Worked as described for my (dwarf) malawi mbuna. I had no potable alcohol on hand (I wonder, can topical alcohol be substituted?) so I used clove oil only. I put the fish, which was about 3.5 - 4 " long in two cups of tank water. I put about 1/4 cup of tank water into a cleaned-out 16 oz soda bottle, added one drop of clove bud oil (purchased at Whole Foods for about $6 in the "aromatherapy" section), shook it up and added about 1/4 of the emulsion to the container with the fish (which I'd covered with a towel this whole time). Fish reacted mildly to the stimulus, but nothing dramatic. Observations cease here for 20 minutes, when I left the container covered with a towel.

After 20 minutes passed, I observed very intermittent respiration on the part of the fish -- again, just as described above. I then slowly added the rest of the (re-shook) emulsion. After 10 minutes, I observed no motion of the fish whatsoever and I stuck him in ye olde freezer. Thanks.

The method above is unclear in how much water to emulsify the clove oil in. "Small and clean" is all that is stated. The measurements provided for the vodka were detailed and precise, by comparison. Thanks.

used the clove oil and vodka method - my betta seems to have died peacefully (he had dropsy and ick). thanks for the info.

Thank you for your website and the information. I too had a betta fish that I even put on antibiotics 1 week on and 2 weeks off. It helped a little but the infections kept coming back. Instead of clove oil I took your suggestion on eugenol which is only found in jiffy toothache drops. At cvs or rite aid its been around for years. It worked like a charm! Very peaceful, I followed your directions to the letter. Thank you again.

Just had to say good-bye to our Redrum, a Rose Queen we had for 3 1/2 years. Followed your instructions to the "t" and it worked as you explained. it provided a peaceful experience to what is a sad time. Amazing how we humans can become so attached to a fish, but it happens. Redrum would swim to the front of the tank when anyone just passed his room - if we sat at the PC for too long without acknowledging him, he would bump the tank lid, and he loved to be petted! hope you are enjoying your swim in the "perfect river". Thank you for having this information on how to humanely euthanize fish. it was invaluable!

It worked. my jack dempsey who was about 5 inches just stopped swimming, and no thrashing. So that at least makes me think it wasn't painful. However, I put a drop of the clove oil on my tongue and it burnt, so hopefully his eyes or gills didnt burn.

I used it on my very old, very sick betta, and it worked well exactly as described. He went easily and quietly with no thrashing, no panic, nothing. Thanks so much for this advice.

BTW, if you're looking for clove oil, try GNC. None of my local drug stores had it in stock, but GNC did.

thank you so much, so very very much. I had a little black moor who got an infection and wasnt reacting to treatment, his eye fell out. it was extremely distressing for me and the fish. i feel disgusted at myself for not having the guts to do it sooner. I had my doubts about this method. I read up on freezing and was told that the cells of the fish expand and split which was enough for me not to at least try it without clove. Instead I tried the clove and vodka method and I recommend it. remember to use a small container and measure out exactly what you need. My Trev Guiness Moor flicked twice then settled still breathing. After 10 mins I added a bit more then a bit more after a futher 5 mins once I could see little gill movement, then kept adding for 30 mins at 5 mins intervals. I didnt want to see any thrashing and panicking when I added the vodka, but Im fairly sure he was dead before I did that. He literally fell asleep. I hope I never ever have to do it again and that my other fishes will live till old age. Thanks again.

I had a betta that was very ill, he had many different diseases over the past two months and was dying a very, very slow death. A friend recommended clove oil, so I followed the directions and rather than adding the vodka I added the remainder of the clove oil mixture (which was two drops in about a tbsp of tank water). I had my betta in 6oz of tank water and he "slept" within seconds of the first dose of clove mixture, no suffering at all. This works very well but you have to make sure you are doing it correctly. Too much clove oil at first can cause discomfort so pouring the 1/4 of the mixture slowly into the water is key as is having the fish in a small amount of water.

My betta fish was so sick she barely had enough energy to swim to get air. I thought that the clove oil would speed up the process so she wouldn't have to suffer and could go peacefully... but I was wrong. She suffered *much* worse than if I had just let her die naturally... would never do this again!! It obviously doesn't work the same for every fish.

