# Is freezing fish a humane way to euthanize?



## julifhy (May 28, 2020)

I'm asking out of curiosity. I am not euthanizing any fish. 
I recently came across multiple people saying freezing fish is the most humane way to euthanize your fish because the low temperature will slow down it’s metabolism and the fish will eventually “go to sleep” but it doesn’t seem like a good form of euthanasia, from what I understand.
Wouldn’t the water freeze first? And wouldn’t that mean the fish would get frozen alive? Temperature shock is also stressful for fish, so wouldn’t freezing fish be very stressful? It seems like a slow stressful death for the fish 
The clove oil method seems more humane imo, but I’ve never had to euthanize any of my fish, so I’m not sure what is true and which method is better.


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## KekeTheBettaDoc (Dec 3, 2020)

Yeah-freezing is not humane as they can feel the entire process. Plus, it can take upwards of an hour. Clove or blunt force is the most humane.


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## reefrebel (Jan 20, 2021)

julifhy said:


> I'm asking out of curiosity. I am not euthanizing any fish.
> I recently came across multiple people saying freezing fish is the most humane way to euthanize your fish because the low temperature will slow down it’s metabolism and the fish will eventually “go to sleep” but it doesn’t seem like a good form of euthanasia, from what I understand.
> Wouldn’t the water freeze first? And wouldn’t that mean the fish would get frozen alive? Temperature shock is also stressful for fish, so wouldn’t freezing fish be very stressful? It seems like a slow stressful death for the fish
> The clove oil method seems more humane imo, but I’ve never had to euthanize any of my fish, so I’m not sure what is true and which method is better.


That's a difficult one. 
I've heard a lot of theories on "humane" ways to kill a fish, but freezing to death doesn't sound as such to me.
Adding a few drops of clove oil to a bowl of tank water with the fish in it is the most humane way I've found. It works just as an anesthesia, and puts the fish to sleep. But when using clove oil alone, making sure that the fish is really dead. It is much safer to use vodka as the final step.


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## Awadta (Feb 11, 2021)

This is the first time I've heard people think about how to euthanize fish. The fish itself dies, and you will not be able to determine the first symptoms of its disease. I understand if it was a dog or a cat, but it's a fish. This creature that dies quickly in its normal habitat. When my fish in the aquarium began to swim sluggishly, and I realized that most likely they would soon die, I did not think about how to simplify their death. When my dog began to behave sluggishly, then I became worried. I read on https://dogleashpro.com/dog-care/dog-health/Canine-Degenerative-Myelopathy-When-to-Euthanize that the symptoms that appeared in my dog can lead her to a serious illness. In this case, I went to the vet.


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## BettaloverSara (Oct 15, 2020)

Awadta said:


> This is the first time I've heard people think about how to euthanize fish. The fish itself dies, and you will not be able to determine the first symptoms of its disease. I understand if it was a dog or a cat, but it's a fish. This creature that dies quickly in its normal habitat.


Sometimes euthanasia is used if the fish appears to be suffering but nothing can be done or if a fish has a disease that poses a risk to other fish. Fish death is often not quick at all.


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## imaal (Aug 10, 2014)

Awadta said:


> This is the first time I've heard people think about how to euthanize fish. .


If you check out other fish forums, whether they be for discus, goldfish, killies, cichlids, etc, you will see thread after thread on this very subject. This discussion is not unusual at all. And I would add that it is an essential conversation to have to fully enable us to be responsible and compassionate guardians of our aquatic charges.


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