Aquaculture America 2023

February 23 - 26, 2023

New Orleans, Louisiana USA

COMPARISON OF INDUCTION AND RECOVERY TIMES UNDER TWO DIFFERENT TEMPERATURES IN THE FALSE PERCULA CLOWNFISH Amphiprion ocellaris USING THE ANAESTHETIC AQUI-S® 20E

Timothy C. Currier*, Megan Williams, Jose Reyes-Tomassini

 

Saint Francis University

117 Evergreen Drive, Loretto, PA, 15940

Curriti13@gmail.com

 



Anesthetics serve a variety of purposes in commercial aquaculture, including sedation of fish. In the United States MS-222 is the only anesthetic approved for use in aquaculture. MS-222 is a suspected carcinogen and can cause serious retinal damage to humans. Aqui-S® 20E is an alternative anesthetic derived from clove oil. Here, we tested the use of this anesthetic on the False Percula clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris), a popular marine ornamental, under two different temperatures, 30? and 25.5?. Our goal was to assess the effect of rearing temperature on induction and recovery. A total of 48 fish were divided evenly between two treatment groups. Twenty-four fish were assigned to the 25.5? tanks, and twenty-four fish were assigned to the 30? tanks. For each temperature treatment, 12 fish were kept as a control group, in order to observe and compare post-recovery effects. Upon arrival to our facility, fish were held for at least two weeks at the specified temperatures and at a salinity of 35 ppt. Fish were induced using an Aqui-S® 20E concentration of 200 mg/L. Every 30 seconds, the fish’s reactions were recorded until they were considered to be fully induced. Induction was attained when the fish was stationary for 30 seconds and when the fish did not respond to pulling of the caudal peduncle. Once a fish was fully induced they were then placed in a recovery tank where they were observed every 30 seconds, until they fully recovered. Full recovery was defined as when a fish was able to swim freely, and reacted to the presence of a net in the water by swimming away from the net. Induction time took an average of 153 seconds at 25.5? and 165 seconds at 30?. Recovery time took an average of 155 seconds at 25.5? and 174 seconds at 30?. Fish did not show any adverse post-recovery effects at either temperature. In general, recovery and induction times seem to increase with higher temperatures.