Help! Is this cardinal a gonner? Can I save him?

[xyberelite]

I came home from work today and the banggai cardinal that I added most recently (after my purple stripe pseudo) was at the bottom of my tank with his tail being eaten by my nassarius snail. His tail is 100% gone and i'm wondering if he was eaten too much for a possible healing or recovery.

I'm assuming the pseudo attacked the cardinal since I added the cardinal after him and he already had his territory established, so the cardinal probably fell to the bottom helpless with ripped/missing fins and the snail found it.

Any how, I've attached the pics. Is he a gonner? If so, what's the best way to put him out of his misery?

By the way, he's still flopping around, gills going well for the past hour and a half. He just cannot swim what so ever...

 

[Megatrev62]

Definite gonner. The quickest way to put out of misery is to smack him hard against concrete floor or similar.

 

[winkkle]

ive heard putting them in water and putting them in freezer. apparently it slows their heart rate and is pretty painless but i have no idea really.

 

[xyberelite]

Lol...yep he died since I got your reply. Well ****, guess I can't add any other fish after that pseudo...

 

[Megatrev62]

I thought that once too and actually did so before, but have read several places where freezing is very painful. I heard the quickest and least painful is to actually penetrate the brain with a nail or knife, or actually cutting the head clean off. In the meantime, with such a small fish I think hitting him hard will do the trick.

 

[89Foxbody]

It sounds gruesome but a hammer is probably the best way for a small fish. It's a guaranteed instant kill.

 

[badbreath]

:deadhorse::headwally::uzi:
:worried:
How long does it take them to die if you just take them out of the water?

 

[89Foxbody]

Not sure suffocation qualifies as humane euthanasia. And some marine fish can live outside the water for hours. Smash/sever the head and be done with it.