What do I do about a dying Betta?

[Am_I_There_Yet]

I am such an animal lover and I can't stand to see this poor thing suffer. It looks like his air bladder has gone south. So has he. He's on his side on the bottom of his bowl.

Every once in awhile, he'll get some air, but then he'll start listing again. He hasn't eaten in about a week, as far as I know. Unless he's getting food from the bottom.

DH wants to flush him "to put him out of his misery". To me, that's the most asinine thing I've heard of. Would you rather die in clean water, or a sewer? Come on!

What should I do? How in the heck do you euthanize a fish? I feel stupid asking that question... especially since I had fish sticks for lunch a few days ago.

 

[minkydog]

We just went through this with our fish, Warren Betta. He even lost his brilliant blue color. Just laid there looking dead and every now & then he'd flip a fin or something. DH finally just put him in a ziplock bag with some of his water and stuck him in the freezer where Warren could just sleep the Deep Sleep. Totally painless. i'm sure Warren never knew a thing. Good luck

 

[whosyourdaddy]

Flush it and let it have one final wild ride before it dies!

 

[Bob Slydell]

 

[Toby'sFriend]

um. maybe put it into a cup of whisky and it will get drunk and pass out and die in it's sleep?

 

[Sthronds]

Don't flush him! The sewer has so many chemicals that it will burn him and he could live for days in this misery. If you don't want to let him die in his bowl, then try the freezing method.

 

[whosyourdaddy]

Could donate it to the local bar for the fish swallowing contest!

 

[mickeyboat]

We just went through this with our fish, Warren Betta. He even lost his brilliant blue color. Just laid there looking dead and every now & then he'd flip a fin or something. DH finally just put him in a ziplock bag with some of his water and stuck him in the freezer where Warren could just sleep the Deep Sleep. Totally painless. i'm sure Warren never knew a thing. Good luck

Warren Betta - great name!

Denae

 

[happybratpack]

http://www.ask-the-vet.com/betta-fish-care.htm

Question : My beta fish has been moping around for a week now - I've tried everything, he just sits down at the bottom of the tank and doesn't move much. I've used the antifungal meds, the antibiotics the salt baths and nothing works. In fact he now looks like his scales are popping off. I hate seeing him like this - I've had him for more than 2 years now and it breaks my heart to see him suffering like this. Is there any humane way I can put him to sleep without too much fuss? I just want him to pass away painlessly and not die this lingering death. Please help!

Answer : Okay, that's fair enough. There aren't many certified 'humane' ways of putting a fish to sleep at home. As vets we have access to drugs that will do the job for us but at home you don't have these at your disposal and the other methods (aptly called 'blunt trauma' and 'decapitation') would just be far too traumatic for a fish owner to perform. So here's what most fish owners do. They purchase clove oil from their local health store (usually in the aromatherapy section). At a dose of 2-3 ml clove oil per gallon of water, it's lethal. Problem that most fish owners have is that clove oil is an oil and will not dissolve properly in water. So what you can do to disperse the clove oil properly is to first dissolve the 2-3ml in about 8ml of vodka, then to add it to the gallon of water. Leave the fish in there for a couple of hours, whilst you will probably see the effects within minutes (usually very little struggling) because fish are cold blooded it does take a while for their brain to cease functioning so some owners will make doubly sure that their betta is indeed dead and not just deepy anesthetized by taking their beta out and then popping it in a plastic bag and freezing it...just remember to take him out after. Others will just leave the fish in the solution overnight and then perform the burial in the morning. I've known some fish owners who opt to decapitate or administer a sharp blow to the head of the fish after the clove oil treatment but not many are game to do this - it's too close to home so most would opt for the freezing or leaving it overnight options.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Don't flush him! The sewer has so many chemicals that it will burn him and he could live for days in this misery. If you don't want to let him die in his bowl, then try the freezing method.

I won't. I can't bring myself to do that.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Did I mention that my Betta only has one eye? About two bowl cleanings ago, one fell out.

I'm quite the fish owner, huh?

 

[DwarfMaster]

Did I mention that my Betta only has one eye? About two bowl cleanings ago, one fell out.

Oh My

 

[liamsaunt]

Poor little fellow. I used to have betas (one at a time of course) all through college and I hated it when this would happen to them. Two years did seem to be the longest I could keep one alive.

I'd put him in the freezer. It won't hurt him, and it really sounds like he is beyond saving at this point.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Poor little fellow. I used to have betas (one at a time of course) all through college and I hated it when this would happen to them. Two years did seem to be the longest I could keep one alive.

I'd put him in the freezer. It won't hurt him, and it really sounds like he is beyond saving at this point.

That's how old he is.

I actually bought him for my daughter when she went off to college. I named him "Mom". She'd get a kick of telling me that Mom smelled, or that Mom was swimming in stinky water.

So..

I took him home with me. Now, I've killed him.

 

[minkydog]

Poor one-eyed Mom

 

[CheshireVal]

Poor guy. Sounds like you gave him a good life and a good home, though.

 

[jennyl772003]

That is my worst nightmare. My son has had his betta for only a month or so, and not a day goes by that I don't get a frantic,

"MOM! Lt. Landlacker isn't moving!"

He always is though. So far...

 

[FionaLovesShrek]

It sounds like the freezer method might be the most humane. I know when the temp in my house gets too cold, my Beta justs seems to hibernate. Poor one-eyed Mom. I am the one who as soon as sickness appears I try to save...every time our Beta looks dull and quits eating I pump him full of antibiotics. I can't stand watching the critters die. DD's hamster finally went to sleep permanently. He didn't seem to suffer, he was still eating until the end. Sigh.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

I'm such a sissy. I don't know if I can freeze Mom either. I'd definitely have to flip the baggie over so that no eye sees me.

DH comes home from the firestation tomorrow. I'll make him do it. And yes, I'll make sure he doesn't flush one-eyed Mom.

 

[Sparx]

If his air bladder is gone, its going to take him a long time (and probably be painful) for him to die. I say freeze him. Its painless, and faster.