The new 55 gallon aquarium is going through it’s “new cycling” phase. See future post for more on this or just forget about it for the purpose of this post! One of the starter fish, the smallest, started doing poorly a day or two ago. First he was lethargic and not eating. Then, the other fish starting nipping at him and he cowered in a top corner away from everyone. I came home from work this evening and did a quick head-count. Everyone still present and accounted for – well, almost. The sickly one was not only without pieces of his tail fin but entirely without the tail fin and in fact, a few bites out of his body. Cringe.
What to do? He wasn’t dead so I couldn’t Doctor Kevorkian him could I? “What do fish feel?” I wondered as I looked at him (her?) and followed quickly by a second thought of, “How can he swim without a tail?” Then I couldn’t get an old children’s poem out of my head – the one by Shel Silverstein about being eaten alive by a snake. Yeah, I know, a children’s poem about being eaten alive by a snake… not today’s topic. An aquarium is supposed to be relaxing, and sitting in my living room working on the computer while twelve fish are slowly eating another fish alive is, I must say, not at all relaxing.
I determined to put this fish out of it’s (removing personal pronouns at this level does make it easier) misery. By it’s, I mean equally mine. By mine, I mean, I’m not being eaten alive by other apartment dwellers in my building, so I guess in the end I’m actually putting my uncomfortability out of it’s misery along with this poor thing. Decision made, it was only up to the “how”. I remember my brother having caught a mouse, mangled, but still alive, in a trap. He dumped it in a sack in his back yard and proceeded to whack it into jelly with a shovel. Then I remembered too how grossed out he was – plus I live in an apartment and have little need for a shovel. The closest thing I’ve got is a large serving spoon. Albeit, the comparative size of mouse vs. shovel and fish vs. spoon ratio out pretty well, I’d feel guilty serving potatoes again with that spoon.
I remembered my brother’s claims that last time I owned a tank I had dispatched of a sick fish by dropping him head first into a growling garbage disposal. To tell my side of it, I still claim this is a story I told my brother about another person and he has somehow transposed the deed unto me. I personally think he carries guilt over the mouse jelly incident. My proof is that, no matter how quick it might be for the fish, I am still grossed out by the thought of dropping a partially eaten yet alive animal any-side-first into spinning blades of death. Way way way too up close and personal. Heck, I still think meat comes from the grocery, not animals.
Which left me only one other option, cliche as it might be, that I could think of at the time. Dropping a partially eaten yet alive animal any-side-first into swirling waters of doom. Much much much different than my other option. Sure the fish would live longer somewhere in the dark bowels of the apartment sewage system but I wouldn’t have to distress my sensibilities with the sound of grinding garbage disposal blades. Flushing was like burial at sea. Perhaps honorable, even. Perhaps even the possibility he’d be snapped up by the jaws of a waiting sewer gator eliminating all chance of long suffering, AND paying tribute to the circle of life. Yes, this was the way to go.
And so it was.
Except now I’m afraid to sit on the stool. To paraphrase, “Karma’s a real fish.”
😉
Sick fish? What did you do? Sound off in the comments!
Ice it.
The best way to kill a sick fish without pain–so I’ve been told–is to take a bowl or glass and fill it with ice, and then water. Put the fish in… it will die pretty quickly. I usually then transfer it to an ice water zip-lock sarcophagus and then put it in the trash.
It sucks to have to do it, but a sick fish can quickly kill the rest of the tank… sometimes it must be done.
When I worked at the Pet Store we used to put them in the freezer. But I think you did the right thing. And who wants to look in the freezer and see a dead fish the next morning!
I’ll vouch for you on the garbage disposal…It WAS another person. I even remember who said other person was. That whole scenario was so disturbing, I even remember where everyone was standing and what was on tv. We never, ever, ever, ever (need I go on?) nixed our sickly fish in the garbage disposal.
Besides, most of those fish never actually had a dying phase. One minute they were swimming merrily about and *poof!*, you’d turn around and there they were, dead as a doornail and being sucked into the filter.
No, I have your back on this one…we never sliced and diced any fish like that.
Oh, and I tend to flush mine too nowadays.
Dave – Next time, I’m going that route. Thanks!
The *proper* way to euthanize a fish is to drop it into boiling water. Instant death.
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Gently lay it down just behind the rear tire of your car after quickly removing it from the tank. Roll over it twice. Sometimes the best way out for the victim is the quickest, most painless choice – even though what is left looks horrible to the living. Blowing it up with a small amount of explosives works too. BAM! Out.
There is only one way to ensure a quick painless end and that is to dash the fish with force onto a hard surface such as concrete!! Anything else is cruel……..
Flushing, garbage, clove oil, freeze, snipping, boiling water…I prefer freezing with small fish, but what with you do with say, an Oscar?
With keeping life animals comes responsibility. Please stand up to the job that belongs to the hobby of keeping fish.
The least cruel way is to smash it on concrete with great force or quickly wrap it in toiletpaper or plastic, lay it on a flat surface and smash a flat stone/tile on top of it. This is really the quickest way and you know for sure that it is the end of the suffering.
Flushing through the toilet is just cruel. If you dare not to kill a sick fish, please find someone who is willing to do it for you and safe the fish more agony.
Just googled and it led me to this website.
I have a goldfish in a bowl and it got very ill recently.
Started by not eating, then sunk on the bottom of the tank, started floating sideways and eventually hunched over sideways barely moving sitting at the bottom of the tank.
Asked my friends this evening what to do. My very quiet and well mannered from leapt forward “slam a massive brick over it as hard as you can. squish it to death!” (its always the quiet ones you know..)
But just wanted to let you know that I changed the water, purified the tank. reintroduced me fish and fed him a single mushed up pea.
within hours he is swimming normally again (laps around the tank), eating, and looking rather happy i must say!
Ill have to keep you posted on the results!
Ive just had to do mine….a kitchen knife quickly seperated its head from his body.
i flush him down the drain
killing cold-blooded critters humanely (in the name of science or frankenstein classes as i lovingly called them) for bio, phys classes was accomplished by putting them on ice. The coldness also served the purpose of anesthetization for the unfortunate animal. pain killers on the extremely cheap end of the spectrum.
i think my geek is showing.
can the fish be cured if i give him paracetamol?
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