Deaths's door

Is it possible to revive a dying fish or is it better to put it out of its misery asap?

This morning I found one of my angels stuck underneath my internal filter. I don't know if it was sick and was drawn under the filter by the current or if it got stuck there and couldn't get out.

I pulled it from under the filter and saw that it was still alive. Her gills are still moving albeit very slowly and her pectoral fins also move every now and then.

Assuming that she possible got trapped there by accident and she is not sick, can she be revived? Mayby by holding her up and letting the water flow through her gills?

 

Hi sorry to here that m8 . I not to sure about your problem , but i had a friend who had a oscar that use to knock himself out on the side of the glass and he had to move the fish in the water untill it came to. basicly i think the idea is to move the fish back and forward to keep water flowing over there gills. :wondering:

 

Well in this case, reviving it was not the answer. Time of death was called at 11h15. I propped it up in the water current and it got weaker and weaker. I eventually decided to kill it. It's a pity, but that's life I guess.

 

That really sux m8 so sorry . Its never a easy choice to make

 

Pity - The most humane way to kill a fish is to stun it with a sharp blow on the forehead and then cut through the fish just behind the head.

 

Sorry to hear that your angel didn't make is Lance. It's always a terrible thing when one of your babies suffers and whatever you do doesn't seem to help

 

Thanks folks.

Zafgak, I didn't stun it, I just did the slice through the spine, just behind the gill cover. Next time, I'll remember to whack it. But I think it was just hanging on a thread at that point. 10 minutes later and I'm sure it would have died on its own.

...and then after slicing it, I was curious too see if there were any eggs, so I sliced it some more :embarrest:. I found the egg sac, and it was surprisingly huge. It was probably the size of the tip of my thumb from the start of my nail up. Anyway, not wanting it to go to waste, I tossed it into the tank and the other fish had a feast.

 

Now that is something I wouldn't have thought to do.....at least some good came out of your loss - your other fishies had a feast!

 

I know you can euthanize Oscars using cod liver oil, not sure about other fish though.

 

Well, apparently my other Angel died today (have not been home yet). What's going on? Could it have died from heartbreak? The only thing that I've done to the tank other than the weekly maintenance regime is add plants that Zafgak and Veegal have sent me. Otherwise normal siphoning and waterchanges...

 

I never knew you could use cod liver oil to euthanise fish i always use Clove oil. That's something new!

 

Shame Lance - that's strange. When you do get home, check your water parameters and also check out any other fish in the tank to make sure that they are not displaying any problematic behaviour. I really doubt that it is because the other angel is no longer there, also I doubt it's the plants as we planted the same ones in our tank and haven't had any problems to date.....

The angels weren't very large were they? I vaguely remember you telling us before and if I remember they were the 'breeding' pair which had previously spawned? Am I right???

 

The angels weren't very large were they? I vaguely remember you telling us before and if I remember they were the 'breeding' pair which had previously spawned? Am I right???[/quote]

Veegal i can't remember but i think i read somewhere that Angels pair for life, is it true?

 

Nope not really. If given a choice they will choose their own mate. This way you have less bickering usually when they spawn. However you can break the pair up and swop them out to 'force' pair them - this can often result in a lot of bickering during spawning time and sometimes even death for one of them. I personally don't 'force pair' - I'd hate someone to choose my mate for me :blink1::bigsmile:

The instinct to carry on the genes seems to be far too strong for them to resist another of the opposite sex after they have lost a mate.

 

Sorry Clove oil, got the wrong one.

 

Clove oil is definately the most humane way of euthinasing a fish! I believe fish do feel pain and they are just like us just cold blooded. Going to sleep gently and never waking up is the way i would want to go when my time comes so i would make sure my fish is as comfortable as can be before going to the big fish tank in the sky! My 2c.