I had this weekend the need to euthanize a sick fish.
I searched a lot and finally got the clove oil. I went home, poured some in a plastic jar, added water streight from the tap, stir it and went with the killing mixture to my hospital tank.
I took the net, to catch the gourami. Man, he was strangely overscared. He started dashing from ons side to then other and when he was trapped in a corner, he jumped out of the tank and fell to the floor.
I picked him up (swallowing hard by this point) and let it fall in the clove oil water. I started watching until the fish started to look calm. I thought it was working but after 3-4 minutes he started swimming as much as he could in this small container. I left him there (with the pain in my heart) for a little more. After a while, I returned and he was calm, but awake and normal. Then. I took the desicion of adding some more clove to the water. Nothing seemed to happen.
I sat in front of the Tv, and after maybe half an hour, I remeberd the fish. I went to where he was and saw him desperate, gasping air like crazy, trying to get out of the water. Oh boy,this scene was really (fish level) crude.
I took the net, trapped him and returned him to the 10 gl. hospital tank. He was acting like that from about 10 minutes until he calmed down again and started swimming normal.
That was friday night. Today he is still alive, with his body full of red marks bacause of the septicemia, but he won't give up. He swims good, even against the filter current. Comes up for air like any other gourami, but is not eating. I saw some traces of saprolegnia but he fought them and is now clean. I'm keeping him well filtrated, under eritrhomicyn treatment, at 80ºF.
I'm feeling really bad for him, but I see I will have not the courage to try to euthanize him again. And i also have another dilemma: if he ever recovers from the infection, and looks healthy, I don't know if I could dare to sent him back the the main tank.
Dunno what to do.
I searched a lot and finally got the clove oil. I went home, poured some in a plastic jar, added water streight from the tap, stir it and went with the killing mixture to my hospital tank.
I took the net, to catch the gourami. Man, he was strangely overscared. He started dashing from ons side to then other and when he was trapped in a corner, he jumped out of the tank and fell to the floor.
I picked him up (swallowing hard by this point) and let it fall in the clove oil water. I started watching until the fish started to look calm. I thought it was working but after 3-4 minutes he started swimming as much as he could in this small container. I left him there (with the pain in my heart) for a little more. After a while, I returned and he was calm, but awake and normal. Then. I took the desicion of adding some more clove to the water. Nothing seemed to happen.
I sat in front of the Tv, and after maybe half an hour, I remeberd the fish. I went to where he was and saw him desperate, gasping air like crazy, trying to get out of the water. Oh boy,this scene was really (fish level) crude.
I took the net, trapped him and returned him to the 10 gl. hospital tank. He was acting like that from about 10 minutes until he calmed down again and started swimming normal.
That was friday night. Today he is still alive, with his body full of red marks bacause of the septicemia, but he won't give up. He swims good, even against the filter current. Comes up for air like any other gourami, but is not eating. I saw some traces of saprolegnia but he fought them and is now clean. I'm keeping him well filtrated, under eritrhomicyn treatment, at 80ºF.
I'm feeling really bad for him, but I see I will have not the courage to try to euthanize him again. And i also have another dilemma: if he ever recovers from the infection, and looks healthy, I don't know if I could dare to sent him back the the main tank.
Dunno what to do.
