Fish Euthanasia

[Baby_Baby]

I do hope that this helps someone. It is a collection of articles I put together since the subject of Fish Euthanasia is brought up fairly often. Please know that my heart goes out to you if you have lost a loved fish.
-Rebekah Elena: FishForums Moderation Team

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Stan & Debbie Hauter,
Your Guide to Saltwater Aquariums.


A Humane or Inhumane Practice?
At some point during the ownership of an aquarium, whether salt or freshwater, you are going to encounter a fish that is sick and dying from disease, old age, or has stopping eating altogether for any number of reasons. Many times, despite the healing efforts you make to save a fish like this, it cannot be saved. When this happens you have to make the choice of putting the fish out of its misery or watch it suffer.

Euthanasia can be a very sensitive, as well as a taboo subject to discuss for many people. The definition of euthanasia from the American Heritage Dictionary is, "the act of painlessly ending the life of a person for reasons of mercy." Pet euthanasia is the act of painlessly ending the life of a pet for reasons of mercy.

People make this heart wrenching decision for cats, dogs and other pets all the time, so why not fish euthanasia to end a fish's needless suffering?

When any pet dies you have to deal with the grief of the loss. To complicate things even further, if you decide to euthanize a pet, you also have to deal with the guilt of having done so. Who wants to face the reality of that? Just like any other kind of pet, fish can be family members too. It is not unusual for aquarists to have fish friends that have been with them for many long years. They are truly loved, cherished, have distinctive personalities all their own, and the idea of loosing one may cause you to react in the natural instinct to hang on and not let go. But, is that fair to the fish? How long do you hang on in the hopes that it will get better? Wouldn't you think you should do the most humane thing you can do for the fish and not let it suffer needlessly, no matter how difficult it may be for you?

If you are not sure if fish euthanasia is appropriate, ask yourself these questions:

* Does my fish have a good quality of life?
* Has my fish been sick for some time?
* Have I exhausted all possible medication treatments for what ails my fish within a reasonable amount of time?
* Has my fish responded or shown any signs of improvement with treatment?
* Is my fish suffering?
* Has my fish been eating?
* Is my fish emaciated (nothing but skin and bones), starving to death?

By the way you answered these questions, you should know if it may be time to consider euthanizing your fish or not. If you decide this is the best way to go, of course you want to choose the most humane method possible, meaning one that is quick and painless, but this is where things can get even more controversial.

What may be considered to be humane to one person may not be to another. To me, flushing a still living fish down the toilet is totally out of the question. How humane is that, not to mention strangely enough as Shirlie Sharpe, About Guide to Freshwater Aquariums points out, possibly unsafe? We all know that if a fish is deprived of air it will suffocate. Is this humane? From my years as a youth fishing with my dad, and later years fishing with Stan for salmon in Washington State, they always knocked the fish on the head with the butt end of a knife. They said that it was not good to allow the fish to suffer by letting it thrash around gasping for air, and that by doing so the fish may poke you with a sharp spine causing injury to yourself as well. It was best to make it quick for them. So, is this humane or not?

The decision to practice fish euthanasia, as well as which method to use to end a fish's needless suffering is something only you can decide for yourself as humane, or inhumane.


End of Article. Start of New.

DONT FLUSH THAT FISH!

From Shirlie Sharpe,
Your Guide to Freshwater Aquariums.

Why flushing fish is not an option
Every fish owner is eventually faced with the dilemma of how to dispose of unwanted fish. All too often the desperate owner resorts to the age-old method of flushing. Oh the joy of the toilet - so simple, so quick, so effective. Or maybe not. Did pangs of guilt, or sobbing children keep you from whooshing Goldie down the porcelain throne? Okay, so it's time for plan “B”. Drag out that dog-eared state park map and locate a river or lake so Goldie can have a nice new home. The kids can visit on weekends. Everyone is happy, right? Wrong. Unfortunately for both the fish and the environment neither option is appropriate. Plan A - Flushing
Isn’t the septic system designed for disposing of.. well.. undesirable things? Yes it is, however diseased fish should not be on the list of flushable items.