I mixed 100 drops of 100% clove oil with water in a small container and poured it into her tank (1.75 gallons). When I added the milky solution she went wild. I don't know where she got the energy... she was sooo sick and barely moving for 3 days before this! She frantically tried to get air by thrusting herself out of the water. Most of the time she looked like a dolphin, but a few times she thrust herself so hard I thought she was going to jump completely out of the tank. I had to hold her net over her. It was absolutely horrible!!!!! This lasted roughly 15 seconds, give or take. Then she lost energy and fell back under the water. After a short struggle, she quickly fell to the bottom. I added more clove oil. Then shortly after that, I added 750mL of vodka to be completely sure. I don't have much experience with fish, so don't know which method is best, but I would never recommend a method that isn't consistent. This was *far* too traumatizing for both of us!!

If you have a strong fish, like a beta, I *strongly* suggest you at least double the amount of clove oil. Mine had been dying for a little over a month, just sitting on the bottom. I wanted him to go peacefully. I ended up adding the entire clove oil mixture, after several dosages, to make sure my fish was asleep. 10 minutes later, when I poked him on the head and body, he did not move. I thought he might have been dead, but I decided to add the vodka anyway. Once I added the alcohol, my fish started swimming!! I felt so bad, because he was trying to get out of the water. I added about 3 tbsp water with 5 drops of the oil in it, to try and put him to sleep. I believe he ended up suffocating...

In all, beta fish, even when on the verge of death, have a fighting nature, so add plenty, I mean heaping, amounts of clove oil, and wait 30 minutes after the last dose. I hate to see animals suffering.

Thanks for the post, I had a very strong zebra danio as he was growing up I observed that he was getting a curved spine, fast forward a year later he just weakened, just laying at the bottom of the aquarium floor, and just breathing very fast...his situation worsened a few days later, till I found this article. I couldn't stand seeing him suffer so I went out and got some clove oil or eugenol at a nearby health store. 10 drops and 10 minutes later he passed away, I couldn't be any happier he passed away just sleeping. Thanks again!

Sadly my fancy goldfish is very ill with dropsy and swim bladder problems. I have tried all treatments, but with no success, so I do not want him to suffer any longer. In point one, when you put the fish in the container, is this just putting him in with normal tank water and then adding the clove oil mixture and finally vodka? I didn't think it meant put him in without water?! I just wanted to double, double check. Thanks

I just wanted to add another thank you for this article. My mother's blue paradise fish had been declining for a while, and today he couldn't swim enough to feed himself. I hated the idea of watching him starve, so I used the method listed here. The clove oil seemed to upset him for a few seconds, but after that he was fine. When I added the vodka he began twitching slightly, so I added more clove oil and he passed peacefully.

I want to tell you how grateful I am to you and your site. My betta Scarlett has been very ill and I was faced with needing to put him out of his misery. I could not bring myself to decapitate him (the recommended method by my local aquatics store) and I was beside myself with indecision. I had settled mentally on boiling water when I found your site.

Scarlett thrashed twice when I added the clove oil (found easily in a local health food stores) and then settled on the bottom and was motionless. I added the vodka and he twitched, but then was still. I ended up adding more vodka after that, and there was no more movement.

Thank you for helping me and helping my fish. I sincerely appreciate this page.

This method of Clove Oil worked very well for my sick Betta. It allowed him to die peacefully. The clove oil did not seem to irritate him much at all, he seemed to not be comfortable upon first introduction, but who would? It wasn't bad at all though, he slipped quickly into a sleep. I think my Betta was so sick, that he died upon being put to sleep, because I did not see gill movement after 60 seconds (I mixed the ratio correctly, just be careful because it *does* work (at least on Bettas)! Although I saw no gill movement for 60 seconds, I followed up with the Vodka just in case. For details, and for absolute certainty (not Vodka), I finished with a quick decapitation. I can assure you that from what I was able to closely observe, little fishy didn't feel anything. It was a hard decision, but there comes a fine line between good and bad quality of life when a pet owner must make the decision to euthanize based on the well being (especially taking mental distress into consideration) of the pet.

Just make sure if you do it, you do it quick. Once this fine line between quality of life is determined responsibly, do not doubt yourself. Put your pet out of misery and do it in a *humane* way like this method here.

