last time that it's eaten?


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## Y2KGT (Jul 20, 2009)

Here is an excellent article on this subject.
--
Paul

Aquarium Fish Euthanasia
Euthanizing and disposing of aquarium fish.
By Neale Monks, Ph.D.

Euthanasia is an unpleasant but sometimes necessary aspect of all animal healthcare. Some scientists and vets have strongly criticized some of the methods widely used by aquarists to euthanize fish, saying they are slow and painful.

Euthanasia is used for two main purposes: to relieve the suffering of severely ill fish and to humanely destroy severely injured or deformed fish, particularly fry.

When to Euthanize Fish
Several fish diseases are so consistently fatal that euthanasia is invariably the best option. These include neon tetra disease, dwarf gourami iridovirus, chronic wasting disease, dropsy and advanced Hexamita infections.

In some cases, euthanasia is also part of the management of fish disease outbreaks. Neon tetra disease, for example, spreads to healthy fish when they nibble on the corpses of sick fish. Removing and euthanizing infected fish promptly will minimize the chances of healthy fish becoming sick.

Fish with poorly developed swim bladders (“belly sliders”) and deformed spines are particularly common among inbred fish, such as some fancy livebearers. In this case, euthanasia removes bad genes from a particular batch of fish, ensuring each new generation is healthy and conforms to the standards of the type.

Flushing Fish 
Flushing fish down the toilet is never an option. Flushing a sick fish into the sewer is not only inhumane, but it can also allow disease-causing organisms to enter local waters, leading to outbreaks of disease amongst native fish.

How Not to Euthanize Fish
Immersion in crushed ice or boiling water are not humane ways to euthanize fish, though ice-cold water may be used under some circumstances (see below). Stunning and decapitating fish is only humane if followed by pithing (also see below). Suffocating fish by leaving them out of water is not humane either; fish remain conscious out of water for long periods, in some cases several hours.

Verifying Death
Veterinarians and biologists consider a fish to be dead 10 minutes after the last sign of gill movement. It is important not to remove a fish for disposal until death has been established.

Ice-Cold Bath
Tropical fish less than 2 inches in length can be euthanized by exposing them to freezing cold water. The fish is put into a small container along with some aquarium water at the normal temperature. This container is then placed into a much larger container filled with crushed ice. This will rapidly chill the water in the smaller container, eventually rendering the fish unconscious. When death is verified, the fish can be removed.

Decapitation
While too grisly for most aquarists, stunning a fish, decapitating it and then pithing it (physically destroying the brain with a metal rod) is a humane way to euthanize a fish. Because fish can remain conscious for some time after decapitation, the pithing step is essential. If you don’t know how to pith a fish, then don’t use this method.

Clove Oil
Also known as eugenol, clove oil is a sedative at low doses, but at higher doses it has been recommended by some researchers as an inexpensive way to euthanize fish, particularly small fish. In a container, mix aquarium water with clove oil and mix. When exposed to high concentrations of clove oil, fish quickly lose consciousness and stop breathing, both of which reduce pain. Hypoxia eventually causes death, and once verified, the fish can be removed from the water and clove oil mixture. The required dose for euthanasia is 400 mg/l or more.

Clove oil contains some substances believed to be carcinogenic and should be handled with care.

Carbon Dioxide
Pressurized carbon dioxide vigorously bubbled through water for at least 30 seconds will quickly displace dissolved oxygen. A fish placed in such a container will quickly become unconscious and soon die, assuming the fish cannot breathe atmospheric air (many freshwater fish can: check before using this method). Once death is verified, the fish can be removed.

Note that this is not the same thing as methods based on Alka-Seltzer tablets or carbonated drinking water, neither of which will produce the environmental conditions described. Such methods have not been proven to be humane, are not used by vets and cannot be recommended here.

Anesthetic Overdose
By administering an overdose of an anesthetic, vets can ensure that large fish are humanely euthanized. This is the method recommended for use with large fish, such as koi, oscars and saltwater angelfish. Because large fish will be stressed by being caught and transported to a veterinarian, the vet may need to visit the fishkeeper’s home and euthanize the fish there.

A variety of anesthetics have been used for this purpose, including 2-phenoxyethanol (bath, 0.3 to 0.4 mg/liter); benzocaine hydrochloride (bath, at least 250 mg/liter); sodium pentobarbital (injection, 60 to 100 mg/kg body weight); tricaine methanesulphonate, also known as MS222 (bath, 300 mg/liter). Because tricaine methanesulphonate is acidic, it will need to be used alongside an appropriate pH buffer. You need a pH buffer if you have fish from a non-acidic aquarium. Taking a marine fish from a tank at pH 8.5 and dumping it into a bath containing MS222 solution at around pH 6.5 will be intensely stressful. So if using this chemical, buffer the water to the correct pH before adding the fish.