Consider the issue of cruelty to the fish. The debate over how much pain a fish is able to feel will rage on long past our lifetimes. But there is little doubt that a live fish flushed into a system carrying all manner of noxious wastes will suffer in some way. Flushing a live fish is little more humane than dumping an unwanted kitten or puppy down an outhouse pit. Enough said. If that doesn't bother you, here's a more selfish reason to think twice about flushing. The fish carries with it the diseases or parasites that infected it in the first place. No matter how remote, there is always the possibility of passing those diseases on. Would you feel comfortable using a toilet knowing that a diseased fish had just been swimming there? Plan B - Dumping
There are so many ponds, rivers, and lakes. Why not put unwanted fish there? Seems kinda natural, doesn't it? And it would be - if the fish came from that body of water in the first place. However that is almost never the case. Thousands of non-indigenous species of fish are imported to the United States and other countries each year. Those fish do not belong in the local waterways. Why? For starters the living conditions are usually less than ideal. Water temperature and other environmental factors may be too harsh for them to survive. Bacteria and parasites they aren’t normally exposed to (and therefore are not resistant to) might infest them. There may be no suitable foods for them and they will starve. Or they may become lunch for the fish and other wildlife that are native to the area. For most non-indigenous fish the odds are not favorable for a long and healthy life. Those that do survive pose an even worse problem. Non-native fish can play havoc with the habitat. They may kill other fish and wildlife, destroy vegetation, and pass on parasites and disease. In some cases it is possible for them to breed with local fish and create destructive offspring that Mother Nature never intended to exist (and we all know the perils of fooling with Mother Nature). Considerable damage has been done to many local ecosystems by non-indigenous fish that were carelessly dumped. The Options
Healthy fish should never be a problem to get rid of. Any of the following options is preferable to dumping or flushing:


* Local Fish/Pet Shop - See if they will take your unwanted fish. Some will even pay you a small price for them.

* Other fishowners - Advertise if you have to, you'll be surprised by how many fishowners are willing to adopt your fish.

* Fish Clubs - Check to see if there is a fish club in your region. Odds are someone in the club will gladly take your fish.

* School, nursing home, or office - Any place that has an aquarium may agree to take your fish. If they don't have an aquarium, consider donating yours. Nursing homes and schools often welcome such gifts, and it might even be tax deductible.

Diseased fish are a little more difficult to deal with. Obviously they cannot be given away. However, they should never be dumped into local waterways or flushed. Sick fish that cannot be cured should be quickly and mercifully euthanized before being disposed of in a sanitary landfill.

End of Article.

[neilfishguy]

thankd for posting this its a helpful article

[Ice Prince]

Very informative.

[ikermalli]

that is very informative, but you didn't post how to euthanize fish... I have heard of putting them in clove oil or using finquel.

[Baby_Baby]

Section: A Gentle, Easy Death

Euthanasia is the bringing about of a gentle and easy death, without pain or distress, usually for an animal suffering from a terminal disease. The word literally means an "easy and painless death." An appropriate euthanasia technique should provide rapid unconsciousness followed by cardiac or respiratory arrest and ultimate loss of brain function.

In a culture where fish often meet their demise after a brief struggle at the end of a hook and line followed by slow suffocation out of water, euthanasia is not always a prime consideration for ending a fish's life, until the fish in question is an accepted family pet. The subject of fish euthanasia has received greater attention in laboratory animal settings than in veterinary private practice.

Euthanasia can be accomplished by an overdose of any anesthetic agent used for fish. These cause death by direct depression of the brain and vital centers.

Larger fish that cannot easily be transferred to a bath treatment may have the anesthesia solution poured directly over the gills.

In cold-blooded animals, including fish, the heart may continue to beat for long periods after brain function has ceased, allowing for partial and somewhat distressing recoveries later if the fish is kept moist and cool. To be certain the euthanasia is complete, once the fish is deeply anesthetized and insensible, cranial concussion (a sharp blow to the head), decapitation (removal of the head), or exsanguination (bleeding out) may be performed to ensure death if heart function cannot be monitored.

Accepted Methods of Euthanasia

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Panel on Euthanasia lists three acceptable methods of euthanasia for fish, and two conditionally acceptable methods. Methods listed as acceptable are overdoses with the anesthetics tricaine methanesulfonate (MS-222), benzocaine (related to MS-222 but less soluble in water) and barbiturates. Methods listed as conditionally acceptable are stunning (by a blow to the head) and decapitation in combination, or decapitation alone. Of the three methods listed as acceptable, tricaine and benzocaine are immersion anesthetics, while barbiturates are administered by intravenous injection. Overdoses of other anesthetics in water, such as eugenol (active ingredient of clove oil) and isoflurane (a volatile anesthetic used for gas anesthesia of terrestrial animals) will produce similar effects.