If your fish is too large for clove oil (look into this more - I don't know!) I would probably try to get strong chemicals from a vet to do the job, just make sure the fish can't *feel* and not just can't *move* when choosing chemicals. Remember, we are so lucky that now-a-days, we get "put to *sleep*" before a major operation, are given *pain killers* when we wake up to comfort us, etc. Let's pass that on to others, *including* animals. Best Regards. -Bryan A. Russell

I had a 17 year old silver dollar. I tried everything to make him well to no avail. He was suffering so I tried the clove and then the vodka. It worked very well thank you for his merciful death.

Thank you for the info. I did the clove oil first for 10 min, then followed up with the vodka. My Betta went to sleep within seconds. It took me days to get the courage to do this, but I feel relieved he went peacefully and is not suffering any more.

I just had to do this unfortunately..to be honest I was a bit skeptical as I had a pretty big Oranda..I had to use a little more clove oil than suggested, however it eventually worked and my lil guy went out peacefully it seems..

I just had to euthanize two serpae tetras I've had for about a year. The worst part was getting them out of the tank, but they went very peacefully and quickly, side-by-side. I just hope the remaining serpae continues to stay healthy.

I had no trouble finding 100% clove oil at Whole Foods.

I'm very sorry to hear about your pacu. Since he is so large it would take quite a bit of clove oil and alcohol to use this method. I'd suggest calling your local veterinarian for something that might be easier that they can prescribe for this purpose, or call Sea World in San Diego and ask for someone on staff to direct you to the correct party for advice. I happen to know that Sea World maintains a 5000 gallon freshwater display that includes several Pacu. Good luck and I hope that helps!

I have a very large and very old Pacu (he's 28 yrs old and about 30-35 lbs) he's very sick and everything we've tried over the past 2 months has accomplished nothing.

After reading all the entries, I'm not sure if the clove method would work for such a large fish. Does anyone know of any other way to help him die peacefully?

So I Was weary after reading everyone's experience with the Clove oil on their Betta's. My Betta Hasn't moved in days, and I had to do something. So I put some of his water in a jar and one drop of clove oil and shook it well. I put him in a small cup with a bit of his water and then put in the clove water. He splashed twice and that was it, he was out.

I figure if your Betta is sick enough it will work, *so make sure he is really on his way out before you do this*.

After 10 minutes I added one more drop, just to make sure. Then into the freezer, he won't feel a thing. I miss him. He was very beautiful and friendly.

HI..I have a koi fish who is sick, he has to be put down, does anyone know if the clove oil and vodka will work for koi fish..

I don't want to do what the pet store said to do ( hit his head with rock, freeze him nor do I want to cut off his head) he was a pet to the gentlemen that I bought house from a year ago. He had to move he was dieing of brain cancer and recently just past away.. so I feel this fish should go peacefully like him..

can someone help me with the question about clove oil..?? thanks

Thank you for the advice. We had a large tiger oscar and had tried everything we knew of but he continued to worsen and we didn't want him to suffer anymore. Used 3 gallons of water and he did not seem to suffer. As hard as it was to see him go this method seemed gentler than other methods and i am grateful for the post.

I tried the clove oil only method today. I had a sick beta who had dropsy for what seemed like forever. It had to be well over a month. I treated him cause I thought maybe he was constipated, but no luck.

He eventually got to where he was not eating and just hiding in his cave or leaning next to his wood decor. I cannot believe how long he lasted. I have read that they usually die after an average 3 days to 15 days. He had to have been this way for a little longer than a month. I also think feeding him frozen blood worms was the cause - who knows for sure.

I could not stand to watch him suffer any more and I could not decapitate him. I went to Vitamin Cottage this morning and bought the 100% Clove oil - only $5. It took me several hours to work up to doing it. I had him in his little cup that he came in with clean water. I made my mixture with about 3-4 drops and shook the jar of tank water. I almost could not do it but finally I just did it. I poured some of the mixture in with my beta. He did thrash for I guess a few seconds. It was awful to watch. He went to the bottom his gills still moved. Even after 10 minutes so I added more. He continued this way for awhile. I eventually added more of the mixture and then watched and waited. He finally passed. He was one strong little beta. Sometimes I feel like he just didn't want to go. Also this morning I noticed he started growing fungus on his tail and tummy. I feel tortured. I hated doing that. I hope it did not hurt and he did not suffer any longer. I miss him......

