I have the uthanize my betta...

[waffelo]

I've searched the site and while clove oil seems to be top rated, I don't have any or know where to find it.
I'm thinking the freezer. He's so close to passing, and has been for days. He 3 yrs old and has been battling sickness for a while, meds not helping. I think he's just too old to fight off illness anymore.
I hope I'm doing the right thing... The freezer is humane, right?
This is so hard.

 

[RogerMcAllen]

Freezer is a terrible thing, very slow death. What I do is find a really sharp knife, then you just cut the head off. This is the quickest/most painless method I know of.

 

[An t-iasg]

I'm sorry, waffelo. Here is a recent thread on the clove oil-vodka method: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=31402

I think clove oil can be found at a drug store, vitamin store, or organic food store, as well as online.

 

[shawmutt]

The place I get my herbs is mountainroseherbs.com . Unfortunately, you need to get the oil as soon as possible. Look in the yellow pages for a place like An t-iasg suggested. Unless I'm mistaken, it's simply the essential oil of cloves. Make sure, if you do use this method, that you freeze the fish. Clove oil just puts the fish to sleep.

 

[Meredith]

I could never chop off my fish's head. couldn't do it. I did put a fish in the freezer though. It was one of my rasboras who was very close to death I didn't want to watch it struggle any more. I would never use that method again. Its not quick. The only upside is that you don't have to watch it die.

 

[TankGirl]

Call around and ask if they carry "essential oils" and that is how they will know what you are talking about. Having tried many different ways of doing this, and recently having to put down a very large adult angel, I can tell you freezing, vodka, ice-water, etc. do not provide any sort of "instant" death. Clove oil will literally put them to sleep, and then you can freeze them and they won't feel a thing.

 

[pkremer]

Well, this is an interesting thread, but I must say that I personally feel that freezing a fish would be more humane than 'suffocation.'

If we apply these two methods to humans, suffocation is an extremely painful way to go. Depriving the entire body of oxygen until it begins to shut down. The process would be extremely painful and would not be a great way to go in my opinion.

Freezing may not be as 'quick', but would also not be as painful. Again, applying this method to how a human would react, it may not be pleasant at first, shivering, etc, but after a certain point, a person ceases to shiver and begins to feel numb. Soon the person begins to feel nothing at all and slowly drifts off painlessly and unconsciously. It may seem like it takes a long time, but it would seem to me especially with a cold blooded animal like a fish that a slowly dropping body temperature and slowing body functions until they stop wouldn't be a horrible death.

Paul

 

[rubysoho]

to support pkremer, if you take a frog and set it in room temperature water on stove (I have not personally done this, I read it in my biology class), heat the water, the frog will not try to leave because of something about being cold blooded and not being able to feel the effect of the slowly rising temperature. The frog ends up dieing, but it does not feel anything (not the same as tossing lobster into boiling water...). The same goes for cooling the temperature down. Because the animal is cold blooded, its temp adjust to whatever its surrounding is (and is not discomforting unless the temp change is so quick that the body cannot adjust). I think if it were feeling any discomfort, the frog would try to escape the pot, so according to my biology book, it is not painful. Still... I can't imagine any way to put down an animal. Makes me sad sorry you must put down your fish.

 

[shawmutt]

Well, this is an interesting thread, but I must say that I personally feel that freezing a fish would be more humane than 'suffocation.'

I definitely missed something...who mentions suffocation?

As far as the frog hypothesis goes...I have boiled lobster before, and they do thrash around a bit before dying. The fish would know the water is cold and try to remove itself from that environment. We don't see that, however, because the fish is out of sight in the freezer.

Clove oil is an accepted method of fish anesthesia. Once the fish is "put to sleep", freezing becomes more acceptable, you can truly say the fish feels nothing. Clove oil is readily obtained and cheap.

I will say IME putting a fish in cold alcohol is definitely not the way to go. I read in a website that this was a "quick and painless" method, but it wasn't. I hope I never have to put a fish down again, but if I do, I'm getting the clove oil.

 

[RogerMcAllen]

I think the carbonated water method involves suffocation, but I'm not sure.

 

[rubysoho]

shawmutt, the reason why the lobster thrash around is because it is a huge temperature change all at once when you boil them. The reason why the frog never leaves the pot is because it gradually gets warmer during the experiment (just like the water gets gradually colder in the freezer). When I was little, my mom had to put down a damsel from the saltwater tank we had. She used the freezer method. Well, like I stated, I was little, and felt bad for the fish and was curious to see what it was doing in the freezer. When I peeked to see the fish, the water had not frozen (although I don't know how cold it was, but it had been in there for a good while) and the fish was peacefully resting in the water. I don't think it had passed yet because it was still upright, however I didn't go so far as to check. If I could, I would wish it to be over in an instant. I doubt any way is completely painless, I was just relating what I've known from experience and from my biology class.

 

[waffelo]

Hi guys:
Thanks for all you advice and support. Call me a big wuss, but I haven't been able to do it. I've never put down a fish, and I just can't.
I think my betta days are over for a while. They are my favorite, so friendly, happy and dopey - but boy do they make a big production out of dying.
Guess they are called fighting fish for more than one reason.
Thanks again - say a prayer or whatever for my fishboy.
-- Spineless Wimp

 

[An t-iasg]

Hi waffelo,
I don't think you're a wimp. I don't know if I could put a fish down either. I have never had to yet, luckily. Don't be so hard on yourself! You gave your betta a happy home, and he's 3 years old. That's a pretty good age for a betta.

When my very first betta died, (he was almost 2 years old) I didn't feel like I was ready for another betta until almost a month later. I do agree that they seem like they're dying for a long time, and it is very upsetting. It's ok to "take a break" from having a betta, but don't give up on them!

 

[rubysoho]

I agree with An t-iasg... I haven't has to put down a fish myself, nor do I think I can do it, so I definatly dont think you are a wimp

 

[doedogg]

If you go to the drug store you can find oil of clove in the dental section. Look for DIY toothache treatments. I just picked up a bottle of "Toothache" by Red Cross. The main ingredient is eugenol which is derived from oil of clove. Now that I have it I probably wont ever need it. (I hope)

Steph

 

[shawmutt]

Oh yeah! I forgot about that. I have a friend that swears by the stuff.