watching something die and realising your helpless

[lollypop]

i cant put how i feel in to words sick upset helpless angry sad here is the story i wasnt sure where to put it but it is conflicting so here goes

i was at a pet shop and i saw a black fish (dead) floating on top of the water and then another blackfish fighting for its life semi floating but struggling to swim lower and gasping --very clearly dying slowly. i called the owner over and said look i dont know why i dont even know what i expected her to do , heres what she did

scooped the dead fish and put it in a bin then said "sorry little fishie" to the almost dead fish and scooped it and chucked it in the bin ---it was still gasping.

why did i alert the woman and what did i hope to accomplish i dont know but was what the shop owner did was it right would it have been better to let the fishie die slowly in water (probably died slowly in air anyway)

what would you have done how would you have reacted was there a better solution??????????????????

[Bobsy]

Lolly, I would have done the same thing. In that situation there's probably not a lot else you can do. But it does hurt. I don't think there's anything you could have done to save that fish or make its death any less unpleasant. Please don't blame yourself. :)

I'm guessing right now you need a hug more than anything. :hug: :hug:

[kristadb]

why did i alert the woman and what did i hope to accomplish i dont know but was what the shop owner did was it right would it have been better to let the fishie die slowly in water (probably died slowly in air anyway)


I've had lots of fish over the ages and, eventually, their time would come, too. Sometimes, no matter how well you take care of them, they still can get sick and die. The fish would die in a matter of minutes in the container, in its weakened condition. It could lives days or sometimes even a week suffering in the water. Also, if there were other fish in the tank, the sick fish would make them sick as well.

As Bobsy said, you need a :hug: more then anything else.

[Thalia]

On the otherhand, the sick fish might not have been on death's door. I've cared for a lot of fish and swimbladder disease makes it hard for them to swim. I've had fish that were alive but floating and with a water change, and sometimes some anti-biotics, they got back to normal in a day or two. There is a lot of debate in the fish hobbyist community about how to euthanize a fish. Taking it out of water is faster but not considered humane. It's a bad situation fish caretakers find themselves in. The only idea I've had, but don't know how to implement is to get a CO cartrigde and bubble it through the water. It would put the fish to sleep.

[Jeffer]

i cant put how i feel in to words sick upset helpless angry sad here is the story i wasnt sure where to put it but it is conflicting so here goes

i was at a pet shop and i saw a black fish (dead) floating on top of the water and then another blackfish fighting for its life semi floating but struggling to swim lower and gasping --very clearly dying slowly. i called the owner over and said look i dont know why i dont even know what i expected her to do , heres what she did

scooped the dead fish and put it in a bin then said "sorry little fishie" to the almost dead fish and scooped it and chucked it in the bin ---it was still gasping.

why did i alert the woman and what did i hope to accomplish i dont know but was what the shop owner did was it right would it have been better to let the fishie die slowly in water (probably died slowly in air anyway)

what would you have done how would you have reacted was there a better solution??????????????????

Well I think if they are going to do that then they should have gone one step further and ended its life right there and then. Kill it and put it out of its misery and not let it gasp. But that's just me I guess. Most people I know are too squeamish over stuff like that to do it them selves. Just because "one" walks away in a situation like that (out of sight out of mind), it doesn't mean the animal/fish/what ever isn't still suffering.

Jeffer

[kristadb]

I froze mine in a vodka/water solution. The vodka sedated them and causes the fish not to wake up. It's considered the least painless way to go (for a fish). But, I doubt a store has vodka lying around.....

[schu]

Well I think if they are going to do that then they should have gone one step further and ended its life right there and then. Kill it and put it out of its misery and not let it gasp. But that's just me I guess. Most people I know are too squeamish over stuff like that to do it them selves. Just because "one" walks away in a situation like that (out of sight out of mind), it doesn't mean the animal/fish/what ever isn't still suffering.

Jeffer


yea..it makes me feel sick but if i know for sure an animal is going to die i will put it out of its misery....i've always dreaded the time that one of my pets would have to undergo something horrible like this..

[soilman]

kristadb: You put the fish in vodka and water, and then put the vodka in a freezer?

I've read that a low-tech but well-regarded method for euthanizing mammals is called "stun and exsanguinate": you whack the mammal over the head to knock it out, then you cut open a vein or artery to bleed it to death as quickly as possible, before it wakes up. But fish -- I don't know about fish.

But I thought it was important to learn this, in case I hit another dog or cat, or even a deer with my car, so I wouldn't feel helpless watching it die slowly. So I made a point of learning a low-tech way to euthanize, that wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg, and wouldn't require me carrying around special equipement (intravenous dosing equipment and multiple drugs) in my car. Just a baseball bat and a knife.

[kristadb]

I have the recipe for here somewhere; I only use it when I know I can't save the fish. It's only a drop of vodka, but it basically puts them to sleep. The freezing kills them while they are asleep.

[The Rev]

I froze mine in a vodka/water solution. The vodka sedated them and causes the fish not to wake up. It's considered the least painless way to go (for a fish). But, I doubt a store has vodka lying around.....

That's really cool. I didn't know there were ways like that to make a fish's death less unpleasant. I had a fish tank years ago, and my step-son has been bugging me to set up another one. If we can make it large enough to be a decent and stable habitat for them, then maybe I'll consent to it. Knowing that there are things I can do to ease the pain of my fish helps, too. Thanks.

:D

The Rev