Loaches Online Forum

I was devastated when I heard about the sharks being tossed back in like that. I always see people going in and grabbing up a betta kit or a goldfish starter kit for their kids. Looking back on the way my mother bought me pets was pretty admirable- she took it upon herself to take care of the animal properly to show me how it was done. She didn't just randomly go into a pet store, let me bark out what I wanted, and hope for the best. If I wanted a pet, I had to be aware. I had to know what responsibilities I had.

Admittedly, as a vegetarian, anti-death big old softie, I may be over-the-top with this; but the couple of times I have had to euthanize a pet I felt that I wanted the creature (dog, fish, whatever) to go slowly, calmly, painlessly, and gently to "sleep". Whacking, decapitating, alcohol burning, heat burning, etc. all seem pretty violent and painful to me (no insult intended to anyone). My natural empathy is to think, ok, how is that going to feel? If I were decapitated, I know that some of my brain cells would continue to function after separating my head. If I were burning, I would feel it, and not be dead immediately. Same with the idea of whacking - shock, pain, then dead.

I have used clove oil on my own mouth for gum irritation, it really is anesthetic. I had to use it on a goldfish that developed a swim bladder illness and her stomach became infected from hanging upside down at the top. I put clove oil into some tank water, shook to emulsify, put her in and put the container into the freezer (dark, chilling, but calm, slow but not too slow, and I hope painless). I don't think it seemed too terrible to her. Hope not, anyway.

I'll be moving house in a few months and from what I remember of the last time I moved it was a nightmare catching the fish.......especially the loaches. Could a few drops of clove oil be put in the tank prior to catching them just to make the whole thing less stressful (for them and me!)?

Hi Dave,

A better way would be to drop the water level (use R.O. containers to keep most of your water) so that the level in the tank is only about 3" high before you start catching the fish out. It makes it about a million times easier.

Emma

I realise this is an emotive subject but surely the fastest most accurate decapitation method is sharp scissors. No possible feelings of pain involved with a clean severance of the spinal cord just behind the head continuing through the depth of the body seperating head from body i feel these ideas of freezing and clove oil are prehaps down to squeamishness on the owners part rather than real consideration of the fastest least painfull euthanasia method. Sorry for any offence caused

I hear vets in the US use finquel to sedate fish for wen trims, gill trims, xrays etc.

I have clove oil on hand - from a natural store and have used it only on small rainbow fish. They are gone within seconds

If I had access to finquel this would be my preferred route but it isn't available in Canada I believe. My friends in the States have access to it though.

Here is another way I once tried and the fish died within seconds. I had a very sick Gorumy (sp?). I know ammonia is lethal to fish so I dipped him into a solution of glass cleaner and water. He was gone in seconds. I imagine it would be painfull like knocking or knifing him. I think I will use clove oil if i ever had to put down a fish again.

What about the garbage disposal? It is fast.

...thats outright horrible......and rather unhumane I think unless you are joking

IMO if the clove oil really does calm the fish and then as they sleep they go to fishy heaven then that would be the best way, just like I think most people would rather go while they were asleep and not some other way.

I think Gary's comment may have been a tongue in cheek commentary on some people preferring quick to humane. Dropping a live fish in a food blender is pretty inhumane. Clove oil has to be the best option, better than severing the spine. An anaesthetic does the opposite of causing pain, no matter how quick you are with a blade of any sort.

-----Here we are talking about the nicest way to off a fish when we (mostly) all happily eat fish which have been netted from the ocean and left out to suffocate for hours. Somehow the food blender option seems more humane....

I've watched the guy in the town fishmarket kill 8 and 12 pound catfish with ease. He hefts these HUGE monstrous sized fish from the water and slaps them onto the table, then brings the hatchet down on the body right behind the head.

As he strips them, they are still moving and flopping. The head SEEMS like it is still alive.

TO me, that seems like it would be the most terrifying experience ever, even if it was for only 5 seconds.. 10 seconds.. 15 seconds before the head dies. I've never had to put a fish down before, like a dummy I end up trying to save them until the last minute if I dont find them dead already.

palaeodave wrote:I think Gary's comment may have been a tongue in cheek commentary on some people preferring quick to humane. Dropping a live fish in a food blender is pretty inhumane. Clove oil has to be the best option, better than severing the spine. An anaesthetic does the opposite of causing pain, no matter how quick you are with a blade of any sort.

-----Here we are talking about the nicest way to off a fish when we (mostly) all happily eat fish which have been netted from the ocean and left out to suffocate for hours. Somehow the food blender option seems more humane....

Exactly, freezing, smashing, cutting all are inhumane. I would debate that a garbage disposal would be more humane! I agree that the clove oil is the most humane, second would be GD.

I will definately remember the clove oil thing. I could have used it last summer.

However, let's not forget people, we are at the top of the food chain for a reason, "the circle of life" and all.
Nothing wrong with obtaining sustinance for yourself and your family. I'ts part of life.

Right folks.....I'm not trying to drag this old thread back kicking and screaming from oblivion and we don't need to debate it anymore either.

Just to let you know that there is now available on Loaches Online, a rather wonderful article on the subject from our own Emma Turner.

http://www.loaches.com/disease-treatmen ... in-the-sky

This article is fully backed by the moderation team and therefore represents this site's official stance on the subject.

Martin.

Sadly, I've had to put down a dwarf gourami. Treated him for 10 days for an infected cut that continued to get worse.
Clove oil was almost instantaneous, and to be honest, it was such a relief not to see him suffer anymore.