It may take more than 30 minutes for death to occur, and it is recommended that fish be left in anesthetic baths for at least 2 hours to be sure. Death will need to be verified before the fish is removed.

Disposing of Dead Fish
Dead fish should not be flushed. The body can be burned, disposed of in the household trash or buried in the garden away from bodies of water. If placed in the trash, wrap the body in paper or plastic film to prevent it from being consumed by rats, cats and other garbage feeders. If buried in the garden, place the body deep enough underground that scavengers will not unearth it.


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

Yeah I'm pretty sure Neko is talking about his dwarf puffer. He mentioned getting snails from someone.

Those are interesting facts Paul put up.

I didn't realize fish are still alive even after severing the head from the body. That was an interesting read. Pithing eh? I'll remember that...


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

place in plastic bag, smack onto hard ground, place in composter/garbage. Done.


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## bigfishy (Jun 19, 2009)

Wouldn't it better if the fish cannot sense it, taste it or feel it by using something like Thallium Sulfate, or Gold Cyanidation, or similar chemicals?

Quick painless death! It doesn't even go numb!


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## Darkside (Sep 14, 2009)

I use a hammer and a board.


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## fishclubgirl (Mar 4, 2010)

My oscar was severely fungused and I did some research and discovered the use of vodka in euthanising fish. However, I was unsure of how to use it so thought drinking it was a much better use!! Good thing the fish recovered. He's still being used to dispose of my culls too..


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## ShrimpieLove (Apr 26, 2010)

I think i read somewhere that clove oil was good because it puts them to sleep first... But i think i remember the article mentioning having to use a pure grain alcohol as a second step to make sure the fish is dead, otherwise it could come back alive if the clove oil dose wasnt enough/or used long enough.


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## Holidays (Apr 18, 2010)

I used vodka one time, I hope that was painless.


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## Kerohime (Jan 10, 2011)

In the wet lab we would sever the spine right behind the head with some surgical scissors. Or we used chemicals... 

I guess thats a little messy.


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## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

I can't get the clove oil to spread out, it stays as a few globs on the surface of the water. To mix the clove oil with the water, I use either an amount of vodka or an amount of rubbing alcohol.

My general technique for most small aquarium fish:

1. In about 1 cup (250 mL) of water, add about 4 ml clove oil and 4 ml of rubbing alcohol or about 8 ml of vodka. if the clove oil does not disperse until it is not visible as droplets, add another small amount of alcohol. Stir. The resulting mixture may become quite cloudy, but this will not "hurt" the fish, as it will only be sensible for a second, if that.

2. add fish. My goldfish, which was thrashing and in a lot of pain in his tank, stopped thrashing within seconds, and gill activity ceased within 30 seconds. I waited another 3 minutes, and then put the cup of water+fish into my deep freezer.

3. Once the fish is both clove+alcohol+frozen, I am quite sure it is dead.

I found that without something to diffuse the clove oil into the water (such as alcohol), the clove oil method with just pure water, did not work. 
Warren


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## AquaNekoMobile (Feb 26, 2010)

Joeee said:


> DP = Dwarf puffer I think
> 
> I've heard that there is evidence that death by freezing causes some pain. Although I have seen the opposite posted. There's also the clove oil method;
> http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-most-humane-way-to-euthanize-a-fish.htm
> ...


Yes, Dwarf puffer. I feed the DP once a day to every other day tho when I feed it it inhales the snails but spits out a lot of the food onthe times I did stay long enough to see it eat. Sometimes it just ignores the snails but then I see the snail dead a few days later when I check the tnak. It has always done the spit out of food. Tho sometimes less and sometimes more.


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## AquaNekoMobile (Feb 26, 2010)

Darkside said:


> I use a hammer and a board.


I ended up doing that in a quick action.  ;__;;;

Seems like a lot of DP's are sick when they come in and I in the boxing day rush did not find out when that batch of DP's came in and wait a week to see or ask them to feed it. I think I'll have to try another DP but this time tae more time selecting and waiting for any sick ones to be pulled from the tank. Given the BA (@NY ) I was at had a lot in one tank it was likely it just came in a day or two ago. 

Thanks for everyones help with the info.


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