Hypothermia (chilling, freezing) is not considered to be humane when used as the sole method of euthanasia because the animal is not rendered rapidly insensible to pain or distress. However, freezing is an effective method of ensuring death of a fish and may be employed after the fish is insensible from an anesthetic overdose.

Euthanasia of Fish at Home

Bringing a fish to a veterinarian for euthanasia with standard anesthetics or euthanasia agents may not be practical in all circumstances. In these instances it is useful to have humane, rapid and effective alternatives to the toilet bowl. While flushing into the sewer system is almost invariably an effective means of killing a fish by exposure to intolerable water quality conditions, it is not necessarily rapid, and could pose the risk of introducing fish diseases to the local watershed. As mentioned above, stunning and decapitation together, skillfully applied, is considered a conditionally acceptable method of euthanasia for fish, in that it results in rapid and direct depression of the brain due to hypoxia. However, it is not necessarily an acceptable means when applied to one's own dying pet.

Clove oil, active ingredient eugenol, is being used increasingly in fish anesthesia, and is available from specialty food outlets and many pharmacies. Although it is not completely water soluble without first dissolving in ethanol (grain alcohol), particularly in cold water, enough dissolves to result in anesthesia and subsequent death at doses greater than 0.25 ml per liter of water (about 1 ml per gallon, or 1/4 teaspoon per gallon). Two anesthetic compounds which have been used in fish, but which are not recommended for clinical use due to difficulty in controlling anesthetic level and metabolic derangements they induce, are carbon dioxide and ethanol. Both of these compounds are often available in households when other potential fish anesthetic/euthanasia agents are not.

Carbon dioxide gas is listed as an acceptable method of euthanasia for terrestrial animals, causing death by direct depression of the brain and vital centers, but is not generally considered for aquatic applications. Carbon dioxide is released when Alka-Seltzer® tablets dissolve in water, and euthanasia can be induced with 2 or more tablets per liter (8 tablets per gallon). Ethanol (not rubbing alcohol, which contains a high percentage of isopropyl alcohol) can be used for euthanasia at a dose of 30 ml pure grain alcohol per liter of water (about 1/2 cup per gallon; note that ethanol content in beverages for human consumption is listed as "proof," with 100 proof being 50 percent ethanol, 200 proof being 100 percent ethanol, and adjust dosage accordingly). Be aware that fish undergoing immersion anesthesia may experience a brief excitement phase as inhibitory neurons are depressed prior to achieving complete anesthesia. After the fish is insensible, these methods may be followed by decapitation or freezing to ensure death.

Source: http://www.petplace.com/fish/euthana...ish/page1.aspx

[ikermalli]

Thank you! I am hoping I will not have to euthanize a fish but if I have to I will refer to this.

[flamingo]

After you've been forced to do it countless times, you find that crushing the head is the quickest and easiest way. If done right, it kills them instantly- but of course, it's not for everyone.

[Ice Prince]

A book i read had some techniques for euthanizing fish and one of the ways it suggested was "drawing a target on the cement or a brick wall and throwing the fish as hard as you can at it". thought it was pretty funny at first then i read it again and realized it wasnt funny.

[Maztachief]

I've only had to do it once and used an instant freeze. If you turn one of those aircans for cleaning computers upside down the liquid comes out instead and since it was under pressure to keep it fluid the sudden phase change to gas from the liquid causes it to be super cold (it freezes water INSTANTLY and can cause frost bite if gotten on you).

I made sure it was right above the fish's head and froze him solid in less than 2 seconds. Sad times

[matthew_black]

A method I prefer is putting them in a plastic fish bag, and slamming the bag into a wall or counter top. Slightly less brutal than having to crush the head, but easy to do with small fish and just as effective. When done quickly the fish will only be without water in the bag for a few seconds.

[crazyfishlady]

This may be off topic but, after reading all the options for fish I really wish human euthanasia was legal.

[justintrask]

The freezing method works for me, but you need to do it right. A lot of people put the fish in water and then stick it in the freezer. thats the worst for the fish and the slowest death.

Take a bowl of water and stick it in the freezer. After a few hours, check on it. If there is a thin coat of ice on top, break the ice. That means the water is now below 32 degrees. At this point, place the fish inside the bowl. It will be an instant unconsciousness/death due to the EXTREME temperature change.