# Preferred method of Culling?



## Velxunai (Nov 23, 2014)

What is the Prefered method of culling in the fish world? I'm not sure if I can do it but I probably wouldn't know until I knew what exactly is involved. 

What is the most humane method?


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

From what I've been told, you overdose with clove oil to put them into a deep sleep, then your drown them in vodka/everclear. It's over quickly and painlessly, from what I'm aware of. Not done it myself.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

There are many ways to kill humanely. I personally avoid clove oil, since it is a suspected carcinogen. While a brush with it now and then probably wouldn't hurt anyone, it's something to be avoided if breeding seriously, since that'd bring you in regular contact with the stuff.

The term "cull" is a bit of a misnomer. All that means is removing the fish from your gene pool by selling, gifting, or killing. Killing is where people have the hang-ups, but there are times when a fish is sick or deformed and cannot enjoy a good quality life.

Please remember that you should not judge what the end result LOOKS like to discern whether the culling was humane.

Top methods:
1) Freezer. Put the fish in a cup of their own tank water. As the water chills, the fish goes into a deep sleep, and then dies.
2) Clove Oil. A sedative and pain reliever. Overdose painlessly kills the fish.
3) Ice water bath - it's probably not painless, but it's nearly instant
4) Blender. _Yes, that sounds horrible,_ but a high-powered food processor will instantaneously kill the contents. They don't have time to suffer or even know what's going on. Good if your a gardener; the fish are then plant food. No life is wasted.
5) Garbage disposal. Same as blender, minus the fertilizer. To be avoided if the fish are suffering from disease.
6) Crushing the head (I don't have the guts for this one)
7) Scalding - a drop into boiling water should be much the same as a drop into ice water, but I can't stomach this one, either.
8) Feeding to another carnivorous fish or turtle. Very popular method, as it serves two purposes.

WAYS TO KILL THAT SHOULD BE AVOIDED
1) Flushing. The fish remains alive for a long time in the sewer system, and can introduce disease into the local water table. Not humane.
2) Decapitation. The fish remains conscious even with the head removed from the body. Should only be paired with "pithing" - sticking a needle in the eye and swirling around - not really suitable for small fish like bettas.
3) Drying out. Takes hours to die. If they must be killed, get the guts to do it...or don't breed.
4) Slow heat of water - does not have the same effect as a slow chill.


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## Zhylis (Nov 4, 2014)

I would actually move euthanasia by freezing into the "To Be Avoided" category. The slow temperature drop causes a slowing of the metabolism but cold blooded animals remain conscious. It is actually a very stressful/painful for fish.

Flash freezing is harder to perform correctly but much more humane. Although, if you have easy access to dry ice, it's much easier. (Dry ice in ethanol near instantly freezes and kills small fish.)

I personally go for the "feeding to a larger fish" option.


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## Bikeridinguckgirl14 (Oct 22, 2013)

If I ever had to I would do "freezer" by freezing water without the fish until it ices over the top, punch a hole so that it's 34 degree water with ice floating in it, and tip the little guy in there. 
Does that count as flash freezing?

Also on the "to be avoided" list:
*putting it in a 1g or less tank in the closet and hoping it dies soon
*putting the fish in tea/milk/alcohol
*putting medicine or acid in the tank (or soap)
*overfeeding the fish "so it'll be happy when it dies"
*putting the fish into a nearby creek or lake

As a child I remember all of our goldfish got super sick, mom didn't have the heart to kill them so she just covered he tank in brown paper and didn't feed them for a week, then had dad bury them


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## Velxunai (Nov 23, 2014)

Thanks guys! I definitely like the sound of feeding them to another animal making their death not wasteful. Perhaps I'll get myself a turtle


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Just be sure to research their space needs and general requirements! I wanted a turtle, but couldn't fit an appropriate tank for any of the kinds I wanted.


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## Crossroads (Jun 28, 2014)

if you are going to get a turtle to do it, make sure 
A. its a pretty big one
B. you have space for an animal that needs roughly 120+ gallons per animal when full grown
C The fish is not diseased
I have 4 inch turtles and I would not feed live fish to them. They do not do the job quickly. I feed frozen silversides to them and it takes them some time to get it down, often mutilating and gutting the fish before they are done.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

I believe the usual fish used for culling is an Oscar. They are also supposed to be very interesting and intelligent fish, making them worth keeping in their own right.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

For single juveniles/sub-adults I will usually just place them in some wet paper towel and then give them a single blow to the head with a hammer. Blunt force trauma is probably the quickest method of dispatching fish. 

However, if I have to cull a large number of fish, I will use the ice water method. I tried clove oil and didn't really like the smell and the time it took my fish to pass in some instances. With the ice water method fish convulse for a second or two and then die.


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## kevinap2 (Apr 3, 2014)

I like the ice bath too. By the time the fish has figured out something is wrong, they are dead. Quick and relatively easy. I don't believe any way of ending a fish's life will be completely painless or without stress, so I just prefer to get the job done fast.


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## Poro (Jan 3, 2015)

ill just adopt ur babies if its from a pretty mom and dad omg >_< i didnt know you have to do this if ur a breeder T_T


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## kevinap2 (Apr 3, 2014)

Poro said:


> ill just adopt ur babies if its from a pretty mom and dad omg >_< i didnt know you have to do this if ur a breeder T_T


Most breeders will adopt out or sell fish to a pet store that are undesirable for breeding or showing but are otherwise healthy. This is more for fish that are deformed or have some other issue that would affect their quality of life. Most breeders will have at least a few fish that would fall under this category.


