Killing a Fish...

[ericsze]

Okay...my buddy has a goldfish that is on the verge of death...we think it has a problem with its air sac because it cannot maintain bouyancy. It's foundering around, has torn fins, etc.

My buddy wants to put the fish out of its misery...how can he do so without making the fish suffer? (eg. leaving it out of water, flushing it down the toilet, etc.)

 

[BillyZ]

flushing is not humane for anything that is still alive. You're taking something from a warm environment and throwing it into a usualy freezing cold and often chemicaly laden bowl. Then flush the poor thing into a vat of sewege where everything on its body it burned from the ammonia and god knows what else. It won't last long, but those last few moments would be nothing but agony.


Has your friend done anything to try and treat the fish? checked the water? changed the water? tried medications? I can't think of a humane way I "like". A beheading seems the quickest and least torturous for the fish but pretty grusome.

 

[r95rdstr]

When I'm sure that one is not going to make it, I boil a pot of water. It's over in about a quarter of a second.

Flushing is so wrong. The fish can live for hours or days that way.

 

[gfishguy56]

How about sending the fish to Fishy Heaven by way of hypothermia. Place him in a bowl of water and put it in the freezer where he will shortly fall asleep and die.

 

[BillyZ]

I would imagine it takes a little longer than that, at least a few seconds. And thats an aweful few seconds

 

[r95rdstr]

Nah, if the water is boiling, the fish will twitch for literally about 250 milliseconds then immediately go stiff and turn white from cooking.

I can't think of anything quicker.

I start the water boiling, then go net the fish, leaving the net inside of the tank to minimize stress. The water will be at full boil by now. I then carry the boiling water to the tank, pull the net out and quickly dump it into the boiling water.

 

[Doan]

Uhhhh guys this is yucky with beheadings and boilings and all. Get some water Ice Ice Ice cold put it in a big bowl. Insert fish .. the cold water will shut down his life process and he will fall asleep and die...Then flush him..


Doan

 

[reefrunner69]

Uhhhh guys this is yucky with beheadings and boilings and all. Get some water Ice Ice Ice cold put it in a big bowl. Insert fish .. the cold water will shut down his life process and he will fall asleep and die...Then flush him..

I agree with this method I also believe that beheading the fish (If you can do it without cutting your finger off) is probably the quickest.

I think that before you do this there should be no hope for the fish, if not, then you are treating them as disposable pets.

 

[two11devan]

I would go with the cold water also....beheading isn't as easy as it sounds...the little guy will be flopping all over the place and it can be hard to get a good cut....My friend tried this method a little while back and it wasn't the easiest way to do it.

 

[r95rdstr]

I agree with this method I also believe that beheading the fish (If you can do it without cutting your finger off) is probably the quickest.

I can't speak for fish, but a severed human head can stay alive and conscious for several seconds. A human can also survive for several minutes in freezing water.

 

[TheMadNucleus]

All:

General literature on this subject says Freezing is the way to go - I know it sounds really bad, but this is supposed to be the least painful, most humane way out barring powerful sedatives.

But, bottom line, I think you should let whatever it is run it's course, because there is no sure way of determining what will really happen and I'm not so sure any of us are in the position to take this on fairly.

Tom

 

[kellane1]

how to kill a fish

you guys have got it all wrong, if you wanna kill a fish the first thing you have to do is get a cat.. doesn't really matter if it is your cat or the neighbours, bring him inside, put his little head up against the glass and show him your sick fish, at this stage your sick little friend has seen the cat and starts to panic, thinking to himself. i'm gonna be eaten and starts swimming really fast around the tank..
OK now that you have done this, it starts to get really trickey, you have to be able to grab the cat and in one fell swoop be able to lift the cat and insert him into the tank, replace all glass covers and the hood without him scratching you.
now comes the fun part, as you slowly watch the cat swimming around inside the tank looking like a rat, you will also notice that your fish is nowhere to be seen, at this stage he is hiding behind a rock shi**ing himself thinking that he was not that sick really and now wants to live.
after approx 30 seconds remove cat, feed your fish and i guarantee that your little mate will make a full recovery..
OH and removing the cat is optional!!!!!

 

[BONESTOCK]

Working at the pet store what I would sometimes do and my co workers would do is net the terminally ill fish and with the fish still in the net give it a great wack on the table/cart. Usually the fish is instantly dead...sometime it takes a couple wacks....

 

[r95rdstr]

If you do choose to freeze, start out with water from the tank, so that there's no initial stress from water parameter changes, and place it in the freezer.

I'm still going to boil, though, because it's over lightening quick, literally. The key to ending distress immediately is to destroy the CNS as quickly as possible.

Letting a fish flop around out of water before whacking or beheading it seems very cruel, on top of what is done next.

After fishing, I'll whack a fish on the skull to knock it out before cleaning it. I've seen people cut their heads off without knocking them out first, and the mouth and gills continue to move for a few minutes.

 

[BBReef]

I go with the freezing cold water method. But i dont put it in the freezer. I just get a glass of water and a lot of ice, stir it around until it is freezing cold, then quickly put the fish in. In my experiences, the fish have gone instantly motionless.

 

[ericosuave]

i think the quickest way would be to throw em in a blender and press the chop ice button a few times.. and violla! takes like 1 nano second.. and hes dead.

 

[dralarms]

i think the quickest way would be to throw em in a blender and press the chop ice button a few times.. and violla! takes like 1 nano second.. and hes dead.

Now that was just wrong.

 

[reefrunner69]

If you do choose to freeze, start out with water from the tank, so that there's no initial stress from water parameter changes, and place it in the freezer.

Putting them in a small container of water and then letting it freeze is very stressful on the fish, it takes several minutes for the water to cool enough to have an effect on the fish. Icing down tank water is the prefferred freezing method. The fish will instantly go into hypothermic shock, it may still be alive, but it doesn't know it and doesn't feel anything. According to what I have read.

Regargless, if you choose to euthanize your fish, the method is a personal choice, just like the topic of euthanasia the method chosen is a highly debatable issue. Lets try not to be grotesque or condemn others for the methods they choose.

 

[reefobsessed]

I hate to say it but I have always used the old flush method... I really thought that it was quick.. Now I feel like a total shmuck.... Thanks for educating me on the error of my ways...

 

[got bait?]

I have a 22 inch Red Tail Cat that takes care of all of my sick fish for me. Salt or fresh doesn't matter. Sorry to be so blunt, but I can "kill two birds with one stone".