Q&A for How to Humanely Kill a Fish

Some people can't stand to see their sick pets suffer ... that's one reason.

First try to quarantine him, do a complete water change, and use a natural botanical treatment (available online or in many pet stores). If that does not help, yes, it is probably time to humanely end his suffering.

If the fish is extremely injured/wounded almost to the point of death, leaving it unchecked may cause the fish extreme suffering. Killing it instantly avoids suffering.

No, you should try to treat your fish first with something like Melafix, which aids in healing fins.

Yes, that's okay. Just mention that you think it is sick so someone else won’t get it. Petco will give you a credit. My fish died and they still took it back. It would be a good idea to check your water, though, before adding any new fish to it, just in case there's something wrong.

Generally, yes. Your vet may have questions or a protocol they need to follow, but they should be able to help.

No. A torn fin is not a major injury, unless your fish has trouble swimming or staying upright.

To ensure that it dies and doesn't survive the decapitation and suffer further.

Its one of the most humane ways of putting a fish to sleep, and if you are a pet owner or a fish enthusiast that owns a fish that is very sick, you want as little pain to be caused to your fish as possible.

You can, but that would not be considered a "humane" way to kill a fish.

Putting the fish in the freezer is not suitable as a standalone method as the water on the fish will freeze on its gills, causing painful burns and eventual suffocation.

Yes do 1 quarter water change every day until done with treatment, then go back to original schedule for changes.

Move it to a quarantine aquarium and add Epsom salt and Melafix.

Vodka will kill the fish. If you put a little amount it will probably sedate the fish, but if put a lot, it will die.

It is, but it isn't recommended over vodka. If you have vodka, that would be a better substitute.

You can follow the instructions above for humane methods of killing a fish.

Just letting it die naturally by suffocating outside of the water is the normal way. The methods in this article are mainly meant for family pets.

If you feel the fish is truly sick or injured to the point of being incurable or if the fish is in a lot of pain. You should always try and help the fish in any way you can before resorting to killing it.

No. That is not a humane way to kill it, as it will suffer since it won't die immediately.

Put him in a small container with tank water, and add in some clove oil until he is on the bottom but still moving his gills, kind of asleep. Then add vodka, which will kill it, and these together will give it a peaceful death.

It really depends. If your fish looks or acts like it might be close to death, you should look for other signs like spots or heavy breathing to make sure, because your fish might just be naturally lethargic. Some fish also like to play dead to see their owners freak out, so try not to be fooled by this.

Don't kill him! Buy some ich medication at your local pet store. It's not too late.

You are misinformed. Newer research has found that fish can definitely feel pain, insects have some capacity of pain too. And even then, if they didn't feel pain, would you still give them a painful death? No. The point of killing a fish is to put it out of its misery.

Don't use bettafix or melafix (anything ending in fix). It has been known to make things worse and actually suffocate your betta. Don't give up yet, try something else. I recommend going on "The Betta Fish Forum". Everyone is very supportive and helpful there.