I am not so sure that freezing kills a fish. My brother has a small man made pond in his backyard that freezes every year. He has a gold fish in it and you can see the fish frozen in the ice. Every year the water thaws in the spring and goldfish is just fine.

Well, this method did not work well on our goldfish. :( I'm really upset as I was trying to find a peaceful method for him and I think I made it way worse than if I would've just chopped his head off. I got 100% clove oil (Humco brand), put one dose in the water, he did not fall asleep and he was really distressed by the clove oil addition. After waiting 10 minutes, he was more relaxed, but still swimming, so I added more clove oil and waited another 10. Now it seemed like he was asleep, his gills weren't even moving, so I poured in the vodka. Then he woke up and started thrashing again. It is horrible. (He is in 16 oz of water and I added 4 oz vodka). He is about 3 inches long, so maybe I needed a higher dose of the clove oil to begin with, but still, the vodka should have done him in by now and his gills are STILL MOVING. Christ. I feel horrible. I don't recommend this method at all. Go and get some finquel. I looked in three pet stores for it and couldn't find it, which makes me sad that the pet stores aren't even euthanizing their fish in a humane way.

Thank you for this article, it worked really well. My poor little bubble eye had dropsy bad, her little stomach was filled with blood and her scales were sticking out and she was floating upside down. I couldn't bear the thought of killing her in any way, but when i thought it was for the best i found this method.

Thank you for allowing me to send my little trev off peacefully to water heaven. RIP Trev, i loved you lots :( x

I just want to say thank you so much for this article. I have been agonizing over how to help my fish die - we have put Maleluca (for fish) in the tank and we have done several fresh water changes (weekly) and this poor Gourami doesn't look like he is going to make it :( We have had him for a long time and he has been through a lot in the tank (territory wars with our Tetras - he instigates) Thank you for providing this valuable information. I cannot believe that people would actually put a fish in the freezer to die.

I just wanted to say thank you for posting this article. This procedure works perfectly!

I just had to put down my 6-year-old Jack Dempsey. He had been very sick for over 2 weeks and I needed a very human way to put him out of his misery. I'm sad that he's gone but I'm relieved that I was able to send him to heaven peacefully. Thank You.

my beta has pop eye (before you say "its because you were too lazy to clean out the water" it was because his cage was pushed over, and i was forced to put him in stinky nasty water for an hour, but it was too late, his eye is huge and i got medicine for it and it just wont go away, it looks very painful, should i kill him?

This article was a god send. I had a creamsicle female Molly, who after giving birth, became seriously ill and disfigured. I couldn't figure it out. I had been researching possible causes and cures. None of what i found helped.

After seeing her suffer for more than a week, I came across this article. Thank you sooo much. I followed the directions as stated, and she went peacefully. No thrashing or anything, just to sleep. I did have a hard time finding the 100% clove oil, but did find it at a GNC.

Again, thank you for your site and helpful information. I'll be back when problems arise, or just for fun to learn more.

I found this article when I was looking for a humane way to send a group of guppies to their watery heaven. A man gave me a tank full of fish that were just awfully twisted, deformed and sick. I suspect they had tuberculosis, but I suppose it could have been strictly inbreeding. I decided to use the clove oil method and it worked great. The fish slowly fell asleep. No spaz attacks or stress. After about 30 minutes of them being asleep, I added the vodka and their gills stopped moving. It made me feel better knowing that they went peacefully after a life of such pain. Then, I had a plecostomus that I thought had a huge patch of fungus. (It turned out to be Argulus) I used just 1 drop of clove to about 1 pint of water. So, I slowly added a few drops of the mixture. After a few minutes, he started spazing out like crazy. He was literally trying to suck up the sides to get out of the mixture. I figured he was just freaking because he didn't know what was happening. It turns out that it actually killed him a few minutes later. I don't know if armored fish are somehow different, but he completely spazed and died and I was so upset. I felt like I murdered one of my favorite fish. So, tonight I looked at one of my Purple Moscow Guppy babies. He had a tiny hair stuck in his mouth and he couldn't get it out. So, I made the same mixture. 1 drop to about 1 pint. I added a few drops and he slowly fell asleep. I used tweezers and pulled out the hair, it was long and hard to get out. Then, I slowly took out the old water and added some of the tank water. I have been slowly doing this for about 45 minutes. Take out old water, add tank water. He looks dead and pale. But I still see his tiny heart beating. I have no idea how long to wait for him to wake up, but if he doesn't wake up within the next hour, I'm going to euthanize him. I figure 2 hours in clean water and he should be moving. Or id this wrong? Be very careful when using clove oil to put fish to sleep temporarily. It hasn't worked well for me so far!

