What to do with a really sick fish...

[trace&steve]

Flushing them is cruel and bad for our waterways.

I put them in a bag (no mess) and dash them on the concrete.

lol but you dont think hitting them on concrete is not cruel

[bdspider]

lol but you dont think hitting them on concrete is not cruel

Concrete = instant death.

Flushed = ... Well, this is how waste is treated in Chch -->http://www.ccc.govt.nz/homeliving/wastewater/treatmentplant/chchwastewatertreatmentplant/index.aspx

So assuming the fish survives the underground network of pipes, it's probably going to be caught on one of the screens that filter out debris until it dies. But most likely it'll be a slow nasty death due to all the faecal matter and chemicals that go down the toilet, shower, kitchen sink etc.

[smidey]

lol but you dont think hitting them on concrete is not cruel

instant death cannot be cruel, far better than dragging it another way out for your own justification

[ryanjury]

It seems cruel but it is quick and painless, I know that I would rather be smacked on the head and killed than be stuck in a room and slowly poisoned (as the fish would be by chlorine in your water) and/or slowly shut down due to the cold..

[breakaway]

Ice water bath. This would be humane right? And readily doable by most people as they have ice cubes in the fridge.

[smidey]

Ice water bath. This would be humane right? And readily doable by most people as they have ice cubes in the fridge.

think about it, instant death or freeze to death?

[Jennifer]

Internationally, chilling is not considered a humane euthanasia method.

[SamH]

I've done it twice, it seems to work well. They move around for a second or two but I read that it's just their nerves giving out?

[breakaway]

I always thought hypothermia would be a nice way to go. You fall asleep, but never wake up.

[SamH]

I always thought hypothermia would be a nice way to go. You fall asleep, but never wake up.

It's more shock than hypothermia. Fish react differently to cold water than we do.

[Sophia]

I have flushed a neon and icky sticked a tiny half dead guppy with a pin. After that I bought some clove oil. I am yet to use it but I think it will be more pleasant for all.

[douwe]

I always thought that putting it in a small container and in the freezer was a good way, but apparently not.

For the clove oil (found it on a Dutch fish forum)

clove oil: put 0,5 ml. of clove oil in a litre of aquarium water and dissolve this. Put the fish in the water: she/he will die within minutes.

[cadeusus]

Putting in ice water is not considered really acceptable anymore. FIsh placed in very cold water become immobile before they become insensible. So just becaue they've stopped moving doesn't mean that they are not aware of all the sensory stimuli coming from their thermoreceptors. What that feels like no one knows but benefit of the doubt...?

Use clove oil or percussive stunning (whack them on the head)