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Is it time to euthanize my fish?

2K views 24 replies 9 participants last post by  Basement Bettas 
#1 · (Edited)
Adonis, my HMDT, is going to die & I know he is starting to suffer. :cry: I posted on him before & the consensus was he probably had TB, which had been on mind as well. I really need some reassurance that I am doing the right thing & that he has TB. Tomorrow I will take action, either treat or euthanize, so please answer as soon as possible so I can decide early & get it over with.

I got him 7/19/12, he had a crooked spine that mostly straightened out with 4 days. He had 2 lesions on his head a week after I got him that healed in 3 days of treatment with AQ salt. He jumped from the tank about 2 weeks ago. He developed 4 lesions in the spot as the last 2 within 12 hrs. They looked identical to the previous lesions. These also cleared up in 3 days with AQ salt treatment. He has torn fins that don’t appear to be re-growing. He has not had fin rot. He was timid, but at the begining of Aug he started doing much better. Now, whenever I take the lid off the tank he would start swimming erratically & frantically, run into things & tried to hide between the tank wall & the heater cord.

Within the past 2 days, he hides in his cave & won’t come out if I am anywhere near the tank, unless he sees a food pellet sinking. Even then, his whole body rarely leaves the cave. He’s never missed a meal, as long as I can get the pellets to sink close enough to him. In the past 12 hrs, he has rapidly started to lose color. His poop is now dark brown & has been for 3-4 days. My part of CA rarely hits 70 in the summer & the last 2 nights have been chilly so I covered the tank with a towel to keep it warm & temp steady. It’s at 80 now & his deterioration has accelerated since then. The last bit of hope I have is that it’s an internal parasite since his poop has changed color. I don’t believe he’s bloated & I think he is looking thinner, but I’m not sure because of the hiding.

I’m sorry this is so long, I just want all the pertinent info here. I really don’t want to euthanize Doni because I love him, but as a responsible fishkeeper, I feel it would be unethical to allow him to suffer when there’s no hope. If I euthanize, I’ve pretty much decided I want to use the clove oil method because it seems the most humane & painless, even though the link says it takes between 30-60 mins. This is what I plan on doing: http://www.oscarfishlover.com/helpful-articles/euthanize-fish But I’ve heard of clove oil & vodka as well. What do you do with the vodka? Is 1 or the other better? Is there a way I can speed up this method without causing him to suffer? Any advice to help me get through this? If it is (and I know at this point it more than likely is), I need to throw away all of his equipment & I need to do that with his body as well, right?

Housing
What size is your tank? 1.75 gal
What temperature is your tank? 80 for the past 2 days, normally at 76-78
Does your tank have a filter? No
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Omega One
How often do you feed your betta fish? 3 pellets twice a day, in lieu of pellets on Sat PM he gets 2 live bloodworms, fast Sunday

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Every other day except when treating with AQ salt then daily. About a week ago switched to every 2 or 3 days based on water params.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? Used to be 100%, now either 50-100% depending on params
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? SeaChem Prime & VitaChem

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 7.6
Hardness: Not tested
Alkalinity: Not tested

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? In the past 12 hrs he is rapidly losing color.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Lethargy within the past couple days, very scared & timid.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Since I got him 7/19, rapidly increasing symptoms in the past couple days.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? AQ salt, daily 100% water changes, cover with towel to reduce stress & keep tank warmer
Does your fish have any history of being ill? On & off since I got him
How old is your fish (approximately)? Don’t know
 
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#2 ·
I'm so sorry about this.. If you decide it's right then it's what's right.
If you do decide to treat, look for "kanaplex" sold by Seachem. The drug is kanamycin, and is pretty much the only thing that works, occasionally... If you can't find this drug, I wouldn't put him through anything else...

I'm so sorry to hear about this, it's hard, I'm sure. -hugs-
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#3 ·
I'm very sorry he hasn't gotten better. Only you can answer the question about euthanizing him. I wouldn't want him, if he were mine, to suffer any longer than he had to. I've not had to euthanize so I don't know what works fastest but in my reading I tend lean towards the frozen water method. I wish you the best and again so sorry you have to deal with this.
 
#5 ·
But since bettas are tropical fish I wouldn't advise using the frozen water method.
 
#4 ·
I'm very sorry. I was in the same situation as you a few months ago with my poor guppy. TB. I believe the most humane way is using a hammer. Just net the fish, put in towel, fold towel on top of it, and hit. It's what I did. It is a very hard thing to do, and it takes guts, but there is no pain involved. It's just like a mountain dropping on you, no pain. :*(
 
#6 ·
Im sorry this had to happen to you little guy :( one thing i can tell you is to not use vodka. just use clove oil, because vodka is an irritant to the fish and will do him more harm
 
#7 ·
I can not tell you what to do, it's your decision.

Should you decide to euthanize, put him in a cup & add clove oil to his water. This acts as a natural anesthetic. Ensure that he is knocked out, then pour him into another cup full of VERY cold water. He will pass away of temperature shock but he wouldn't have felt a thing.