I bought clove oil at GNC for 6.99 for my large oscar and followed the 10 drops per gallon then after 10 minutes added the vodka . While I did add more clove oil after ten minutes after I added the vodka (just in case) my oscar went very quietly. Thank you for the good advice.

I would like to say that Clove Oil is virtually impossible to find. So, based on other reviews I tried the Alka Seltzer method. After the 6th tab, and 30 minutes of watching the fish suffer, I went for decapitation. I couldn't stand watching it suffer any longer.

I found ZERO results in the alka-seltzer method and highly suggest the freezing method. I should've done this all along being a science major, but I figured this other way sounded nice enough. How wrong I was.

To the person with the betta with the marble size tumor: It's quite normal for male bettas to have potbellies. I once had one that looked like it had a small grape for a stomach. It's also normal for bettas to take in breaths of air. They have a special organ that lets them use air in addition to dissolved oxygen. If you don't let bettas take a gulp of air, they will die. to summarize this, your betta was probably fine.

I had a molly who I had to euthanize. . . but instead I used the Alka seltzer tablets. They worked great, she was out rather quickly.

Thank you for these suggestions, though. . . I'm sure that they'll come in handy in the future. Now I just have to find out where I can get clove oil from.

I just had to euthanize 2 of my balloon mollies. I woke up this morning to find one swimming upside down and covered in fungus, and the other still upright, but just as fungusy. By the time I'd come back from getting the clove oil, the upside down one was dead, and the other was clearly beyond saving. Thank you so much for this guide. I've prevented my female molly from suffering any more than she clearly was.

I currently have a fish who is in the process of dying a slow death. He has been very sick for the past fortnight with White Spot and is in treatment for that.. but hasn't responded. The past few days, his tail has almost completely disintegrated away.. he has some fungus-ey type fluffy stuff hanging off his body.. and I know now there is no way he will survive - despite the fact I've been trying to be as optimistic as possible. I know tonight I will have to euthanize him, as his immune system is just too weak to cope (I rescued him from a disease-ridden fish tank in my workplace). When you feel like you've done everything you can POSSIBLY do and you realize you're only keeping the fish alive for your own conscience and that the fish is clearly going to die - that's the time to step in and speed up the process.

Because the pharmacies are now closed, I will most probably put him in the freezer in a small amount of water and hope for the best.

All I know is, I certainly couldn't live with myself if I had to chop off his head or put him in a blender.. and I most definitely couldn't flush him. Although the decapitation is probably the most quickest, most painless death... I just couldn't physically do it. I wish I could, because it's better for the fish - but it would be absolutely traumatizing.

I would just like to make a comment regarding this matter. I had a goldfish which was about 6 inch long with severe dropsy and I could not bear to see him lying on his head at the bottom of the tank upside down any longer. I read this article and purchased some clove oil from Boots and some Smirnof Vodka.

DRE has been in the family for 6 years and deserved the best send off.

I followed the directions for a large fish and within 10 mins he was fast asleep. There was no thrashing and no agitation.

After waiting the stated time I added the vodka, once again no movement and DRE pasted away very peacefully. This is the most humane way to put a fish to sleep with very little upset. Thank you, Mr and Mrs Gould

My poor baby betta had a tumor the size of a marble. He was still eating, but gulping for air and I couldn't bear to watch him struggle to swim and breath.

This method using clove and vodka was at least quick. He clearly did not like the addition of the clove, so I covered the bowl and pretty sure he was gone before I added the vodka.

I miss my little buddy. Time to go rescue another one from a cup of blue water.

