I tried clove oil once on a female Betta, which had a torn-out eye due
to a fight with another female. I put it in a small container with
about 1 liter of water and then added 4 drops of clove oil. After 10
minutes still nothing happened, except that the fish starting coming
up to the surface for some air. But when it touched the oil drops they
seemed to hurt it because it would jolt right to the bottom and then
it would twitch a few times. It looked horrible. But there was no way
turning back, so I added a few more drops and tried to mix them with
the water.
The fish jumped from left to right and top to bottom for a few minutes
before finally settling down on the bottom. Then after about 5 more
minutes it finally stopped breathing. So in all, it took over 20
minutes, and I felt horrible seeing the fish acting like that.
I don't know what I did wrong then and there, but since then, I used
the freezer if needed.
Regards,
Gunther