the reason for this post is a family friend has just been in touch to say they have a goldfish that is "swimming wierd upside down and in circles whats up with it"
now i thought that with the symptoms that had just been described to me it could only be a swimbladder disorder and as there is no reliable treatment for it i suggested that they euthanise the fish, now this must be the saddest job of any aquarist but is the only way to stop the fish feeling any unnecessary pain or prolonged suffering
Accepted methods of EUTHANASIA
Decapitation this is a very quick method as well as a easy one, you will need a sharp pair of scissors or a sharp knife. you will then need to lay the fish on a flat surface restraining it so as it cant escape or fall off then in one cut remove the head from the body. You then need to destroy the brain this can be carried out by penetrating the brain with a sharpe instrument
Another way which the majority of people i have talked to is the concussion method so to speak. To use this method simply wrap the fish in a cloth/towel leaving the head exposed, and by holding the fish by the body/tail strike the head with a hard blow against the edge of a hard surface thus rendering the fish unconscious and then you either destroy the brain with a sharp instrument or decapitate so as it cant come round.
Anaesthetic is probly the best way for the squimish fish keeper as all you need to do is place the fish in a anaesthetic solution if you can get hold of one (may only be obtainable through your local vet) you need to use such as Tricaine Methane-Sulphonate or Benzococaine, the dose required depends on the type of fish, but in general if you use 300mg per litre of Tricaine Methane-Sulphonate is normaly enough to cause the death of most aquarium fish. If you are unsure of the dose to use ask your local vet, it is also a good idea to leave the fish in the solution for at least an hour after death to make sure
Methods Not Acceptable of EUTHANASIA
Rendering the fish unconscious and not destroying the brain
Flushing away in the toilet
Removing from water till they die
Placing in boiling water
Placing in freezing water
Freezing them to death
Feeding them to large predators

Now we have delt with the sad task of Euthanasia we need to dispose of the carcass in a safe and responsible way, the safest and the best way is to wrap the carcass in an old newspaper or similar then place in plastic bag that you can seal and then dispose it with your rubbish, another way is if you have a real fire you could burn the carcass.
DO NOT flush the carcass down the toilet (as this could contaminate other fish in other water ways)

i was thinking of doing a post like this a while ago but never got round to it.

i've read that putting fish in freezing water is acceptable. they go into shock really quickly and die in seconds. putting them in water and then freezing them isnt acceptable as this is a slow death.

it is horrible to lose a fish and even worse when u have to end an ill fish's life to save it suffering. as a responsible fish keeper it occasionaly has to be done tho.

personaly i use the 'marie antoinette' method if i have too.

i think u misread me clunkster. i agree slow freezing is bad but i have read that putting them into water that is almost freezing is ok as they go into shock and die quickly.

the prescribed method was to place a container of water, tank water if u like, into the freezer until a thin layer of ice starts to form. remove the container from the freezer, remove the ice and then place fish in the container. i have tried this once and it seemed to work ok. the fish stopped moving very quickly, and was dead a few seconds later.

as i said though, if one can be brave enough to do it, then decapitation is probably the best method.

i personaly use the decapitation method i would'nt use the shock method as i dont think it is humane just my opinion

That's good. A bit more padded than

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I may move this Topic down there as well.

another method i read on another forum involves putting the fish in a solution containing oil of cloves. this acts like an anaesthetic. once they are unconscious they are placed in an alcohol solution(vodka i think) which kills them. anyone heard of anything like this before?

I've read about it. Sounds like a decent way to put a fish down. Too much watching and handling the fish for my liking.

Yes i have also come across the oil of cloves method, might need to get round to updating the original post with the info on, using oil of cloves