I just put my fish to sleep. I followed the directions on this site exactly as stated, and the clove oil did not put my fish to sleep. I waited and waited and still nothing, so I added a bit more, and it began to irritate them. They gasped for air at the top, and I could see the skin around their eyes was all red, which it had not been before. My fish looked worse than ever and were apparently suffering worse than ever, and I did not know what to do at this point so I had to kill them in an extremely horrible way - at least to me it was - and I don't even want to explain it to people on this site. I needed to act fast, and your website doesn't tell us what to do when the oil doesn't work, and it's doing damage. I got the exact oil you recommend and double checked it with my vet. I was completely unprepared for this situation, and I feel horrible.

Fish are cold blooded, they do not feel temperature differences as humans do, their metabolisms simply react to their changing environment. When water temperature decreases the fish's metabolism slows down and the fish will go into a state similar to hibernation and also as described by the clove oil method. Fish, unlike frogs, cannot survive freezing solid and will expire once this occurs. The MOST humane method is to remove them in a container (with top) of tankwater large enough for the fish to be upright, and then place this in your freezer. Depending on the amount of water and other variables it will take 1-2 hours for your fish to have frozen. This is in no-way cruel, painful, nor violent. I have kept fish for over 30 years and have tried clove oil and other methods and still have observed the most serene and peaceful deaths occur with freezing. Clove oil is highly effective and only causes minor stress, but it does not work naturally.

As previously noted, clove oil is not effective for all fish, and several in the hobby would place in apparently excruciating pain when subjected to the lethal dose you suggest. Freezing does not require knowledge of the fish's biology and works painlessly with any species that will be commonly found in the hobby.

I have read your articles and find them really interesting. I have been fishkeeping for 5 years now and have had to kill several fish and it is very distressing. I choose to decapitate them. I set everything up next to the tank and the whole procedure takes just a few seconds and the fish is at peace. It is violent, it is unpleasant, but the fish knows so very little about it and I work hard to keep it that way. I have read up on several different ways but can't be sure I will get any of them right. I just try to be exceptionally fast - if it was my way to go - I would want it to be very quick. I think as long as you are thoroughly researching your methods you have to go with what suits you.

My Blue Tang was found listing upside down this morning. He was 17 years old, and seemed too weak to recover. I'm so glad I found this post.

The clove oil worked perfectly, and as he relaxed his color came back to its brilliant blue hue. I added a little more to make sure he was asleep, then I added the vodka. The entire process was very peaceful except for the brief transition from the tank to the container with the clove oil. He never did like being moved...

Thanks again, I am very grateful for Jacques peaceful release from suffering.

Another suggestion-

Once the fish has been put to sleep with an overdose of clove oil, you can then put it in the freezer rather than adding vodka in order to make he/she doesn't wake up

Hi - I just came across your site while doing some research on clove oil. When I worked in a health food store, we used to advise people wanting to add oils to bathwater to first mix the oil with a teaspoon of milk. Milk is an emulsion already, so the oil mixes in then the milk dilutes into the bath water. I hope this helps, in the name of kindness.

Regards,

Liz

Found on another site which changed my mind:

Vodka And Oil Of Clove

The combination can be used IF done properly but the majority of the cases of at home euthanasia the fishes gills are burned by the vodka causing a violent death.

Alka seltzer was the better option. 1 tablet to 5 gallon.

Thank god I kept reading.

Since vets use clove oil to perform surgery on fish, I can't see why it would not work on Bettas, even though they breathe surface air. The extreme agitation doesn't make sense, and doesn't seem to occur in all cases, but only some. I'm wondering if the clove oil used in those cases had additives that caused the aggravating factor.

Another possibility (in some cases -- not all) is that the clove oil was mixed with faucet water by mistake instead of tank water. In that case the reaction would be caused by chlorine and other chemicals in the faucet water.

I found 100% pure clove oil for aromatherapy. I got a 1oz (which is a TON for this purpose) bottle for 5.99 from GNC at the local mall.

spelling correction and additional factoid to my post: bettas are Anabantids--labyrinth fish. Gouramis are also in this category. Any one have any experience with clove oil and gouramis??

I have had the same experience as tillab with bettas on more than one occasion (I had over 70 at one time.) The bettas become frantic, thrash, are in obvious terrible distress that doesn't get better with time or the addition of more solution. I too have removed them from that solution and resorted to another technique.

