help my fish jumped out of the aquarium and hes suffereing:(

[goldfishlover]

Hi ... I am new to this site and if this topic has already been covered then I apologize...

I have two tanks, and today my sucker fish (black, sucks on the sides, fresh water.. *erm sorry i dont know the right name) some how got out and I have no idea how long he was out of the water, but when we got him back in his fins are all showing bones and his eyes are like hollow or the fluid is gone from them ughhh hes peeling all over and has hair on him that i dont want to take off just yet casue hes already so stressed out... what should i do? I dont know even how to put down a fish, and we love this fish, hes very big and hes been in the family for a long time, well not that long, but long enough that we love him and this is so traumaatic. he looks like horrible, he was so healthy like 5 hours ago, i dont know how he got out but i added water up to the lip of the filter for some dumb dumb reason so he could eat the algae there cause i thought it would be a treat oh lord i feel horrible, has this ever happen to anyone else that the fish got out of the tank, but you rescued it after hours ? god even if it lives, will its eyes ever be the same? am i being selfish and inhuman to try to get him to live???


any advice greatly appreciated, please explain it detailed because I read through alot of posts and didnt know how to do things like 'put down' the fish or whatever... how could one do that humanely???? oh man please answer thank you

 

[powderbluetang]

well the way i do it is take a fish net and put the fish in it. then i take the net with the fish and slam it against something hard. like the wall. he will die instantly and painlessly due to blunt head trama. another way you can do it is by putting him in the frezzer. and what that does is slows their organs down as if they were going into hybernation. and eventually he goes to "sleep". either way is painless to the fish that is how we do it at petland. we just slam them against the wall very hard and it does the trick.

 

[lyquidphyre]

There is a thread about different ways to kill a fish humainly. I personally don't like the smashing of the fish because they might not die instantly and will suffer more than they were before.

How long has your pleco (thats the general name of the fish you have) been back in the tank? There are several stories on here about fish being out of their tank and surviving so don't give up hope just yet. Leave him in the tank and turn off the lights (that is just personally what I would do) and put some algea waffers out and wait for someone with more knowledge on this topic to leave a note.

Welcome to Aquarium Advice even tho its on a sad note

Good luck with ur fishy!

 

[lyquidphyre]

Oh, and the freezer trick... they are dying slowly not quickly... both of those methods I wouldn't suggest.. let me go find the thread of the best ways to put a fish down.

Also, there might be something you can do to help him.. so lets not think about death just yet

 

[lyquidphyre]

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=2163&highlight=putting+fish+sleep

It talks about using clove and vodka.. I have always heard thats your best bet

 

[Endgame319]

Actually the best method is decapitation with a sharp knife.

 

[jennymit21]

i know that somewhere on this site someone else had that happen and said what they did to make the fish survive....i am trying to do a search but can't find the thread. Anyone else know? Don't kill your fish unless you are sure he can't survive....

 

[powderbluetang]

fish are cold blooded anyway so frezing them is just like putting them to sleep. they go into a hibernation state

 

[RocketSeason]

Well, by the time he reads this he would know either way whether or not the fish will make it or not. Personally, I dont like the idea of killing my fish, but I have never had such a sever situation with one of my own.

 

[dsmalls]

Not sure about the freezer trick. I've read many places that say that's super inhumane for the fish. If you have to do the deed, perhaps beheading in one swoop is the route to take. 8O

 

[Maillis]

You'd be surprised what a fish can survive, I know it may look like he's suffering but personally I'd give him a couple of days and see if he shows any signs of improvement before killing him. Some Melafix in the water would also probably be good to help protect against infections.

 

[goldfishlover]

hey everyone, thanks for all your answers... what I wound up doing was just letting the fish sit through the night. He is still alive, and although he isnt moving about, he is inside his favorite place. It is nice and dark in there, and this morning I took a little water, and added a little fresh. The other fish are leaving him alone, I'm so greatful for that, and I'm surprised... my experience has been that any sick fish I had disappeared suddenly and I never did know what happened to them...erm...

I will let everyone know how he progresses or regresses in case someone else experiences this, I am way more upset than the kids about it... I feel like since he made it thru the night the worst part is over, now I just need to keep his water quality good and make sure he gets food. I dont know the condition of his fins yet, but his eyes dont look any better, but it seems like i can see them in his head there... hes in the shadows, but i really felt like i saw a eyeball peep at me and move about a little when I was looking, so gosh I hope that means he can still see.

Thanks again everyone!

If i have to put him down, I decided to do the vodka/clove oil thing. I appreciate all the advice, I just dont think that I have it in me to actually phscially damage him enough to cause him to die... at walmart I know they add some kind of liquid tranq to the water when fish first get there some times, I was thinking about asking them about that and seeing if I couldnt use that to keep him less stressed in the mean time... or if it comes to it, maby just megadose him ? well, any thoughts on that would be nice, thanks for all the help guys

 

[powderbluetang]

if only you guys whould understand !!!FISH ARE COLD BLOODED!!! so it is painless to them

fish are cold blooded anyway so frezing them is just like putting them to sleep

but i mean this is not the only way to do it there are many humaine ways and this is the way i usually do it

 

[Aquafriend]

I have only once had to put down a fish. I used the vodka, and it was no problem. I had the freezer thing suggested to me, but the thought of having to go back into the freezer to get him later.......... well, like I said, I did the vodka. He didn't thrash or struggle, there was no sign of stress, and it made it way easier for me.

 

[MT79]

I, personally, don't like beheading there is still oxygen/blood in the brain for a short time meaning consciousness for a (sometimes a few minutes of occasional gill flapping after decapitation) period after decapitation. More brutal maybe, but the fastest way, IMO, is too smash the fish w/ a hammer, primarily the head including gills. Euthanasia of course would be a last option as pointed out.

 

[shawmutt]

Not sure about the freezer trick. I've read many places that say that's super inhumane for the fish.

The freezer should only be used for temperate fish, not tropical fish.

The most comprehensive site that I have found thus far is http://homepage.ntlworld.com/faustus/nicoldaquaria/euthanasia.htm .



I almost feel the need to have a long talk with someone every time this topic comes up. I think that people need to realize that no matter what method is used, the animal in question will experience some "pain" (the only exception is when a tranquilizer like MS-222 is used--and even in that case, who knows?). The question is, which is more humane, the minutes of "pain" of the fish owner playing the part of the predator, or the "pain" of however long the fish lingers on for in the tank. It's also important to realize that we really don't know what "pain" is for a fish, we can only empathize with it (or him/her, as it were). In other words, we look at a fish in a certain situation and imagine what it would be like if we, as humans, were in that situation.

 

[krap101]

the fish probally is in alot of pain. but think how muchpain youd get if you had to decapitate or hammer the fish

 

[jennymit21]

good point krap........hence don't kill unless necessary and when you do it, try methods such as the clove/vodka. less traumatic for everyone. Thankfully i have never had to put a fish down.

 

[bunebop]

Make sure you don't do the vodka first though, cause that will burn the gills and then he really will suffer even more =/

 

[Bioworldmaker]

I read on another forum that the best way to put fish to "sleep" is to make large bucket with lots of ice and water, take the fish out of the tank and put it in the ice-water. The shock should kill it instantly, so there is no smashing fish, no decaptating, no slow death. I don't know, I've never tried myself, but based on what you described it sounds like your fish is suffering a lot right now.