I noticed that someone asked about the best way to euthanize a sick or distressed fish - I thought that I would provide the answer in a new thread so that anyone who was curious about this topic could readily find the answer.
The most humane way to euthanize a fish is with a product called Finquel. Finquel is used as an anesthetic by fish veterinarians. Isolate the fish in a small container and dose a small amount and your fish will fall asleep. Then overdose the fish by applying an additional dose. The fish will simply pass away in its sleep without suffering. Finquel is very good to have on hand for when you may need it. Finquel can be hard to find but you can purchase it from http://www.drsfostersmith.com
Just be sure to have it before you need it - because generally when you realize you need to use it you don't have time to order it and wait for it to arrive.
Here is the link to the product on their website:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=12271&Ntt=finquel&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&pc=1&N=0&Nty=1
Finquel Aquatic Anesthetic
* 99.5% Pure Tricaine Methanesulfonate
* Safe sedation or anesthesia for fish
* Rapid recovery after exposure
The most widely used and trusted anesthetic for aquatic animals. Used in aquaculture, fishery, and veterinary settings, Finquel is readily absorbed through the gills for safe sedation or anesthesia. Animals recover rapidly after exposure and resume normal physiological and behavioral functions. Intended for temporary immobilization of fish during weighing, measuring, or health examinations. 99.5% Pure Tricaine Methanesulfonate.
Here is a good link on the subject:
http://pharyngula.org/index/weblog/comments/how_to_euthanize_a_fish/
And the excerpt for those who don't want to follow the link:
"Here's the way I euthanize fish, though, and since I've killed many thousands, I can say it's the cleanest, least painful way to do it, for both me and the fish. It's an anesthetic used for frogs and fish that goes by various names: ms222, MESAB, 3-aminobenzoic acid ethyl ester, tricaine methanesulfonate, or, as most of the pet and aquaculture supply houses call it, Finquel. For routine anesthesia, I use a 0.2% solution of the stuff?let a fish swim in it for a few minutes, they lose consciousness, you can do various surgeries on them, and then put them in clean fresh water, and a few minutes later, they're awake and swimming around again. If I need to euthanize them, I use a 0.4% solution (or more crudely, I use my 0.2% stock and sprinkle a few extra crystals of the ms222 powder in the beaker), put the fish in it, they fall asleep?and after 3-5 minutes, their heart stops. It will kill them at lower doses, but simply takes longer.
I get my stuff from Sigma, catalog number a-5040, for those of you who can purchase through academic suppliers. Otherwise, here are a few commercial places that will sell it to you: Doctors Foster & Smith, PondRX, and Argent Labs. It's about $15-20 for a 5 gram bottle, which sounds expensive, but a little goes a very long ways. I bought a 25 gram bottle 8 years ago, and I've still got lots left?and I euthanize fish far more often than your usual pet fish owner.
It's good to be prepared, too. Several years ago, my colony was suddenly struck with hemorrhagic septicemia, a bacterial infection that causes blood vessels to rupture and fish to die slowly and unpleasantly and messily, and after spending days trying to treat it with antibiotics and water changes and new tanks and hoses and so forth, I had to spend a sad afternoon putting about 400 fish out of their misery. Using an anesthetic in bulk was the only reasonable way to do it."
I hope this information helps anyone that is unfortunate enough to need it.
The most humane way to euthanize a fish is with a product called Finquel. Finquel is used as an anesthetic by fish veterinarians. Isolate the fish in a small container and dose a small amount and your fish will fall asleep. Then overdose the fish by applying an additional dose. The fish will simply pass away in its sleep without suffering. Finquel is very good to have on hand for when you may need it. Finquel can be hard to find but you can purchase it from http://www.drsfostersmith.com
Just be sure to have it before you need it - because generally when you realize you need to use it you don't have time to order it and wait for it to arrive.
Here is the link to the product on their website:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=12271&Ntt=finquel&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&pc=1&N=0&Nty=1
Finquel Aquatic Anesthetic
* 99.5% Pure Tricaine Methanesulfonate
* Safe sedation or anesthesia for fish
* Rapid recovery after exposure
The most widely used and trusted anesthetic for aquatic animals. Used in aquaculture, fishery, and veterinary settings, Finquel is readily absorbed through the gills for safe sedation or anesthesia. Animals recover rapidly after exposure and resume normal physiological and behavioral functions. Intended for temporary immobilization of fish during weighing, measuring, or health examinations. 99.5% Pure Tricaine Methanesulfonate.
Here is a good link on the subject:
http://pharyngula.org/index/weblog/comments/how_to_euthanize_a_fish/
And the excerpt for those who don't want to follow the link:
"Here's the way I euthanize fish, though, and since I've killed many thousands, I can say it's the cleanest, least painful way to do it, for both me and the fish. It's an anesthetic used for frogs and fish that goes by various names: ms222, MESAB, 3-aminobenzoic acid ethyl ester, tricaine methanesulfonate, or, as most of the pet and aquaculture supply houses call it, Finquel. For routine anesthesia, I use a 0.2% solution of the stuff?let a fish swim in it for a few minutes, they lose consciousness, you can do various surgeries on them, and then put them in clean fresh water, and a few minutes later, they're awake and swimming around again. If I need to euthanize them, I use a 0.4% solution (or more crudely, I use my 0.2% stock and sprinkle a few extra crystals of the ms222 powder in the beaker), put the fish in it, they fall asleep?and after 3-5 minutes, their heart stops. It will kill them at lower doses, but simply takes longer.
I get my stuff from Sigma, catalog number a-5040, for those of you who can purchase through academic suppliers. Otherwise, here are a few commercial places that will sell it to you: Doctors Foster & Smith, PondRX, and Argent Labs. It's about $15-20 for a 5 gram bottle, which sounds expensive, but a little goes a very long ways. I bought a 25 gram bottle 8 years ago, and I've still got lots left?and I euthanize fish far more often than your usual pet fish owner.
It's good to be prepared, too. Several years ago, my colony was suddenly struck with hemorrhagic septicemia, a bacterial infection that causes blood vessels to rupture and fish to die slowly and unpleasantly and messily, and after spending days trying to treat it with antibiotics and water changes and new tanks and hoses and so forth, I had to spend a sad afternoon putting about 400 fish out of their misery. Using an anesthetic in bulk was the only reasonable way to do it."
I hope this information helps anyone that is unfortunate enough to need it.