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I have a Jack D. who took a nasty beating from my big Jack and now he is on his wat out. Here's the question... should I take him out and put him out of his misery or should I leave him there to die completly.:#(

put the poor guy out of his missery!!!

I don't think fish should be put out of their misery until they are dead. I've seen fish come back to life from the dead literaly. I suspect its because they have a very small brain unlike humans who need alot of oxygen for their big huge freaky brains otherwise they become retards if they survive.

Can you tell us more about his injuries? Fish can be resilient once they recover from the initial shock. Good treatment would include isolating him from further harm. Rubbermaid bins with water from the main tank make good recovery receptacles. Drop in an airstone or two, keep covered, in a warm place with something like a cave or fake plant to make him comfortable. By mixing 1 Tbsp of Freshwater Aquarium Salt with conditioned water and slowly adding it over several hours, you help him to avoid osmotic shock from the injuries. Melafix and/or Pimafix added as directed will prevent fungus and infection. Make sure any water changes do not alter the temp more than 1-1.5F or 1C, especially with a sick fish. Temp shock can occur with just a few degrees rise or drop.

Fish can appear to be dying when they have become exhausted, but may actually recover. Rapid breathing, laying on the gravel, etc, would all be such signs. Darkness and some stress free TLC woule give him a fighting chance (while teaching something about critical care for that next fish that may be much more expensive to replace).

If you need ideas on how to humanely euthanize if you feel that is necessary, please ask. There are humane and inhumane ways to do it. Some that were once considered ok, are under scrutiny so ask away if you need help.

Last edited by Cory_Di at 08-Apr-2005 17:41

The above poster is right - remove the fish immediately if you have not already and start treating him/her.

also consider WHY this happened so it won;t happen again.

Are the two jack sin too small a space?
Are they fighting over mates?
Are they very much different in size?
Are they the same sex?
Are they opposite sex but one i snot mature enough/tough enough to breed?

Didn't make the night! And have you ever heard the story of the young bull and the old bull?
Playing taps now!!

Sorry you lost him, but hopefully you've picked up some ideas on first aid intervention. Salt can be critical with open wounds and can be a life saver. They go into osmotic shock with the openings.