# Euthanizing a Pleco



## Razmear (Sep 23, 2011)

Kind of a depressing first post, but my 8 year old Pleco injured himself on an ornament about a month ago, had developed an infection which has not been successfully treated, developed a white fuzz fungal infection, and is now lost about half his body weight and the only remaining option is euthanization. 

I've read about the clove oil and vodka method, and will likely get myself some tomorrow after work to do the deed. 
Seeing how I've never had to euthanize a fish before I have some basic questions. 
Do I have to use vodka, or will rubbing alcohol work just as well? (we don't drink, so any excess vodka will just go in the trash). 
The guide that I read speaks in drops of clove oil and I'm guessing it's sold by the ounce, so to ensure I get a sufficient dosage, how much would be needed to knock out a 12 inch pleco? I'm guessing my container would be about a half gallon or so. 
I've seen mention of a chilling or freezing method, would a clove oil then chilling / freezing method be more humane?

Basically, if you have any other tips or hints on how to make this easier, I'd like to hear them. 

Thanks,
eb


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## Razmear (Sep 23, 2011)

Thanks for the tips so far, just found this article:
Aquarius Aquaria - Exploring Fish Euthanasia
which also mentions boiling as an option. First time I've seen that one. 

Freezing seems to be discouraged for cold water fish, which is what I'd consider Plecky to be. 
Electrocution just seems to be silly, and not humane. I've been jolted enough times to realize that it wouldn't be a fun way to go. The article linked above has that option too. 

Still googling, and any other suggestions are appreciated. 

eb


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## Razmear (Sep 23, 2011)

Current pic of Plecky just taken a few minutes ago:









Compared to him in a video from a couple of years ago: 
New 55 Gal Aquarium - YouTube


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Clove oil is the best way, and you don't have to mix it with vodka. Just put the fish in something with some tank water and start adding drops of clove oil. It's painless for the fish as the clove oil first acts like a tranquilizer.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I just take a glass and fill it with ice and water. Let it sit for about 10min to get good and cold - stir it to help it along. Catch the fish and ease it into the glass of icewater. They might twitch for 1-2 seconds and then they are gone. I've never tried to find clove oil, but sounds like it would be a pain to find...maybe not. The icewater method just works too good and too fast for me to go looking.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Clove oil can be found in most pharmacies


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

I'm thinking I'm gonna' use Clove oil if I ever have to do this again. I froze a fish once (put some cold water and ice in a cup in the freezer to speed the cooling process, then put the fish in the cup. Cup was then put in freezer. Solid block of ice in 15 minutes.) But, I was then told that I suffocated the fish and it was painful... I felt bad...


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## Rossfett (May 15, 2011)

I have had to put fish down just recently due to equipment failure. Clove oil was quick, painless, and fairly in expensive. Although, do not use any objects that have come into contact with the clove oil in your fish tank ever again.


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## JenlovesFish (Apr 29, 2011)

I used the Clove oil to put down a fish cause of very bad fin rot that what i will always uses..


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## Razmear (Sep 23, 2011)

Just as a update, Plecky passed on of natural causes today, so I did not have to try the Clove Oil method. 

Thanks for the info and support!

eb


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Aww, that's sad! Sorry for your loss!

Do you think you'll get another pleco or will you wait a while?


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## Razmear (Sep 23, 2011)

Plecky was one of the first fish I bought when I started with a 10gal tank. Of course I was naive then and didn't realize how big they grew. 
He was the reason I upgraded to a 29gal, and then a 55gal tank, and near the end even the 55 was probably too small for him. 
If I do get another Pleco it will definately be one of the 'dwarf' species, but for now I don't plan on adding any additional fish for a little while. 

eb


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Sounds like he went through a lot of nice changes with you. At least you have some good videos of him.


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## Razmear (Sep 23, 2011)

I plan on adding more plants to the tank now. Plecky used to destroy any natural plants, so now I can start phasing out all my plastic ones and putting in real ones. I've got some old pics of the tank when it was fully planted, looked awesome for about a week til Plecky uprooted them all. 
I've got a small school of 5 Oto's in the tank currently, so they'll take care of any algae, and I'm sure they'll appreciate having some more greenery in there. I'll probably double the number of Oto's as the next fish addition, but still up in the air about that. 
The other inhabitants are 5 Buenes Aries Tetras, 5 Brown Skirt Tetras, and one large and lonely Dojo Loach that someone recommended several years ago as an anti-snail solution.


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Aww, add a few more Loach friends for him... maybe 2 at least.

The Oto's will LOVE the live plants. Mine are always resting on my plants and eating algae off of them.

I found that my BN Pleco (a dwarf species) didn't up root my live plants, so when you do decide to get a dwarf pleco, you should be ok with live plants.


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