I feel sick....not for sensitive people to read.

[Billsgate]

Hi,

I ended my female betta's life.
Her belly had been bloated for the last week or so and got bigger every day. She didn't eat. I tried to feed her peas, to help her digestion, but she didn't even touch them, nor any other foods. The last 4 days or so she was hiding in a corner, not moving at all.
Now, this week, I'm at my dad's. My tanks are at my mom's.
So I figured, I do not want this fish to die on me, and be in the tank for a whole week. The consequence might be that all of my other fish die.
I let my mother feed my fish when I'm not around, but to leave it up to her to find a dead fish? She wouldn't want to do it, and she probably wouldn't find her.
So I took her out, put her in a plastic bag, and well...hit the bag with a weight.
The sight was not pretty, but her life was ended quickly.
That was yesterday.
Today, I still feel sick when I think about it. Did I make the right choice? Should I not have tried something else?

Just had to vent this. Please, feel free to comment, what would you guys have done?

Thanks.

[BrianNY]

Sounds like you made the right decision Thomas. For all the right reasons too. You can't save every fish. Sometimes its more humane to deal with it as you have.

[Felf]

sorry about your betta. that's a pretty brutal way but quick i guess. from what i've read you can euthanize fish by putting them in a small container with water and a bunch of ice cubes; it's supposedly quick.

[Rach101]

Don't worry about it sweet heart. Sometimes its better just to move on instead of suffering. Even though it seemed to be brutal it was quick and she didn't feel it comming. I don't entirely agree with the ice thing, freezing up dosn't sound like a way i would want to go. Don't beat yourself up hun, shes in a better place, and she dosn't suffer anymore.

[beblondie]

You did the right thing-Anne

its just sometimes doing the right thing stinks

[Billsgate]

Thanks guys and girls, I feel a little better
I do believe that it was the right thing to do. Even though I didn't like it.

[QTOFFER]

I think you did the right thing too.
BTW, I use the same method to euthanize fish. Like you say, it's not pretty, but I believe it results in a painless, instantaneous death. I use a colored opaque bag and a broad flat weight.

[Fluff]

I'm sure it was a hard thing to do but, it needed done. You handled it and made it quick and no doubt painless. Props to you.

[Fishyfanatic]

I agree with everyone else. She was probably suffering in the tank, on the verge of death. It's a hard thing to do, killing a fish. At least you didn't flush her. To me, thats the worst thing to do. They still live in the water, down into the sewer until they sufficate and die from the conditions. Props to you for not making her suffer. I still am not able to kill a fish. I find it very difficult so I just put them in the QT until they die naturally. Then again, they are probably suffering till the end.

Sorry to hear this, but I believe you made the right choice, like every one else said. As to the method you chose to put her to sleep, well this remains in controversy. Is it better to do it that way and feel no pain? is it better to freeze them? (i'd think the lowering of the temps gradually would be worse, even tho they think they are being put in a "comatose" state), etc. I myself have never had to do any, just remove fish that die out of my tanks, however I believe you did the right thing by putting it down quickly.
-Stewie

[Meredith]

There are so many debates about the cold water thing. I use it because I don't actually have to watch the process. But I think the way you did it is undoubtedly the fastest way. I am so sorry you had to go through that.

[Menagerie]

You did the right thing. My husband puts down our fish, I can't bear to. One day, he pulled out an ill one and I heard a thunk sound. I hadn't even left the room and he cracked it's little head on the side of the tank. I know it was quick, I know it was the right thing, but I still can hear that sound

you did the right thing like everyone else said, but like other people said it MAY have been brutalbut yet she didnt even know it

im sorry for your loss and i thought thats a better way to be "Put to Sleep" than being frozen to death

once again, you did a good thing instead of letting her suffer

WIHYGANB that you love just as much

[tommyr]

Putting a fish down is hard to do but it was easier than putting my dog down last month after 15 years of companionship. THAT was tough.

I use clove oil in some tank water in a small bowl first, this puts the fish to sleep. Then I place in freezer until soild.

I lost 2 bettas myself this winter so hang in there.

Tom

[severum mama]

From what you describe, it didn't sound like your betta was going to get any better. I had to euthanize a Bolivian ram a few weeks ago and it really bothered me for a while, but I know I did the right thing by ending the suffering. I didn't have the guts to do what you did, so I got a cup of refrigerated, dechlorinated water, put Scratchy in there, and put it in the freezer. The water I used was cold enough that he just kind of went into shock, it wasn't like the water temp was lowered gradually.

It's not like you didn't try to save her, you know? You did what you had to do, and your fish didn't suffer. That's the important thing.

[shawmutt]

It's always a horrible thing to do, but like everyone else said, it seemed like the right thing to do. Sorry you had to go through it, but at least you did it quickly and as painlessly as possible.

As far as effective methods for the squeamish or others who may not be able to do it like Billsgate did it, the best method is to put the fish in a dish with water, add clove oil to put them to sleep, and then put the dish in the freezer. It takes a little longer, but it is also a painless method.

[flipz]

I had to euthanize my very first fish today... and it was just a feeder comet! for some reason my shark befriended it, and never ate it! it lived for close to a month, and today i found it stuck to the filter, and the filter had actually pulled one of it's eyes off.

i knocked it off the filter, and it kind of started to swim, but not really. i netted it out, put it in a brown plastic bag, and **** it with one of my college text books (Cisco CCNA 3 & 4... a huge book).

it was hard even though it wasn't what i consider to be one of "my fish," and was purchased to die anyways. but still a tough thing to do!