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## Poro (Jan 3, 2015)

kevinap2 said:


> Most breeders will adopt out or sell fish to a pet store that are undesirable for breeding or showing but are otherwise healthy. This is more for fish that are deformed or have some other issue that would affect their quality of life.


ah  yea its for the best then i guess


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## Velxunai (Nov 23, 2014)

Don't worry Poro, I certainly won't be culling them light heartidly. But sometimes it has to be done to be humane.


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## JessikaSky (Sep 6, 2014)

hrutan said:


> I believe the usual fish used for culling is an Oscar. They are also supposed to be very interesting and intelligent fish, making them worth keeping in their own right.


I can vouch for this, my friend has two Oscars and they are basically puppies of the dog world, full of personality, they can get "grumpy" if you don't pay them enough attention and have plenty of way of showing this, my friends likes to rearrange the tank when not enough attention is given, they also enjoy being hand fed and getting 'pats' :lol:


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

Oscars can get depressed, too. Our LFS had two together in a tank. After one was bought by itself, the other suicided (jumped out). Maybe the water was just dirty, though.


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## FishinHank (Feb 14, 2015)

Clove oil does work. I work at fish hatcheries in AK and they used to use it a lot up here. I have access to MS222, also known as tricaine. We use it to knock out adult salmon when we spawn them. Freezing is probably about the best bet for the squimish, it will slow their metabolism and they will go peacefully.


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## Wolfstardobe (Jan 28, 2010)

As far as feeding to another animal a garter snake is one of the best pets IMO. I have one. They are great beginner snakes that love the water. Fish is one of the ideal food sources for them. The other being worms used for fishing. They can eat 1- 3 fish a week depending on the size of the fish. I do this with my platies.


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

FishinHank said:


> Clove oil does work. I work at fish hatcheries in AK and they used to use it a lot up here. I have access to MS222, also known as tricaine. We use it to knock out adult salmon when we spawn them. Freezing is probably about the best bet for the squimish, it will slow their metabolism and they will go peacefully.


Freezing is not a humane method. Perhaps for something like a goldfish that is adept at handling cold water, but a betta would go through extreme stress until the moment it dies. Squeamishness is normal and okay, but looking away from the container for a few minutes is a lot better of an option than jeopardizing the wellbeing of the fish. 

A better method than freezing is the ice shock method, in which the fish is dropped in a container of extremely cold, icy water. The fish goes in to shock and dies immediately, though if you are uncomfortable with clove oil... This won't be better in that sense.


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## Aluka (Dec 25, 2012)

I have discovered that wraping the fish in a paper towel and then smashing it with something hard is the best method for me... I just can't watch it die slowly with clove oil or ice water. smashing it might sound worst, but its quick and fast.

I just go i'm sorry... i hope you go to a better place *smash*....


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I sometimes do that Aluka if I only have to euthanise a single fish in a hurry, and while it may make you sound like some sort of fish murderer (especially to non-fish people), it is just so fast. 

I also found wrapping them in damp paper towel does help keep them still.


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## Kaza (Feb 9, 2015)

An Oscar will take the fish out before it hits the bottom and 2 oscars will cull everything in 20 mins I couldn't ever smash something that's so crazy lol. I wouldn't drop anything in Ice because I wouldn't want someone to drop me in Ice that sounds worse then being smashed. Oscars will eat anything weather it fits in their mouth or not


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

It's blunt force trauma to the head. So the fish is dead before it even realises the fact.

I have seen some videos where fish have been half eaten or the oscar or other large fish being used for culling has missed and the fish then spends several minutes being absolutely terrified whilst being chased around the tank. 

Probably for fry or very young fish this would be less of a problem.

Also if the fish are diseased you couldn't use them as feeders so then you have to find another method of euthanasia.

You also don't drop the fish into ice. You chill the water until ice forms, then remove the ice, and then drop the fish into the water. The temperature shock kills within a matter of seconds. I found it faster and less distressing for my fish than using clove oil where I had a couple bad experiences even though I followed the instructions. 

IMO, the faster the fish dies, the less it has to suffer or experience stress or potential pain. This is why blunt force trauma is so quick because as soon as you destroy the brain it's over.


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## Kaza (Feb 9, 2015)

I guess every keeper has a different method I do agree with you about not using a sick fish to use as a feeder fish I'm hoping that most fish I can give to a pet store and maybe even give to ppl on this site and only have to resort to having to deal with this issue if the fish is sick or quality of life has been compromised


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## selah (Oct 14, 2014)

re feeding to another fish, just make sure the fish you are feeding is big enough to eat the cull in one bite. There was a pet store where I used to live that fed goldfish as feeder fish, it was sickening to see a goldfish with its tail fin gone still trying to swim around until the fish it was supposed to feed got hungry enough to take another bite..


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## Kaza (Feb 9, 2015)

Some people just have no humanity but a betta baby between 3-6 weeks old is pretty much Bitesize


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## selah (Oct 14, 2014)

Kaza said:


> Some people just have no humanity but a betta baby between 3-6 weeks old is pretty much Bitesize


good to know.. and I like your signature, very true.


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## Kaza (Feb 9, 2015)

Thanks, She actually told me if I can't I can't clean my room then I shouldn't get married but this sounded better lol


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## SiameseFightingArt (Jun 17, 2014)

I prefer the dry ice method. Fast death.


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## omcdonnell (Mar 12, 2015)

*im new how do i post*

hey off topic but I'm new on this site how do i make my own new post?


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