Post by karen on Aug 18, 2006 17:33:04 GMT
There comes a time in every aquarist's life when a fish that can no longer recover from disease or injury must be euthanized. This is no easy task but it can be done humanely and peacefully without stress to fish or aquarist.
The best method is a two-step process. First, anesthetize the fish with clove oil so that it is sleeping and unable to feel pain, then introduce a clear grain alcohol like vodka to ensure the fish will not wake up.
This method is commonly misrepresented as mixing clove oil and vodka together. That is incorrect. Clove oil must be introduced first, allowing the fish to fall asleep before introducing vodka. Vodka will be stressful for a fish that is not anesthetized.
Clove oil (eugenol) is available at any drug store and is sold as a toothache remedy. It has been used for years as a fish anesthetic for surgeries and tagging procedures. Clove oil will put a fish to sleep and ensure it feels no pain. However the fish can wake up from this sleep if removed from the clove bath. The last step of adding the vodka will ensure the fish expires.
Here are the steps for fish up to 3" (7.6cm) in length:
1. Place the fish in a measuring cup with tank water, or a large mixing bowl. Measure the amount of tank water you add to the bowl and make a note of it. If the fish is in a clear cup place a dark towel around the cup to calm the fish.
2. Fill a small jar with tank water, leaving some room at the top. Put 1 drop of clove oil in the jar, cap and shake vigorously. The clove oil must emulsify, turning the water milky white. When this happens, place about 1/4 of this emulsified mixture in with the fish. The fish will begin listing as it starts to fall asleep. Let the fish be for about 10 minutes. The fish should be resting on the bottom by then. It will look dead, but if you watch closely its gills will be breathing once every few seconds. If after 10 minutes the fish is still rising off the bottom, swimming intermittently, retrieve the jar and re-shake, then add the same dose to the fish's container. Wait again.
3. Once the fish is asleep on the bottom, add 20-25% white grain alcohol. For example, if the fish is in 8oz (240ml) of water, add 2oz (60ml) of vodka. Let the fish stay there for at least 20 minutes.
4. Check the fish carefully after 20 minutes for any gill movement. If there is no gill movement over a 60 second period, the fish has expired.
For larger fish place them in a bucket or plastic tub with tank water. The dose will be 10 drops per gallon (3.78 liters), so if the fish is in 3 gallons (11 liters) of tank water, mix 10 x 3 = 30 drops of clove oil in the jar with some tank water. After shaking the jar vigorously, slowly add the entire mixture to the bucket or tub. Gently mix it in. Once the fish is asleep, follow the previous instructions for adding 20-25% vodka.
To eliminate vodka from the procedure and overdose with clove oil, put the fish to sleep first as stated, then prepare a mixture 5x stronger than the initial dose and administer it the same way, by first emulsifying it. This dose is 50 drops of clove oil per gallon (3.78 liters). Let the fish stay in this mixture for a few hours. Finally make sure there is absolutely no gill movement by watching the gills closely for at least 60 seconds straight. If you see any gill movement, add more emulsified clove oil.
Using clove oil alone is not recommended because even though a fish looks dead it can recover once it has been removed from the bath. Clove oil is a preferred anesthetic precisely because it is hard to overdose a fish with clove oil. Therefore be especially diligent when using clove oil alone, that the fish is really dead. It is much safer to use vodka as the final step.
Unacceptable methods of euthanasia are: freezing, boiling, chopping, removing the fish from water, using a seltzer tablet, slamming, pithing, decapitating, or flushing down the toilet. These methods are slow, torturous, stressful or violent. Clove oil followed by vodka is both inexpensive and humane. The fish goes to sleep just like we might before an operation, and simply doesn't wake up.
Hopefully you will rarely have to perform this task, but when you do, it's at least comforting to know your fish does not have to suffer.
Thanks to wisegeek for this artical www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-most-humane-way-to-euthanize-a-fish.htm
Please asked a member of the forum if your not completly sure how to euthanize a fish or have any problems.
The best method is a two-step process. First, anesthetize the fish with clove oil so that it is sleeping and unable to feel pain, then introduce a clear grain alcohol like vodka to ensure the fish will not wake up.
This method is commonly misrepresented as mixing clove oil and vodka together. That is incorrect. Clove oil must be introduced first, allowing the fish to fall asleep before introducing vodka. Vodka will be stressful for a fish that is not anesthetized.
Clove oil (eugenol) is available at any drug store and is sold as a toothache remedy. It has been used for years as a fish anesthetic for surgeries and tagging procedures. Clove oil will put a fish to sleep and ensure it feels no pain. However the fish can wake up from this sleep if removed from the clove bath. The last step of adding the vodka will ensure the fish expires.
Here are the steps for fish up to 3" (7.6cm) in length:
1. Place the fish in a measuring cup with tank water, or a large mixing bowl. Measure the amount of tank water you add to the bowl and make a note of it. If the fish is in a clear cup place a dark towel around the cup to calm the fish.
2. Fill a small jar with tank water, leaving some room at the top. Put 1 drop of clove oil in the jar, cap and shake vigorously. The clove oil must emulsify, turning the water milky white. When this happens, place about 1/4 of this emulsified mixture in with the fish. The fish will begin listing as it starts to fall asleep. Let the fish be for about 10 minutes. The fish should be resting on the bottom by then. It will look dead, but if you watch closely its gills will be breathing once every few seconds. If after 10 minutes the fish is still rising off the bottom, swimming intermittently, retrieve the jar and re-shake, then add the same dose to the fish's container. Wait again.
3. Once the fish is asleep on the bottom, add 20-25% white grain alcohol. For example, if the fish is in 8oz (240ml) of water, add 2oz (60ml) of vodka. Let the fish stay there for at least 20 minutes.
4. Check the fish carefully after 20 minutes for any gill movement. If there is no gill movement over a 60 second period, the fish has expired.
For larger fish place them in a bucket or plastic tub with tank water. The dose will be 10 drops per gallon (3.78 liters), so if the fish is in 3 gallons (11 liters) of tank water, mix 10 x 3 = 30 drops of clove oil in the jar with some tank water. After shaking the jar vigorously, slowly add the entire mixture to the bucket or tub. Gently mix it in. Once the fish is asleep, follow the previous instructions for adding 20-25% vodka.
To eliminate vodka from the procedure and overdose with clove oil, put the fish to sleep first as stated, then prepare a mixture 5x stronger than the initial dose and administer it the same way, by first emulsifying it. This dose is 50 drops of clove oil per gallon (3.78 liters). Let the fish stay in this mixture for a few hours. Finally make sure there is absolutely no gill movement by watching the gills closely for at least 60 seconds straight. If you see any gill movement, add more emulsified clove oil.
Using clove oil alone is not recommended because even though a fish looks dead it can recover once it has been removed from the bath. Clove oil is a preferred anesthetic precisely because it is hard to overdose a fish with clove oil. Therefore be especially diligent when using clove oil alone, that the fish is really dead. It is much safer to use vodka as the final step.
Unacceptable methods of euthanasia are: freezing, boiling, chopping, removing the fish from water, using a seltzer tablet, slamming, pithing, decapitating, or flushing down the toilet. These methods are slow, torturous, stressful or violent. Clove oil followed by vodka is both inexpensive and humane. The fish goes to sleep just like we might before an operation, and simply doesn't wake up.
Hopefully you will rarely have to perform this task, but when you do, it's at least comforting to know your fish does not have to suffer.
Thanks to wisegeek for this artical www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-most-humane-way-to-euthanize-a-fish.htm
Please asked a member of the forum if your not completly sure how to euthanize a fish or have any problems.