most humane way to euthanize a fish

Lauren

Lauren

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Aug 9, 2003
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I have an angel who has a problem with his swim bladder. I've read that this is usually permanent and that there is nothing I can do with him. I suppose I should just put him out of his missery. I don't want to hurt him. What is the most humane way to do this?
 
put the fish in a bag (asap) and hit the bag on a hard surface as hard as you can. quick and painless.
 
Euthanizing fish

I used to work for a pet care chain in the fish department, and our company guidelines gave us this method for euthanizing fish. I've used it myself with good results. I put my fish in about 3/4 cup of water and stirred in about two teaspoons of baking soda. It seemed to work very quickly, and I detected no struggle or suffering. It seems to knock the fish out almost immediately... :sad
 
I had to euthanize my angel yesterday, you have my sympathies. I used clove oil in a container of tank water. It's an anesthetic, so they just go to sleep painlessly. I left him in the water for quite a while to ensure that I had administered an overdose, not just enough to knock him out temporarily. I've used freezing before, this method made me more comfortable.
 
I use a sharp knife and sever the head from the spinal cord swiftly. Very effective and humane, but a little too up close and personal for some folks.
 
I agree, that is way too personal to me. I can't kill him with my own hands, I can't do it. I can't even think about leaving him to freeze in the fridge. Since I don't have clove oil, I think I will go with the baking soda.
 
lucky for me, my sister's best friend (she's over right now) used to have to kill feeder fish before feeding them to her turtle. So she took on the task for me. One swift smack and he was out. I'm glad I didn't have to watch. I'm also glad that it was swift, for the angel's sake.

:'( sad day.
 
It doesnt matter what way you kill them because fish do not feel pain. There brain is to small and can not comprehend pain. Even though you may do something painful to it and the fish will react like it felt pain, it was just the natural instinct of the fish to try and get away. Its just an escape mechanism they use.
 
i have used both baking soda and clove oil with poor results... with the baking soda i used 5 table spoons of baking soda with about a half cup of water. it took about 5 minutes for the fish to die. also it tried to jump out of the bowl... i dont know if i used enough or to little? the clove oil worked a little better but it still took about 5 minutes for the fish to die
 
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