Humane killing

[Tinafina]

My figure8 puffer has a huge cotton tail now because of a fungus attack. No meds help at all. Keeps getting stuck to filter. What can I do? It is suffering. Should I flush him???

 

[eco23]

Should I flush him???

Nooooooooo!!!!!!

There is a sticky in the Unhealthy Fish section of the website. Please review that article and ensure your fish in untreatable before taking any action.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f17/an-overview-of-euthanasia-73775.html

 

[GuppyLover]

Flushing is NOT a humane way to kill them. I beleive there is a sticky in the Freshwater Unhealthy fish section about Euthanization.

 

[Tinafina]

Ok so I'll free him to death. This really sucks. He seems healthy other than this massive growth that literally paralyze's him. What would you guys do??

 

[eco23]

It's hard for me to recommend euthanizing a fish without being there...but if you've tried to treat him before and you feel he is suffering...it's the right thing to do.

If you do the freezing method...make sure it is a sudden shock, don't simply stick him in water then into the freezer. You want to make a bowl of water as ice cold as possible. I add a lot of salt into the water which lowers the freezing point so the water can get much colder before it solidifies. Get the water as cold as you can...then net him and quickly hold him under the water. The colder the water is...the faster you will euthanize him.

Again, without being there I can't say for certain, but if he seems very far gone to you..it's what I'd do (and have had to do many times before).

Sorry about your fish

 

[jetajockey]

I'd try removing the fish and directly applying hydrogen peroxide on the fungus. It may not save him, but it will kill the fungus.

 

[Tinafina]

That's what I was planning. Water is in the freezer. I called an aquarium shop and asked for their advice and they said to flush it. How terrible is that. They should be the ones to know from right and wrong.
Thanks for your input.

 

[eco23]

^^^ jetajockey has more experience than I do with these things. I'd advise listening to him first and foremost.

 

[jetajockey]

Some fish bounce back from fungus better than others, so it's worth a shot anyway. If you do decide to euthanize, the salted ice water bath method is probably the easiest to do, but if you aren't squeamish then the most humane way is to remove the head with a sharp pair of scissors or knife.

 

[melosu58]

Moved to the Fw unhealthy fish forum. This forum is for community news and announcements.

 

[Tinafina]

Hey I'm new to this forum. Getting use to the formats.