Should I kill my fish?

Question

One of my tropical fish just ate the tail off a smaller fish. Hes still alive, should I put him out of his misery or let nature take its course?

Answer 1

put it out of its misery..its suffering right now without its little tail. is it bleeding? either way, bleeding or not, you should flush him down the toilet or give him a proper burial.

:(

poor little fella

Answer 2

I wouldn't kill the fish, I have had a few fish that their tails were bitten off and I separated them into a new fish bowl, aquarium etc.. and they lived.  This is possible with your fish also.  It is up to you how you want to handle the situation.  Good Luck

Answer 3

No....keep him and call him Stumpy. Fish can live without a tail. They just need extra TLC and a tank of their own because they are handicapped and are weaker fish who will be picked on.

Answer 4

You should separate him from your other fish first. See if he can heal. A friend of mine had a goldfish that only had one fin, because the other was eaten off from another fish. But she was still swimming around fine! So just give this fish sometime, always give everything a chance!  

Answer 5

Just get a green sunfish. THEN you can let nature take it's course.

Answer 6

it depends how bad his condition is...i think you should let nature take it's course. I've seen fish at the pet store swimming fine without tails...who knows. Maybe it will survive!

Answer 7

please separate the injured fish to other tank or small container and let it heal for several days and do not give him up!

Answer 8

yes

Answer 9

Eeeeewwwwwww !  that fish is evil ! lol :P

Answer 10

If he lost the full tail, chances are it will never grow back properly.

It's sort of up to you on this.

If he can still get around fine and the other fish stop pestering him, he could live a normal life. But if the lost fin is effecting his ability to eat or move around the tank, it would probably be best to put him down with some Clove Oil [easiest and least painful way to do it]. Put him into a separate container with enough water to cover him comfortably and add about a teaspoon of clove oil to the water. It causes a slow overdose and puts them to sleep.

If you want to keep him alive, watch the tail for infection and as a precaution, treat with either a broad spectrum antibiotic or some Melafix. Good luck.  

Answer 11

WELL IDK BOUT YOU BUT I COULD NEVER KILL M PETS .. FISH OR HORSE..

it depends how you kill him it might be more miserable..

there are medicines to help the tail.. just dont kll it

like LuLu said seperate.. and then let nature take its corse

Answer 12

To humanely euthanize a fish drop it in a container with ice water, depending on the size of the fish that could be just a cup or glass full of ice cubes and water.

The victimized fish could live for quite a long time without the tail otherwise. I would do it.

Medicines to help the tail?

That tail won't grow back and it's essential for the fishes every move.

Make sure you do seperate the aggressive species of fish from your other fish though or you will keep having these types of problems.

The wound created by the bite will be susceptible to all kinds of infections including bacteria and fungus.

Part of good pet ownership is knowing when to say "when".

Answer 13

depends how bad are his wounds? Does he look like he'll make it, what kind of fish is it? Please post some pics, or give more description. I would suggest taking him out, and putting some "aquarium salt for fresh water fish" But ONLY if you know that tis kind of fish can take it. Dont kill the fish yet. Depending on ho  bad he's really hurt, you should give him a chance!