euthanizing my dwarf gourami...questions

trojannemo

hey guys. i haven't been posting lately since i've been busy with a fish keeping program i'm writing (planned for release maybe in may?). anyways, my tank has been going great, except for my betta who had been attacked. since then i isolated him into a breeder net and he's doing much better. the only other guy who wasn't doing great was my dwarf gourami, whom i bought at the same time as my powder blue dwarf gourami. both of them from the onset were very stressed out due to my flame dwarf being a bit of a bully. however, I noticed that while the powder blue started eating and is now "dealing" with the bully flame , the dwarf gourami has barely eaten anything and has looked emaciated for the last 2+ weeks. this week i put him into a breeder net to see if he's excessive stress was coming from being bullied but nope, even after being alone he isnt eating and is now pretty much on the final stages. he leans and lays sideways, barely moves, yet can avoid me when i try to catch him. i feel bad for him and knowing how this will end for him, I'm considering euthanasia for the first time.

after reading several threads here and some info online, it seems as the best way to go for tropical fish is to apply severe temperature shock via dumping him in ice-cold water. this is supposed to be the most humane way for tropical fish (from what i've read). i've had several pets die on me (including fish since i got in the hobby) but i've never "put down" any myself. he is sideways on the bottom of the tank, barely alive. should i do it? i dont have "clove oil", any other (better) way to do this with things available at home?

gregpape23

Personally, I wouldn't kill him. You would want to live your final moments, right? But if you do decide to, then I guess that would work. I would just make sure it is really really cold. Because that wouldn't be good if it wasn't cold enough, and he just got in more pain.

trojannemo

it's done already, though i'm not sure if i got to him on time, he may have been dead or nearly so when i dumped him in the water.
i personally believe in "pulling the plug", especially if its me who is suffering on daily basis without any hope of pulling through. my family knows i adhere to that and I hope if i end up a vegetable supported only by a machine that they pull the plug. it's always a tough decision, but it must be made.

tropical1

thats so sad to hear, the fish actually become like a memeber of the family after a while. hope i dont have to do that.

jonathan0206

IMO ur over analyzing it. What happens in the ocean? The purpose of keeping a saltwater tank is to recreate the environment and habits exhibited in the wild. This includes the life cycle.

chadf

People have a life cycle too, think of it that way.

One of my lfs has a product for euthanizing fish, not sure what it's called. Try googling it.