My theory is that this happens because the fish are anabatoids--that is they breathe outside air from the surface rather than through their gills. I'm not sure why this matters--maybe they are not getting enough into their system to anesthetize but only to be uncomfortable. I have seen many posts about clove oil working great on non-bettas and many that describe the same frantic scenario when it is used on a betta.

I followed the directions to the letter, using 100% Clove Bud oil (aromatherapy source). It did seem to be a calm, quiet, effective affair. I think the most stressful part of it all was trying to net the fish out of the tank! The fish barely moved when I added the clove oil mixture, was clearly in deep sleep very soon after, and did not move at all when I added the vodka. Gill movement ceased almost immediately, but I still waited.

Thanks for helping provide a solution to a problem..... I still feel like a murderer though :(

Thanks for the great information. My betta has dropsy and also an ulcer on his skin or ich. My heart is breaking but I couldn't put him in the freezer as the aquarium store suggested. If you are in an emergency situation and need clove oil, call your dentist office. I am a hygienist and we have Eugenol which is oil of clove, either 100% or 99%. I am sure if you took a container they would give you 4 or 5 drops if they have a heart. I have just administered the eugenol and am waiting for anesthesia.

Farewell my beautiful Frank! I am so sorry I did you wrong.

I just wanted to thank you for the directions. I had a tiger barb (>2yrs old) that had lost its tail fin due to nipping and even after moving to a different tank never got better. Eventually red sores (under the scales) started to develop and I knew it was not going to improve.

Like others, for the first 3 seconds or so the fish got agitated, but very quickly after that it rolled on its side and is now comfortably asleep.

I did want to mention one tip:

Clove oil is not readily water soluble (that's why it makes a cloudy liquid. While this will work fine I added a single drop of alcohol to aid in dissolving prior to adding to the fish to put it to sleep. When shaken this will make the liquid less cloudy and should help to put the fish to sleep faster without any stress since the amount of alcohol is so little.

Thank you again.

Well that's a pleasant thought. Is that your final choice when it's your time to go? Boiling water? I bet it isn't instantaneous at all, and I surely hope you are kidding about it now.

What's with this 'euthanize'? Do you mean 'kill'. If so why not just use that word?

Why go to all this trouble when you can just drop them into some boiling water - surely death must be almost instantaneous?

Thank you for posting this. My platy tank appears to have come down with TB and I will be euthanizing at least one of them tomorrow (if she survives the night). I was really glad to have read this article with its step-by-step instructions and with other people's feedback and experiences as well.

Now I know to get 100% clove oil, if I can, and to leave the room for the 10 minute wait so I don't have to see her gasping for air or any of that.

Thanks again :)

Thank you! I had to say goodbye to my first fish - and the mother of the brood in my tank. It was very peaceful. And it was nice to have such concise information about how to do it.

Hello all,

I've had my pet oscar for about 7 years. He and I were good mates. Each week (or two) he'd get his water change, and every day he'd come to the top of the tank for his daily meal. I know he recognised me as his reaction to me was different to that of anyone else.

Over the past couple of weeks, things started to go badly for him. He had stopped eating, stopped swimming and became very lethargic. I put it down to age as the water was fine, temperature was good and there was no disease in the tank.

Yesterday things went critical and I realised I had to do the humane thing and put him down. I scoured the internet for humane ways to do this, and came across this site.

Today I dropped into the chemist and picked up a small bottle of 100% clove oil. He always hated being picked up out of the tank, and the tank is pretty big so I didn't want to oil the whole tank. Instead I went and retrieved a bucket from downstairs, and held it near him under the water. With what little energy he had left, he swam into the bucket, much to the relief of both him and me.

I triple dosed the water with clove oil, mixing it in a separate container as indicated on this site. I gently poured it in, and within seconds he had settled to the bottom of the bucket. After waiting 10 minutes or so, I mixed in the vodka.

There was no thrashing or splashing, and he was definitely unconscious. That was 30min ago, and now there is no movement at all. In a little while I'll place him in his final resting place somewhere in the back yard.

So thanks for the tip on how to do this humanely. It wasn't a job I was looking forward to, but in the end it was not stressful for either him or me. Much appreciated.

