Is it wrong to euthanize a sick pet fish, or wrong not to?

Question

My pet fish, Icy, is very sick, and doesn't seem to be getting any better. Is it wrong to let her suffer? Should I euthanize her? Or would that be wrong?

the method would be to put her in chilled vodka. It is immediate and supposedly pain-free.

she seems to have Swim-bladder disease, but is now just laying on the bottom, and won't eat. :(

Answer 1

You know what? Your fish is already far better off to have you as her owner than a lot of other people, no matter what you choose. I'm sure the people in the "pets" section will have the best advice (as did the guy here with a lot of experience), but that said? I no longer think of the time to euthanize an animal as being a moment that, if you don't catch it in time, you were cruel to miss. Instead it's a window of opportunity. If you try a few last things to cure the fish, you're not "prolonging the agony" -- it was already dying. And if you choose to put it out of its misery, then if you saved it even a few minutes of suffering, you did something good. Just remember that life can be tenacious; don't freak if it takes a few minutes longer to die than you'd hoped. And hugs on facing this sad decision.

Answer 2

I'm sorry to hear that. Have you been good about maintaining good water quality? In my experience, 95% of fish problems comes from not enough water changes. I'd recommend doing a nitrate test at least 1x a month, the lower the ppm the better.

I've killed quite a few pet fish as a novice, so don't feel too bad ;) Luckily many fish illnesses like ick, fin rot, etc can be treated if detected early. If your fish has dropsy, which has telltale symptoms of a puffed up body and scales sticking out like a pinecone, then the outlook is bleak. I've never been able to save a fish with dropsy.

In my opinion its more humane to euthanize a incurable fish than not to. After all, it's in pain and suffering. The recommended way to euthanize would be to take a ziplock bag big enough to hold the fish, fill with aquarium water, place sick fish inside, and place the whole bag in the freezer. The cold will slow down the fish's metabolism and it will go to "sleep" before its suffering is ended.

Answer 3

Fish would be Territorial, you spot this habit with greater aggressive fish, not the mollys nonetheless, I easily have one it truly is doing the comparable element, ive had him a pair of three hundred and sixty 5 days and a a million/2 now, seeing as how theres not a "fish vet" or whisperer. As ordinary because it truly is fish have a character and since the females would have executed something it could have effected him, separate them thoroughly and notice if he will become greater energetic.

Answer 4

No that's very humane of you. the worst thing you could do is to flush the poor thing down the toilet and let it suffer a long agonizing death.

EDIT
if your sure its quick and painless i think its much better than just letting it die slowly, i mean its obviously suffering, and maybe the other fish will start to nibble on him. personally i hate to watch my fish die so i would go for it.

Answer 5

Let nature take it's action, otherwise chilled vodka is better that flushing the poor thing down the toilet.

Answer 6

Let nature take its natural course. P.S: check the PH levels of the water!

Answer 7

Considering how some months ago I was reading about so-called fish "euthanasia" how what people normally did...I could no do that to mine...

Answer 8

Fish are cool take care of it after all it is your pet

Answer 9

Since she is your pet you should try to find out what is wrong and make her better.

Answer 10

If you are sure that she's not getting any better, help her by alleviating her suffering. That's what I'd want.