So...anybody ever accidentally flush a living fish?

[DjFizz]

Yeah...so all through yesterday I couldn't find one of my Cory's. I had done a 50% water change the day before because I've been slacking/busy recently and haven't had time to do the weekly change. I'm not sure if the stress killed him or the adjustment to the replacement water, or if he was already sick. No idea. In any case, I just found him floating on his side and not moving this morning.

So I net him out, still no movement. I figure yeah, he didn't make it. I go to send him off with the big flush, and as soon as he hit the toilet water, he wiggled around for a minute and then went back to floating. So clearly he was dying, but not quite gone yet. I didn't know what to do. Obviously he wasn't gonna make it, and I can't just put him back in the community tank after being in toilet water anyway...so I flushed him. x_x

I feel bad, but I didn't know what else to do. Has anyone else ever done something like that?

 

[Fresh2o]

During a water change I almost accidentally flushed a fish. But never intentionally. The more humane thing to do would be to euthanize it with ice + ice water.
I believe there are potential health implications flushing sick or dying fish down into the sewer system. I could be wrong.


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[Brookster123]

I accidentally flushed a green neon that had been sucked into the filter. Cleaned filter into 5 gal bucket, emptied 5 gal bucket into toilet, flushed the neon... it was bad.. worse though.. flushed an apisto cacatoides fry, grew this little bugger out for a few months and flushed him anyways.. sad day. Needless to say my wc routine has been drastically refined. I have been 459 days without an accident

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[guppygourami]

I accidentally flushed a green neon that had been sucked into the filter. Cleaned filter into 5 gal bucket, emptied 5 gal bucket into toilet, flushed the neon... it was bad.. worse though.. flushed an apisto cacatoides fry, grew this little bugger out for a few months and flushed him anyways.. sad day. Needless to say my wc routine has been drastically refined. I have been 459 days without an accident

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The fish gods forgive you after they've heard you were counting.


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