RIP Oscar

Thanks all

DaBear

Thank you so much for this article. I have a molly with a severely twisted spine, and who can barely control her movements anymore. I sadly suspect TB.

I am reluctant to hear the accounts of fish struggling and gasping, thanks for clarifying that this was likely due to the use of not 100% clove oil. I was, however, naively hoping for a totally 'comfortable' euthanasia.

All in all, I thank you for this most complete overview of the clove oil method.

Hello Everyone,

I just wanted to thank you for suggesting the Alka-Seltzer method for euthanizing a pet fish. I had a huge silver dollar that was suffering. I had tried many different "cures" but they were all for nothing and this fish was dying and suffering. I used the Alka-Seltzer method, since I did not have any clove oil or access to any clove oil. The Alka-Seltzer method worked almost immediately. I used a bowl with the water from the tank, placed the fish inside and then put in tablets of Alka-Seltzer and I believe the fish died more peacefully than if I had let it die naturally. Thank you again for the tip!

I think this is basically a good method. However, when one buys eugenol at the drug store (a typical ingredient in toothache remedies) it is usually found as 80% eugenol & 20% sesame oil. I suspect that the sesame oil is irritating and its presence may be causing the less than optimum results described. Unfortunately, 100% clove oil is somewhat more difficult to find on short notice. One place to look is aromatherapy stores. I bought mine at Amazon.com. Or you can ask a pharmacist if he has any 100% clove oil behind the counter.

I have 3 12" red belly pacus will this work for larger fish like them?

I just used this method on four juvenile guppies with birth defects. Upon adding the clove oil mixture they began gasping at the surface and darting around, obviously trying to get away from it. Very quickly however they began to sink to the bottom, and after only a few seconds there was no movement at all. They were too small to tell if there was gill movement, so after waiting the 10 minutes anyway I added the vodka.

So yes, they were agitated, but only for a few seconds. It thus seemed humane as opposed to any other method of euthanasia.

In search for a more humane solution I tried this method on a small fish (not a betta) with apparently a tumor in its belly. After slowly administering the clove oil it became a little bit agitated (as earlier described), however it settled down pretty quick on the bottom. It seemed to keep 'gasping' for air, which wasn't a pretty sight (but even so, what way to euthanize a fish is a pretty sight anyway).

It kept gasping, so therefore I decided not to wait the full 10 minutes as described but administered the vodka earlier; perhaps it is a better to go away and wait a while, but after the vodka I noticed the fish became quiet and still, almost immediately! However, there were some spasmodic gasps after a while, so I put in an overdose of clove oil just to be sure and pretty soon the fish passed away.

All in all, albeit it is a bit slow and not entirely pretty to watch, it seems to me this is an effective and reasonable humane way to euthanize your fish, provided that you really mix the clove oil into the milky substance.

It is safer to use vodka (after administering clove oil) then trying to use clove oil alone. If your family doesn't drink, buy a small bottle of vodka from a liquor store for less than $3 and keep it with your fish supplies for future use.

I'm very sorry to hear about your experience. I assume you meant that the fish reacted at the introduction of the clove oil. Fish usually react for a moment to the clove oil just because they sense something in the water and will try to dart away from it. But soon they fall sleep. I know it's too late now, but introducing the clove oil slower might have been less traumatic, or perhaps introducing more at once would have caused the same reaction but put him to sleep (not to death but to sleep) sooner. IAC clove oil does not hurt, so the fish was not in pain. It was just trying to escape. However I realize how upsetting this is to watch.

I just tried your method on my terminally ill Betta, and it didn't work out well... The fish became very agitated and tried to jump out of the bowl, though I had followed your advice. I quickly decapitated it; the procedure in total didn't last longer than 1min, the decapitation took 1 second. I do believe that your protocol might work if applied differently (I don't know what went wrong), but it's clearly not fool-proof. Perhaps you should warn your readers (I've read before that clove oil didn't work on bettas, but I sadly didn't heed that).

RIP, my dear Betta, and at least I now know that I will never again keep vertebrates for my pleasure. So you didn't die in vain (but I'm sorry that my learning process caused suffering).

IT says in the article you can do it with clove oil alone and no vodka...

No one in my family drinks, any substitute for alcohol?