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 Euthanasia
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| If
your betta is old, sick and suffering, you may not want to sit and
watch him slowly wither away. He may not want to wither away, no
one knows. You may have a large spawn of babies, too many. You may
need to thin them down. These are not things we do to be monsters,
they are things that we feel are necessary. If you don't agree,
then you don't need to read any farther. |
| Before
I get into the various methods, I will take a moment to offer
alternate suggestions for culling. One thing about culling, is
that you can never tell a fish's true colors until they are grown,
so keep this in mind. Also, many pet stores will trade supplies or
live food in exchange for fish. Sometimes they will even buy them.
There are also always fish/betta lovers willing and more than
happy to make a home for culls. These are the alternatives to
culling your spawn.
Please note that when I talk
about 'culls' here on this page, I am not referring to the overly deformed
or ill culls that I do not believe should be forced to live in
those conditions. I also do not believe they should be sold (as I
have seen done) or given as 'gifts' (which, again, I have also
seen done). If you wish to keep these deformed bettas alive, to
fight to swim for air, to struggle to get to their food, then do
so. I ask that you not try to pass them off as gifts to
unsuspecting customers. Most customers are willing to adopt a cull,
but I don't think many expect to receive a fish that can barely
swim. Ok, back off my soapbox :)
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Culling your Spawns
 | Many people do not have thee
space in their homes to house hundreds of young bettas. This
does not mean that they should not take up another hobby, by any
means. For this reason, many breeders might need to cull their
spawns fairly early on. If you are one that needs to do this,
please remember that sudden cases of velvet or other illnesses
can wipe out the majority of a spawn, so think carefully when
choosing to cull your spawn early. |
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| Your first option is to only
start with a small spawn. You can do this by removing the
female during spawning. Watch her and count the eggs she
releases. When enough eggs have been released to satisfy what
you feel you can handle, remove her from the spawning tank.
She will most likely release the rest of her eggs in her own
bowl and make a snack of them. This is one way of keeping your
spawn small and not having to cull later. |
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| One was to cull your spawn
early in their lives, is to use a small siphon and suck them
out of the tank and into a cup of ice water. I have never done
this (I happen to HAVE plenty of room for all my fish, lol) so
I do not know about it first hand but have heard it kills them
instantly. |
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| If you are breeding for
certain color or fins and want to cull out the unwanted, less
than the best juveniles (after, of course, checking with local
fish stores to see if they would like to trade for supplies)
then you can take the remaining ones that you no longer wish
to keep and feed them to the Oscars at your Pet Store. You may
be shocked at this concept, but I find it one of the best
methods. Not only does it rid you of the unwanted fish, it
also serves a purpose for the Oscars so your fish's life does
not go in vain. |
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Euthanizing your Adults
| Freezing:
I know of many, many people who use this method, but I really
don't know for sure. I doubt any of them have sat in the
freezer and watched to see if their fish suffered or not. I
have recently read that a breeder placed some bettas out in
sub-zero weather (as cold or colder than a freezer) and watch
to see if they suffered. She reported that they thrashed
around and did not die for over a half hour :( I also did
a test of my own. I froze a diseased betta that I had to let go.
After ensuring he was frozen solid in the freezer, this was
after hours in there. I placed his frozen body into a fish bowl
of normal water. Within an hour, he thawed and was attempting to
swim around. I have never used the freezing method
since...horrible :( |
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| Cold Water:
It is
suggested to take a small container, such as a betta hex, and
fill it with cold water and add a couple ice cubes. Once the
ice cubes are half melted, move them aside and place the
betta(s) to be euthanized one at a time in the water. There seemed to
be no thrashing
or apparent suffering, they simply 'fell asleep'. Now, this
method does not kill the betta, only puts it into a state of unconsciousness.
I really can't recommend this method either. |
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| Anesthetic
overdose: Use 3-4 times the recommended dosage of
any of the commonly used anesthesia agents. Because of the
risk of recovery the fish should be left in the solution for
several hours.
One formula that is very well
known is Clove Oil & Vodka. The only reason for the vodka
is to help the clove Oil dissolve into the water. Do NOT
increase the Vodka in hopes it will help your fish die faster, it will
cause more discomfort. Increase the Clove Oil, if anything. Clove
Oil is used by veterinarians as an anesthetic to put fish to
sleep. Use this and your fish will do just that, fall asleep.
Here is the recipe:
First, mix 2 ml clove oil
(can be obtained from a pharmacy or health food store) with 8
mls vodka to make a 10 ml stock solution. Place the fish
in a container with one gallon of water and add the 10 mls of
clove oil and vodka to the one gallon of water, and the fish
should just go to sleep quietly with no struggle. Clove oil (eugenol)
is used as an anesthetic in fish for surgery, and the vodka is
necessary so that the clove oil will dissolve in the water.
If your fish struggles, it is most likely because the vodka
level was too high. Never raise the vodka level, please. The
vodka may come in handy afterwards to wash down the guilt :(((
You could also use a fish anesthetic
called Finquel MS-222. An overdose will peacefully euthanize a
fish. You can purchase a small bottle of the stuff for under
$10 from Argent Chemicals. Their website is http://argent-labs.com/
I have never used
this method so I do not know how efficiently this works.
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| Decapitation:
This is only suitable for smaller fish. It is
assumed to cause instant unconsciousness. Remove your fish,
place them in a paper towel or something so you have a good
hold on them, place a very ,very sharp knife right behind the
gills and slice with one, quick motion. Be prepared to cry,
some of that vodka might come in handy again :'( |
I have never used this method so I do not know how efficiently
this works. |
| Cranial
concussion: A sharp, single blow to the head with enough
force to damage the central nervous system. This may kill
small fish outright, but larger fish may only be stunned.
Place your fish in a fish bag, I would not stick but a
teaspoon of water in it, then snap it on a table's edge. Just
thinking of these makes me want some vodka *sniff sniff*
Anyone who has to do these, I really feel for you. |
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| Sodium
bicarbonate (baking powder or Alka Seltzer®):
This is not an accepted form of euthanasia and will cause a
degree of discomfort and stress, but it is readily available
and can be used in the home if there are no other alternatives
available. Decapitation may be required once the fish has lost
consciousness to ensure death and that the fish will not 'wake
up' in the garbage or septic tank. I can't imagine even trying
this method, but wanted to mention here mainly to warn you
against it. |
I have never used this method so I do not know how efficiently
this works. |
| Poisoning:
There are many chemicals that will effectively kill fish. None
are considered humane and will all cause considerable distress
unless the fish is euthanised first |
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