Would you euthanize this fish?

[Lauren Deadly]

So I've had a beautiful EBJD for quite some time which grew fairly fast and was vibrant and healthy. It was a fairly beefy fish, the largest actually. Well a few months ago the EBJD starting going blind in one eye. It was obvious that it had some sort of eye issues and it was clearly a defect. It went totally blind in one eye and it has a cataract for it. I didn't euthanize because he was still able to eat, though he had to relearn which was totally heartbreaking to watch. He started going blind in his other eye as well, but it's obvious he still has some sort of sight.

Over the past couple months since he lost most of his sight, he just isn't the fish he was as expected. He's lost a lot of the beef and almost looks like he shrunk. He stopped growing it seems like and almost all the other fish have past him in size. The saddest part about him is that something is clearly bothering his brain. He thrashes his face around, will actually spin in circles clearly agitated, slam his face into the glass and swim back words and shake his head. I thought it was a parasite FORever and could not figure out what was wrong with him. Unfortunately for him no amount of treatment has helped. No other fish have any issues, nor does he have any symptoms besides his thrashing. He's acting like a dog who has a fly or something sharp in it's ear. I've brought him to my boss and there just isn't any signs of parasites on him and the guess is that the defect of his eyes causes irritation.

The question is; when do you know when it's time to humanly euthanize. I'm notoriously too much of a nurturer with my fish and won't euthanize when I really should. I've brought fish back from the dead and sometimes it's ok, but I don't see this one improving. I don't know if the right thing to do is euthanize though because he's still active, eating, and being a fish. He just has moments of spazzing out which make me think he's got to be miserable. He's not exactly dying and actually quite vibrant, but it's clear he's not going to improve and only get worse.

 

[strollo22]

Fish can and will adapt to blindness in the aquarium and in most cases still maintain a good quality of life. They obviously would not survive in the wild in such a condition. The moments that it acts a bit abnormal could imply that there is more than meets the eye. Pardon the terrible pun. I would monitor the fish for the next month or so and see if there is any progress or if it continues to get worse. If it gets worse, I would euthanize. If it's still eating and healthy the way it is now, just let it live it's remaining days.


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[Heyguy74]

I'm sorry you have to even think about this. If you truly feel the fish is suffering, then clove oil is the way to go. It works very fast within a minute or two. Another option is to put the fish in a container and put it in a freezer. The water temps will drop and it will go to sleep, then die. This may be tough with a larger fish since you need a large container. I have used tank water, to not shock the fish.

 

[twilight zone]

That is a common problem with the EBJD. I see a lot of them have that problem. It must be the heavy inbreeding. Sorry that you have to deal with that dilemma. Good Luck.

 

[GinBlack]

I agree with Strollo22. I had a cichlid once go blind and even went as far as consulting a vet. Turns out in a little over a month he adapted to being blind and was able to carry on with no further issues. See how your EBJD does for a few weeks, then you can see for sure if you need to euthanize.

 

[duanes]

I find, when I don't euthanize, it some how comes back to haunt me in the end, whether or not the fish has some kind of communicable disease or not.
for example
I had nine Tomocichla asfraci, of which 4 (maybe 5) were deformed, and I put off culling them. When a pump malfunctioned, and I didn't notice, over 24 hours, these high oxygen requiring fish started dying, polluting the tank, 8 of 9 died. Had I previously culled the mutants, the bioload may have been such, that a few hours of unmoving water may have been less lethal.
I have resuscitated jumpers, but when it comes to disease, unless it is something simple like ick, my tendency is to remove and euthanize the carrier before the disease has time to spread any further.
I also have a 'do not resuscitate' document for myself, and have given power of attorney if i veg out, to someone trusted.

 

[Lauren Deadly]

hey guys. he's been mostly blind for over 2 months now and seemed to adjust ok to it. hes active and still does typical cichlid things which makes it hard for me to justify euthanasia, BUT his poor brain seems to bug the heck out of him. first occasionally, but progressively worse. it seems like one minute he's fine, the next he's shaking his head or tilting to the side ready to almost seizure. he's lost weight (but not unhealthy looking) and doesn't seem to grow anymore. it's tough, when I see the thrashing I think euthanasia but when he's fine he looks totally normal.

it sucks ebjd have these issues. it's a great fish, but I always try to educate people before buying one so they are prepared for this type of thing

 

[mike b]

deciding when or if to euthanize I think is a tough call I have a red isletas that is blind in one eye its about a year old it seemed to happen due to trauma from being picked on by its brothers and sisters it seems to have adjusted pretty well still feisty and eats just fine I also have an albino asian catfish that came in with one eye when I received it from other posts Ive seen this is common for the ARTC, I also had a big male haitiensis that was I guess you could say collectively beat up by his tankmates that came out of that blind in both eyes I had to segeregate him to his own tank where he lived for about a year like your EBJD he was super beefy before the blindness but he gradually got thinner and then he seemed to even out and was eating fine I never saw him bang into anything or have any marks on him that would suggest that he did but one day I came home and he was gone he ate fine the day before and just died I thought about euthanizing him but he lived a little over a year like that and maybe it was the wrong thing to do but he was gorgeous and I couldnt put him down.

 

[neutrino]

The saddest part about him is that something is clearly bothering his brain. He thrashes his face around, will actually spin in circles clearly agitated, slam his face into the glass and swim back words and shake his head. I thought it was a parasite FORever and could not figure out what was wrong with him.

That resembles "whirling disease", caused by a parasite-- Myxobolus cerebralis.

Have you tried Kanamycin? (look for KanaPro or Kana Plex) The thing about meds is some commonly available/recommended meds are effective only in certain water conditions. For example, they may be absorbed by calcium (such as Maracyn 2) and only effective in soft water or in doses that surpass calcium absorption before they reach effective concentrations (such as copper meds), one of the reasons some might say a particular med was effective and others say it wasn't.

More about Kanamycin here. At this point, if it's Myxobolus cerebralis, the question is can you still catch it early enough.

 

[petspoiler]

you need to post symptoms in diseases forum, in case there is disease apart from blindness, so Aquanero can advise on any treatment or contagion issues.