Betta Listserv - Betta Care : Euthanizing your Betta

Euthanizing your Betta :

This is a very hard subject. Not only do many people not agree, it is a hard thing to have to do.
	If your betta is old and suffering, you may not want to sit and watch him slowly wither away. He may not want to wither away, know one knows. You may have a large spawn of babies, too many. You may need to thin them down. These are not things we do to be monsters, they are things that we feel are necessary. If you don't agree, then you don't need to read any farther.
Before I get into the various methods, I will take a moment to offer alternate suggestions for culling. One thing about culling, is that you can never tell a fish's true colors until they are grown, so keep this in mind. Also, many pet stores will trade supplies or live food in exchange for fish. Sometimes they will even buy them. There are also always fish/betta lovers willing and more than happy to make a home for culls. These are the alternatives to culling your spawn.
	There are many ways to cull your spawns. One way I have heard was to siphon the unwanted fry into a glass of ice water. This is supposed to be an instant death. Another way to dispose of unwanted fry is to use them as live food for other fish, including bettas.
Disposing of a suffering fish can be done many ways. One way I wouldn't recommend is flushing. Flushing dead fish is one thing, but a live/dieing one may survive the initial flush and be forced to die a slow, painful death swimming in the biggest toilet worse than his own. One way is to place them in the freezer. Take your betta and place it in a ziplock baggy with just enough water to cover it. Place the baggy in a container then into the freezer. Their biological process will shut down in response to cold. Therefore they go into a sort of hibernation before they die. Although I have also heard of fish being frozen, then thawed and still survive. So make sure you keep them in there long enough to make sure they are gone.
	I have read that placing them in Vodka water will "put them to sleep". There are also actual shots you can buy at your vet to do the job. there are 2 ways to use vodka, you can find them in the comments and ideas section below.
View individual comments and ideas on Euthanizsia
If you have more suggestions on culling, please submit them as I do not have many choices. Please do not email me explaining how inhumane this is, I personally do not cull so it will do you no good.