Question
My Betta is 5 and a half years old. And I am deeply saddened and distressed at his state. I know he is old.
It has a slew of health problems. As of late however I noticed that his bladder has failed too. So I was wondering how to make his death less painful. Due to bladder he can't swim up properly to his food. Due to cataracts(cloudy eyes), he can't even see the food properly. And I keep him in a spacious 25 gallon. When feeding him, I will stick my hand in the aquarium, he will hobble over on my palm, then I will lift him up and using other hand almost directly deposit food pellets into his mouth.
So I can do the following. Transfer him to a more shallow 5 gallon where he can swim up somehow and try to get food without my help. That will keep him alive slightly longer.
Sorry I can't write properly. I just feel very saddened. Can someone please tell me what to do? I want him alive longer, but he is clearly in a lot of pain. He is my favorite Betta.
Answer
Making a decision:
Whether or not you want to keep your fish alive longer is a very personal question. Only you can decide this. On a personal note, whenever a pet of mine gets to the point when it cannot function properly, and it's quality of life is extremely low, I believe it is time to euthanize. You may wish to consult a veterinarian on this before you make your decision, as it is not an easy one.
Euthanization methods:
There are several methods for this, which I will provide if you end up making this decision. There are two main categories... So called old school and new techniques.
The old school techniques involve things that you can find around your home. These methods are considered old school and they may not exactly be the most humane but they can be the most affordable and easy. I will list them.
Old school:
- Freezing
You can put water in a bag and put it in the freezer until it gets slushy. You then put your fish in the bag and continue freezing. This is not a method approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). If you decide to use this method, perhaps the better thing to do is to put the betta in slightly cooler water (approximately 70 °F / 21 °C) and then begin the freezing process. This will slow the bettas heart rate slowly and would most likely be more humane than putting it in slushy water.
- Decapitation
This is the quickest method. It simply involves cutting your fishes head off with a knife very quickly. It is not painless but it is very fast. The pain is momentary.
- Fracturing neck or spine
This is less quick but may be less painful. You take your fish and break its neck. The fish may live for a moment or two after this but will feel less pain.
- Remove oxygen
This method involves putting Alka Seltzer tablets in the water. You may wish to do this in a bag full of water for a betta, if you choose this option, as they can gulp oxygen from the surface. This has been reported to seem slightly cruel due to the fact that it is slow and it is suffocation.
New methods:
These usually involve an overdose of anesthetic or a barbiturate and are more humane, yet complicated and expensive. Overdose of anesthetic is used by universities that conduct research on fish. You could try to find a university of research centre near you that may carry a suitable anesthetic. There are also some household items like clove oil and vodka (not advocated by the AVMA) which will also work. Some of the anesthetics are available from pet stores or other sources.
You can find a list of anesthetics, barbituates, and all methods described here: How to humanely euthanize your fish.
Answered By - Patrick Sebastien