Having to euthanize fish isn’t always the nicest part of our hobby, but sometimes you need to do it to end a fish’s suffering humanely. So I thought I would cover this rather unpleasant part of our hobby. Before we begin, I have seen it discussed that you should put your fish in a freezer. You should absolutely not do this, as it would be like me throwing you in a tub of ice water and waiting for you to die of hyperthermia. It is a slow and terrible way to die, and I would NOT recommend it.
If you ever have a fish that you need to euthanize you can buy some clove oil at your local Dischem or pharmacy, you can buy it over the counter and don’t need a script for it. Clove oil acts as a sedative that, at high doses, can be used to euthanize small fish. [Warning] Clove oil should be kept away from your net and other aquarium equipment. Around 1ml of clove oil per liter of aquarium water is sufficient to euthanize a fish. The fish should be placed in a container with as little water as possible.
Then 1 mill of clove oil should be mixed in a 1-liter container with some lukewarm water. You then add the clove oil mixture over a 5-minute period into the container that the fish is in. When exposed to clove oil, the fish will quickly lose consciousness, stop breathing and die from hypoxia. It should take around 10 minutes, but ideally, you need to keep the fish in the solution after all sign of gill movement has stopped. You can then humanely dispose of the fish.
