Is there a nice way to kill my beta?

Question

Our little fish has a black cancer-ish rott looking thing spreading on his back. He already lost his top fin. He bearly eats. He looks like he hates life. I want to ease his pain, ya know? by just ending it. This sounds lame I know... it's a freaking fish, but I feel bad for the little guy. Any ideas? I don't think he can be helped, I bought beta fix stuff but I thinks it's too late.

Answer 1

DO NOT flush a live fish, it is a very painful death. If you want to euthanize him, get some clove oil (eugenol). Mix some in a large glass or bowl with some aquarium water in it. Make sure it's mixed in well. Put the beta in the glass. If the oil starts to go towards the top, gently mix it back in a little. In the meantime (or before you get the glass ready) put another bowl of water in the freezer. Don't let if freeze solid, just let it get a little film of ice over the top. Once your beta is knocked out from the clove oil, put him in the bowl of ice cold water. Put it back in the freezer and freese it solid. Then you can do with it as you wish (if you flush it, you might want to let it thaw a little so it'll go down). The clove oil along may not kill the fish. The freezing is what actually kills the fish, but feezing can be very painful. I've heard they can feel the ice crystals forming as they freeze (kind of like frost bite). The clove oil makes them numb, so they can't feel anything, and the freezing is then painless.

Here are things NOT to do, and why:
*Freezing alone. This is painful as the ice crystals form, and it can be quite slow depending on the temperature.
*Clove oil along. Although the fish MAY die just from the clove oil, it's hard to tell for sure, and whatever you do to it later may be painful if he becomes "un-numb"
*Alcohol of any sort. Some say it's like anesthesia, others say you need it to dissolve the clove oil (you don't need it). Ever drink a strong liquor, or get rubbing alcohol in a cut? It's painful. And think of what it'll feel like to the poor little fish, especally with open wounds. It can also be a slow death.
*Flushing live. The fish can die a slow, painful death from excess chlorine or ammonia, or both.

There is absolutly nothing wrong with you wanting to put the little guy out of his misery, even though he is "only" a fish. If you feel putting him to sleep (almost literally by this method) is the best choice, then by all means do it.

Answer 2

I feel for you. To some people a fish is just a fish but it's a pet, no matter if it's a dog or a fish. It sounds like fin rot, but it might be too late. Give him a couple more days to try and fight(with the help of that medication you bought) but if it is too late you can pour liquor into his bowl. It sounds strange but it's the most humane way to put a fish down. Vodka is the suggested alcohol. He'll get drunk, pass out and die(just like a person can).

Answer 3

First, I'd try adding 1 tablespoon of freshwater aquarium salt per 5 gallons of water and adding a round of Maracyn and Maracyn-2 (antibiotics that work in combination and can be found at the petstore). At this point, betafix is probably not going to do much good and you need to go with something more serious.
If, after a round of serious antibiotics, he doesn't look any better, then you can put him out of his misery in one of two ways. The first, and easiest, way is to fill a large cup of water and stick it in the freezer until the top just barely slushes or freezes over, then mix up the ice on top so that you can drop your beta right into the near freezing water. Then, although he is probably dead, you should go ahead and freeze him completely just to make sure. The other option is putting him in a cup and adding some clove oil to it. These are both quick and humane. Please don't flush him alive, then he just dies slowly of chlorine and/or ammonia poisoning in the sewage system.

Answer 4

Don't flush him alive. It's a horrible death for the little guy.
Try this, it's quick and painless.
Get Extra Strength Alka Seltzer. Use a coffee cup with about 8 oz of his tank water and plop 2 tablets in. The painkillers numb his pain and he quickly suffocates in the carbon dioxide bubbles.
I've done this and prefer it to freezing them.
If you do freeze, put him in a Ziploc bag with the water he lives in and let it freeze solid. The temp will slowly drop. Don't put him in partially frozen water, that's like us running outside without a jacket while it's snowing. Not comfortable.
You could always put him in a baggie and crush him with something. My friend does it that way, I think it's gross.
Good luck and sorry for your loss.

Answer 5

Put it in a cup of water and put it in the freezer.The fish will just go to sleep as the water becomes colder.I've had to do this a few times to sick fish.Another option is to quickly cut off it's head with a very sharp knife-I couldn't do it-or if you have any tranquilizers on hand,put the fish in a small container of water with a few dissolved tranquilizers.This kills them pretty quickly and they just go to sleep.

Answer 6

The best way to euthanize a fish is to add some clove oil to a small cup of water and put the fish in. Clove oil acts as anesthesia for the fish, then you can freeze it. You can also anesthetize him with vodka.

Answer 7

the best thing to do is take some ice cubes and put it insude the tank,make sure u have the fish alone in the tank,or put it in another small tank and put a 2 handfills of ice and wait for a hour a two it will slowly die wih minimum pain,trust me i have tried a lot of times it works!make sure the water in tank is ice cold-freezing!`

Answer 8

The best way to kill him/her is just write a letter to bush that he / she is a friend of Saddam Hussain / Ladin, and Mr. George W. Bush will do the rest for you.

Answer 9

take the poor thing to a pet store and ask if there is anything that can be done if they cant do anything im sure they can tell you the fastest way to end this little fishys life.

Answer 10

The oldest practice is the burial at sea. Say a nice thing or two over your little friend, beg his forgiveness and understanding. Then solemnly and with love in your heart, flush the little fellow and blow him a kiss as you send him to Davey Jones. That's what I do in these circumstances. I call it the final flush. It's sad really.