I don't recommend freezing a live fish, it is slow & painful & ice crystals form inside. Not humane at all. As mentioned before you can do the hammer method but very few people have the guts to do something like that, including myself.

I'm so sorry about him. :(
 
#10 ·
I think we should let the OP decide which method is the best. Each method has ups and downs... but in all honesty we simply don't know which method is most painless, because we aren't fish. ;-) I do think the clove oil and frozen water have a pretty similar effect. I know that frozen water shocks our tropical fish, goldfish and koi are more often put in boiling water as they are more likely to "hibernate" in cold water. The downside to the hammer method is that it's extremely stressful taking the fish out of water, wrapping it up, smashing it, you could miss and prolong suffering. Hence, not for the squeemish as you're more likely to mess up.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Thanks everybody! I really appreciate the input! I still haven't decided yet because when I woke up today he seemed to be doing much better. His color is mostly back & he's active as long as I'm not too close to the tank, ate his pellets today & doesn't appear to be in any distress. I'm seriously considering treating him now, but buying clove oil as well just in case. If it is TB, I don't believe it's treatable. However, I have looked into API General Cure for internal/external parasites. I just feel like something is off. I feel that I need to treat with something before I give him up to TB. I've never used it before, so my concern is: will General Cure cause him any distress if I'm wrong?

Edit: Does TB go up & down like this? From what I've read it seems to be a steady decline.
 
#24 · (Edited)
Some meds can slow it down. Thinking kanamyicin and some other drug available to commercial fisheries. Whole idea with the meds is to get a valuable fish healthy enough to breed before destroying as they will never be cured. That was suggested for my friend. They just decided they had enough and didn't want to mess with it. Best if fed internal.
 
#12 ·
If he does have TB you are only prolonging his suffering. The drug I recommended will cover any bacterial/fungal issues and is used for severe illness. It is the only drug that stands a chance against TB, will take on other bacterial issues just as well..
For parasites.. levamisole or metronidazole are good options.
You are dealing with a serious problem from the sounds of it, even if he does look better today, I would not waste my time with general cures...


Just curious, who diagnosed the TB? ;-)
 
#13 ·
Thank you Olympia, that is an exellent point. I guess what I'm struggling with is it TB or not? The lesions cleared up easily, he's a DT so that may be why he has a slightly curved spine, plus it was much worse when I bought him & it straightened almost completely within 4 days. I was told he probably had TB on this post:

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=110286
 
#14 ·
If it is TB, he would likely have skin lesions. Also, watch out for dropsy, if it IS dropsy, just euthanize, its hopeless. Drosy is the final result of many illnesses and the fish's scales stick out sorta like a pinecone, often acompanied by bloating, loss of color, loss of apatite, abnormal excretions or none at all, lethargy, and swim-bladder disorder.

NOW if it does come to euthanization, the most painless way is to use clove oil before whatever you do. I used clove oil then cut off the head, but you can use clove oil and some sort of alcohol, or even bleach, but make sure that the fish is fully asleep. You can also just overdose on clove oil.
 
#16 ·
He actually came out of his cave to say hi. He is thinner, but not emanciated. Just not as sturdy looking as he used to be...The whole reason I started this thread was to make sure I knew when to end his suffering, now it seems like I am trying to prolong it. I really don't want to, but I think maybe it's time I get the clove oil...:cry:
 
#22 ·
If you do the clove oil put him in a small bowl in water he is used to. I add 1 drop of clove oil to a small amount of water in another container. I have condiment cups. They are about the size of a shot glass. dixi cup would work too. Then add a drop of that to the water and watch him. Give him 5 minutes and add another drop. It may take a bit doing it gradually but in time he will slowly turn sideways. continue to add the clove oil till he appears real sedated. the vodka is used to finish him off because even heavily sedated fish can come back.. clove oil is pretty good about not being over dosable. Either vodka or a ziplock bag and into the freezer. In that state will not notice the cold. Put the zipplock in a walmart bag so you don't have to see him. This is what I do as don't have vodka. the dispose of him in the trash. I don't put sick fish into the toilet as don't want to contaminate a water system and don't want what they may have in the dirt either. I think ziplock bags will hold up till the end of time. At that time what ever is in them hopefully will not be viable.

If you add a drop of the clove oil directly to his container be prepared for some convulsions as it is potent. In time he will list over.. but is kinda freaky to watch and the gills get going fast. I like taking it slower.

Should you have to do this I am sorry about your loss.
 
#23 ·
He seems to be less stressed & his color is good still. He's just as active my other fishes, but I was just thinking how ratty his fins had started to look. I think he does have TB, it's just taking a while. I bought clove oil. It's just forcing myself to do it. But Basement Betta, you're absolutely right. Sometimes it is the kinder thing to do. Thank you.
 
#25 ·
Well you are ready if things go bad. Keep him seperate and really nuke anything in contact with him. It can take a few months for them to die.. and others die quick. Go figure. If he seems to be doing better keep water conditions perfect and try to get good nutrition into him. Keep temp warm and see how it goes. If TB there will be a down hill slide and you will be ready. But you are giving him a fighting chance.. good luck.
 
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