How to Perform Goldfish Euthanasia
The first method is the clove oil method. Clove oil can be obtained at drug stores or health food stores. The trick with clove oil is that is does not mix well with water so you need to employ a few tricks to keep the oil circulating in the water. Use a small container that will not be used for live fish later - do not use your fish tank even if your sick fish is your only fish or you run the risk of accidentally killing every other healthy fish that ever enters that tank. Place an air stone and about a half gallon of your tank water into the new container, along with your sick fish. In a smaller container add some tank water and a teaspoon of clove oil and shake it thoroughly. Pour the mixture into the container with your fish - the air stone will help to keep the oil mixed. Your fish should very quickly turn on it's side and stop breathing. Keep your fish in the mixture for at least 10 minutes after the last movement from his eyes and gills.
Another method is by using baking soda, as it increases the carbon dioxide level in the tank to toxic levels, but it's method is to make the fish peacefully fall asleep quickly before it's respiration fails. Remove your fish from his tank to a holding container with enough room to swim around. Mix 3 tablespoons of baking soda to a quart of water and pour into the holding container. Your fish should quickly turn to his side and shortly thereafter his breathing should stop. Allow him to remain in the solution at least 10 minutes after the last sign of breathing.
Alka Seltzer works in a similar way by producing carbon dioxide in the water. Get a container large enough for your fish to move around freely and drop in 1 tablet for up to 5 gallons of water or 2 tablets for up to 10 gallons. Place your fish in the solution. Once your fish has floated to his side and his breathing has stopped you should again wait at least 10 minutes before removing him.
Many people mistakenly believe that freezing a fish is a painless way to euthanize a fish while nothing could be further from the truth. Even if you place your fish in it's own tank water and put him in the freezer this is a painful way to die. Ice crystals form in the bloodstream and body tissue causing great pain to the fish as he slowly freezes to death. There is also a way to mix vodka with the clove oil as a means of anesthetizing the fish, however it's very difficult to get the right combination of the mixture and the vodka almost always burns the gills leading to a violent and painful death.
If you are faced with a sick fish that cannot be saved your best option may be to euthanize him. When it's time to help your fish into the next life do him a favor and choose from one of these three painless methods.
Published by Danielle Friedl
Danielle is a SAHM to three active little girls. It has been a life long dream to be a writer- as her mother always reminds her! View profile
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20 Comments
Post a CommentI had to put my daughter's goldfish down tonight. It was suffering from dropsy and loosing scales. I did alot of research and saw the survival statistics. He has been suffering for a while.
Wanting to end the suffering sooner than later and seeing the trouble others had with finding clove oil, I looked for an alternative. I found in my husbands drawer an old bottle of KANKA, which contains benzocaine. In an article regarding anesthesia for animals benozocaine was used only needing higher dosage to ensure death.
I would suggest looking up Anesthesia and analgesia in laboratory animals, page 526-527.
I mixed about a 1/4 teaspoon with water in a pill bottle and poored it in the container the fish was in. No thrashing just stillness for 10 minutes and to be sure I did add about 25% vodka. Hope this helps someone.
I had to put my daughter's goldfish down tonight. It was suffering from dropsy and loosing scales. I did alot of research and saw the survival statistics. He has been suffering for a while.
Wanting to end the suffering sooner than later and seeing the trouble others had with finding clove oil, I looked for an alternative. I found in my husbands drawer an old bottle of KANKA, which contains benzocaine. In an article regarding anesthesia for animals benozocaine was used only needing higher dosage to ensure death.
I would suggest looking up Anesthesia and analgesia in laboratory animals, page 526-527.
I mixed about a 1/4 teaspoon with water in a pill bottle and poored it in the container the fish was in. No thrashing just stillness for 10 minutes and to be sure I did add about 25% vodka. Hope this helps someone.
do these formulas kill fishes
Yes this method works just put down my little puffer RIP Lenord i put him in a large pickle jar and dumped the stuff in and he just twitched and fell asleep
Just FYI: the AVMA does NOT recommend the use of clove oil.
So%2C I tried the baking soda method and it%27s been 30 minutes and he%27s still b reathing.... any more ideas better than this one? The garbage disosal would be more humane. Should have read the comments first. I can only hope others do.
I would not recommend the baking soda method, there's got to be a better, quicker method. We had to euthanize three of our goldfish today. They were bleeding, clamped fins - MISERABLE. We were just sick about it and asked the pet store about the most humane way to have them die. The pet experts said it should take about 10 minutes with baking soda and the fish would enter into a "euphoric state" before they die. Let me tell you, it took 2 hours for our largest goldfish to finally succumb (and that was after I added a few drops of Vodka to the water) because it was still breathing. It was torture for us - hopefully not for them - but I have my doubts. It's a terrible position to be in. Goldfish are wonderful creatures.
bobby
baking soda does not increase water hardness (GH). it does increase KH (carbonate hardness, primarily bicarbonates). Increasing KH raises pH up to a maximum of 8.3 with baking soda. Adding baking soda in larger doses generates CO2 which puts the fish to sleep.
>Is suffocating better that freezing?
I'd prefer neither.
Salt affects their ability to regulate fluid balance and is irritating. What you're doing with high salt levels in freshwater fish is causing them to become dehydrated and messing with their blood acid/base balance. I would not recommend it.
In my opinion, Finquel (MS-222/Tricaine Methanesulfonate) which is a fish sedative/anesthetic is the preferred method for euthanizing goldfish. It can be purchased from several sources online. Baking soda to induce CO2 narcosis would be my distant second choice. I would not use clove oil as it's initially very irritating.
if adding baking soda adds co2 to the water than why dose the PH go up? I wish that was true then instead of try cracking open a chemistry book before looking like an idiot. adding baking soda increases the PH making the water harder. The harder water can not be absorbed into the fishes blood their for suffocating the fish. Is suffocating better that freezing?
When I have to put fish down. I will mix up a salt solution and put the fish in that. My salt solution is a little higher than that of Wal-Mart or pet hell. the salt works on the fishes liver like getting it drunk. Then i freeze it.