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I have a very sick Panda Cory that I am thinking I may have to euthanize.
I isolated him in a 10 gallon quarantine aquarium 3 weeks ago because I saw that he was lying on his side or upside down and incapable of sitting upright or swimming. I have been doing daily water changes, which have had no effect. He hasn't been eating this entire time, regardless of the food. I've tried the sinking Omnivore food my Cories usually eat as well as frozen brine shrimp. He can't swim or even sit upright, and though he attempts to thrash he hasn't been able to actually move for the entire 3 weeks. He has yet to show any signs of common diseases, so I am thinking maybe there is an internal problem I can't see. None of the fish in the main tank have come down with anything either. At this point I think he is suffering a lot and it might be kinder just to put him to sleep. I have read about a method with clove oil and vodka, but am a bit concerned about this. I know that it doesn't work correctly for labyrinth fish. Since Cories can also breathe atmospheric air, I'm concerned this method won't work for them either. Has anyone tried that method with success? If not, is there another way to humanely put him down?

Background info:
I first noticed he was acting off a month ago, he was laying on his side or upside down in the aquarium. At that point, he could get himself upright if he was startled and could swim. Water quality is fine, 0 Ammonia and Nitrites and less than 20 Nitrates, with 6.6 pH and 5 dgH. Temperature 75 degrees F (24 C). There is a school of about 10 Pandas in there, among other peaceful fish, that I have kept and bred in that aquarium for about 3 years. I do weekly water changes. I started to isolate him when I first saw he kept ending up on his side, but he struggled so much I thought he must still have lots of energy and decided to keep an eye on him for further symptoms. So it wasn't until a week later, when he could no longer move well, that he was put in quarantine. No signs of ich, velvet, fungal infections, internal parasites, fin rot, or other bacterial infections that I could see. And none of the other fish ever got sick, which makes me think it isn't a contagious disease. A week in I noticed his gills looked slightly red, but no other sign of septicemia and the water quality is great.

Assuming you are certain you want to euthenase the fish, here's a summary of methods that are recommended (and some that are not):
http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/c ... p?sid=5621

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Mats

Yes, Corydoras can breathe air, but they do have gills, so the clove oil will work eventually. It just may take a little more time.

If you are not squeamish, the best method is to quickly put the fish in a plastic bag and squash it hard with a heavy object. This would be the fastest method for sure, and there would be very little suffering.

Clove oil alone will do the job perfectly. Pandas live in oxygenrich cooler flowing watersystems!!

I think I would use a 1 kg / 2 pounds hammer. Ik has a working surface of 3 * 3 cm - 1 * 1 inch.

That's the fastes way !!

What I do with any of my fish that need to be dispatched is put them in a container take them into the yard put them quickly in hand and very forcibly throw them down onto a hard surface it sounds quite ruthless but I always feel after it was dispatched very quickly,it does kill them instantly ,remember some cats are quite armoured so make sure you do it with force .

I mostly use the Hoplias aimara method for euthanizing.If you don't have that option available you could put the Cory in a platic cup with tank water and place it in the freezer for an hour.

prairiefire wrote:I mostly use the Hoplias aimara method for euthanizing.If you don't have that option available you could put the Cory in a platic cup with tank water and place it in the freezer for an hour.

This sounds like quite a slow death to me.

Corycory wrote:

prairiefire wrote:I mostly use the Hoplias aimara method for euthanizing.If you don't have that option available you could put the Cory in a platic cup with tank water and place it in the freezer for an hour.

This sounds like quite a slow death to me.

Which one ? The Hoplias aimara or the freezer.

The freezer is believed here to be one of the slowest and most cruel and painfull ways to euthanise.

I use the "crush the head" method.
Fast and certain.

I stand firmly by the clove oil method. It's not terribly expensive, it only takes a couple of drops to work, and puts the fish into a relaxed, unconscious state until it stops breathing. I don't know if I could bring myself to crush or cut off the head of any of my fish (I have a real soft spot for catfish): all catfish are just like members of a family to me. However, crushing or decapitating would be the quickest way for sure.